Piano prodigy Joey Alexander, above, is moving label, signing to Mack Avenue in the US with all-originals album Origin for release later in the spring. On the first record with Mack Avenue recorded at famed Sear Sound studio in New York last summer the pianist is joined by A-list luminaries Chris Potter (sax), Larry Grenadier (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums) and Gilad Hekselman (guitar). Check marlbank for more on the release later in the year.
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Norwegian keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft has delivered one of the year's most memorable albums to date in Be Am. And the good news for Wesseltoft's many fans is that he is to play what Kings Place call a ''rare'' solo show at the London venue in May.
Be Am is full of poignant, intimate, very strong, melodies and it's very much a personal statement that cuts across style and genre. Highlights are many and include the duo on 'Roads' with fellow countryman tenor saxophonist Håkon Kornstad. Switching between piano and Rhodes allows different points of entry as does the work with Kornstad. Wesseltoft brings an almost hymn-like approach to melody with him that has incredible euphony on a track like 'Messenger'. Above all it's the quality of the melodies that make this serious album stand out and make it a work that has more than its fair share of life-affirming passages, delights, and fascinations.
Kings Place details for the 9 May gig are here