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The album cover for Soft Ffog – Focus features a dramatic seascape where a pirate ship with tattered, flaming sails floats above a stormy ocean. Below, shipwreck survivors struggle on jagged rocks as lightning flashes across the turbulent sky. A lone black dog watches from a cliff, adding to the eerie, fantastical atmosphere. The band's name and album title appear in stylized white lettering in the top right corner.

CD Reviews

Ffoggy Notions: Soft Ffog Sharpen Their Focus With a Bold, Rock-Forward Evolution

Soft Ffog – Focus (Is it Jazz? Records, 2025) Norwegian progressive music band Soft Ffog returns with Focus, a follow-up that is at once tighter,…

Theo Croker - Photo credit Bruno Baretto. Theo wearing glasses, holding a trumpet.

Music Videos

Trumpet Meets Electronica: Theo Croker Presents “High Vibrations (feat. Malaya)” Single

Prog News April 24, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz electronic music fusion Theo Croker trumpet

(headline image: Theo Croker – Photo by Bruno Baretto) American trumpeter, composer, producer, and vocalist Theo Croker has announced his upcoming album Dream Manifest, set…

CD Reviews

Jake Hertzog Expands Into Orchestral Sounds with Ozark Concerto

Charlie Melville April 4, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz guitar Jake Hertzog western classical music

Jake Hertzog — Ozark Concerto (Zoho Music ZM 202504, 2025) Vituoso jazz guitarist Jake Hertzog returns with Ozark Concerto, his second release on the Zoho…

CD Reviews

Lost in Translation, Found in Sound: Schaerer’s Anthem for No Man’s Land

Charlie Melville March 10, 2025 No Comments Andreas Schaerer contemporary jazz fusion jazz Kalle Kalima Lucas Niggli Luciano Biondini

Andreas Schaerer, Luciano Biondini, Kalle Kalima, Lucas Niggli – Anthem For No Man’s Land (ACT, 2025) Swiss vocalist Andreas Schaerer, often compared to Bobby McFerrin…

Bokani Dyer - Radio Sechaba cover artwork. A photo of the artist playing a keyboard.

CD Reviews

Bokani Dyer’s Radio Sechaba Tunes Into South Africa

Kevin Baker February 25, 2025 No Comments Bokani Dyer contemporary jazz South African music world jazz

Bokani Dyer – Radio Sechaba (Brownswood Recordings, 2023) Multi-award-winning pianist and composer Bokani Dyer expands his musical vision with Radio Sechaba, a 15-track album that…

The album cover for Unity by Yosef Gutman Levitt & Itay Sher features a minimalist gradient design. The background transitions from deep blue at the top to a lighter turquoise hue towards the bottom. A small, subtle circular shape, possibly representing a moon or planet, is visible near the lower part of the cover. In the bottom right corner, a warm orange hue appears, contrasting against the cool blue tones. The typography is clean and understated, with the album title Unity centered in white uppercase letters, while the artists' names are positioned discreetly in the upper corners

CD Reviews

Sounds of Devotion: Yosef Gutman Levitt & Itay Sher Reimagine Hasidic Nigunim

Angel Romero February 24, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz Hasidic music Itay Sher Jewish music western classical music Yosef Gutman Levitt

Yosef Gutman Levitt & Itay Sher – Unity (Soul Song Records, 2024) Bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt and guitarist Itay Sher take a contemporary, orchestral approach…

The album cover for With Eyes Closed by Matt Panayides Trio features an abstract, watercolor-style background with overlapping brushstrokes in shades of blue, orange, pink, green, and yellow. The title, "With Eyes Closed," is centered in bold, modern black typography, while "Matt Panayides Trio" appears in a smaller, straightforward font at the bottom.

CD Reviews

Panayides Reworks Old Jazz Tunes

Charlie Melville February 13, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz Matt Panayides Trio

Matt Panayides Trio — With Eyes Closed (Pacific Coast Jazz PJ93456, 2024) Matt Panayides, a New York City-based virtuoso guitarist and composer, is recognized for…

$The album cover for Ice Breaking by the Dag Arnesen Trio features a close-up of a fractured ice formation, illuminated by golden and blue reflections against a deep black background. The typography is clean and modern, with "Ice Breaking" in a cool blue hue. The names of bassist Magne Thormodsæter and drummer Øyvind Skarbø appear beneath the title, while the Losen Records logo sits subtly in the corner.$

CD Reviews

Breaking the Ice with Dag Arnesen’s ‘Ice Breaking’

Charlie Melville February 11, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz Dag Arnesen

Dag Arnesen – Ice Breaking (Losen, 2024) Dag Arnesen’s Ice Breaking presents an exploration of jazz, introducing original compositions with new stylistic approaches. With all…

Sara Caswell — The Way To You cover artwork. A photo of Caswell holding a violin to her chest.

CD Reviews

Sara Caswell’s violin sings with clarity, passion, and a touch of mystery

Charlie Melville January 29, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz jazz jazz violin Sara Caswell

Sara Caswell — The Way To You (Anzic Records, 2023) After a seventeen-year hiatus as a leader, jazz violinist Sara Caswell re-emerged with The Way…

Ginetta's Vendetta - Fun Size cover artwork. A photo of the artist holding a pocket trumpet, wearing a yellow dress with a red background.

CD Reviews

Ginetta’s Vendetta: Pocket-Sized Powerhouse Delivers “Fun Size” Jazz

Charlie Melville January 22, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz Ginetta's Vendetta pocket trumpet trumpet

Ginetta’s Vendetta – Fun Size (Kickin’ Wiccan Music, 2024) Ginetta M., a multi-talented musician, composer, and bandleader, shines on Fun Size, her sixth album with…