PSA, PSA, PSA Records ***1/2

Not the kind of organ, guitar, drums trio who worship at the altar of Jimmy Smith or Wes Montgomery. No, this particular OGD is more contemporary - the guitar of Pritesh Walia more John Scofield or Mike Stern-like, while Sharik Hasan's organ inclinations come over far more like John Medeski and Avery Logan's busy drumming might well appeal to the drum 'n' bass lover in your life. Hailing from the Boston scene it's a lively sound, certainly rooted in jazz-rock fusion more than soul-jazz - there's isn't any attempt to replicate a classic 1960s loungebar sound. The 'Hymn' track calms things down a lot and comes over as a surprise. But perhaps the trio are more at home pushing hard as on 'Onward'. Strap yourself in!

Out on 23 February

Tags: Reviews

3949

Rather beautiful this poetic solo guitar album from Danish player Casper Hejlesen. Just 23, from northern Jutland, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Amsterdam Conservatory and the Jazz Institute of Berlin and is completing a jazz masters in Trondheim. Influenced by Jakob Bro, Julian Lage, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ted Greene there's a lot of poise and weight in these balladic tracks some of which neatly fold in quite ambiently atmospheric overdubs and sport strong sonic production values. Hejlesen debuted four years ago with the album Overture. On the upcoming album there's a beautifully harmonised version of the standard 'Body and Soul' one of the highlights here as is the highly endearing 'Waltz van Amsterdam'. Out on 23 February. Album track 'Waltz van Amsterdam' is streaming

PSA, PSA, PSA Records ***1/2

Casper Hejlesen, Idyl, Universal Music Denmark ****