Jerome Harris, Soma Code

You'll probably know Jerome Harris for his work with Jack DeJohnette or Sonny Rollins. But to be honest the guitarist isn't as well known as he deserves to be and when you listen to Soma Code, which incidentally is a good demonstration of how fine a composer he is to boot, a little in the Don Grolnick vein on delicious opener 'Candles', you'll be as puzzled as I am that his name isn't much better known.

There's something about this record: it has a really strong rhythmic jazz-rock framework and you get the sense of a journey through the tunes. Certainly it is an improviser's record and you pick up along the way the personalities of Marty Ehrlich on sax and the great Pheeroan akLaff on drums to name just two (Kenny Werner no less is also tucked away as a discreet presence on piano and synths). Bassist Mark Helias is also a stand out presence and knits particularly well with Harris when the improvisation goes that bit more intense. Worth spending quality time with. Out now.

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Saxophonist Steve Grossman has died aged 69. The date of death is being reported by the newspaper Le Soir as 13 August although cause of death and further details are not known so far.

Hailing from New York, Grossman was best known for his work with Miles Davis and with Elvin Jones. With Miles he is on such albums as Live at the Fillmore East; A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Live-Evil, Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West, Big Fun and Get Up with It.

Under his own name his records for the Dreyfus label in the 1990s displayed a remarkable playing personality on both ballads and more driving material and attracted a new generation of fans. I heard him around this time at Ronnie Scott's where he was a regular visitor for quite a few years and interviewed him for a piece published in the Jazz on CD magazine. A powerful player there was also a lot of tenderness in his sound beneath the toughness of his fundamental approach.