Julia Hülsmann’s quartet resurfaces with a fresh Norwegian voice on horn in tow and presents an attractive batch of originals that finds the group thoughtfully exploring common ground with a knack for adventure. As on past outings, each quartet member contributes music to the session, the leader herself being responsible for half the programme. Saxophonist Uli Kempendorff’s introduction to Julia’s trio on 2019’s Not Far From Here already brought a new dimension to the group’s interplay – this sense is again amplified and expanded upon through the addition of Norwegian trumpeter Hildegunn Øiseth, who joins the quartet on trumpet and the supply articulating goat horn for five cuts. Spellbinding lyricism and playful rhythmic and melodic interaction conspire throughout Under The Surface – a gem in Julia Hülsmann’s increasingly impressive ECM-oeuvre.

In April of 1998, fresh off their Grammy win for Best Latin Jazz Performance for their debut effort, Habana, Roy Hargrove’s Crisol went into a studio in Guadalupe to record their follow-up album. Until now, that album, Grande-Terre, has never been heard. Featuring an all-star band of Roy’s long-time collaborators, including trombonist Frank Lacy, pianist Larry Willis and drummer Willie Jones III, Grande-Terre showcases Hargrove’s fiery playing, his exquisite writing and the band’s incredible power and unique sound. Roy’s untimely passing in 2018 makes us wonder what this band could have achieved if they’d had the chance to continue developing their original approach to Latin Jazz.

On the occasion of Charlie Parker's 100th birthday in 2020, “Bird Lives” opens, produces and records a new, orchestral view of his music. Played by one of the best big bands in Europe, arranged by Magnus Lindgren and John Beasley and with a squad of top-class guests, some of whom have received Grammy Awards, such as Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Miguel Zenon, Tia Fuller and many more.

It's a mite ragged around the edges, but Bell's 1969 debut session certainly sports the proper ambience - and no wonder, with guitarists Eddie Taylor and Jimmy Dawkins and pianist Pinetop Perkins on hand to help out. No less than four Little Walter covers and two more from Muddy Waters' songbook dot the set, but many of the best moments occur on the original numbers. Delmark's CD reissue includes three previously unissued items.

"Essere O Non Essere" (To Be Or Not To Be) is the second fantastic release from Italy's Il Volo (The Flight). In the same spirit as their debut album, "Essere…" delivers intriquite instrumentation with the highest calibre musicians. "Essere…" is a little quieter that their first album and offers some scrumptious acoustic guitar / symphonic keyboard interplay. Il Volo blend elements of PFM and Le Orme with the magic of Banco creating some very addictive songs. What makes this album such magic is the carefully tinted delicate guitar/bass/drum interplay in combination with heavy symphonic analog keyboards.

Sarah Vaughan's recordings during the last phase of her magnificent career weren't always up to her usual standards, but this late-'70s set focusing on Brazilian music was a superb exception. Vaughan sounded as delightful and glorious as ever doing songs by legendary composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento and newer voices like Dorival Caymmi, Oscar Castro Neves and Eumir Deodato, among many others. The backing and rhythms weren't Americanized pap, but an accurate reflection of contemporary Brazil's sounds at the time. The CD adds two bonus tracks that weren't on the original, giving listeners the full results of what proved to be one of the great Sarah Vaughan's final studio triumphs.

Two piano icons celebrate their shared love of Italian opera.

Goodbye To Language is the perfect joining of the dots, through the world-changing experiments of Daniel’s early days with Brian Eno, to his flights through the most rarefied atmospheres of the mainstream of music. Constructed entirely from the sounds of the pedal steel guitar, Daniel on the pedal steel and his mate Rocco Deluca on the lap steel with compositional rigour that recalls the 20th century dreamscapes of Ravel and Debussy, with a sense of sonic futurism and yet also with the naturalness that can only come from someone rooted in centuries of grassroots music.

Jazz Hands is Bob James' third outing for evosound, following in the wake of 2018's Espresso and 2022's Feel Like Makin' LIVE. Produced by the pianist with his manager Sonny Abelardo, the ten-track album was mostly recorded during the months of the Covid pandemic and featured James in a number of different musical settings. It also features a stellar cameo from the ex-Gnarls Barkley singer CeeLo Green on the sensuous title track and includes production input from the legendary hip-hop turntablist DJ Jazzy Jeff, who rose to fame as half of the hit-making '80s/'90s rap duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, early samplers of James' music. Blending cool jazz tropes with funky dance floor grooves, blues-tinged ballads, cinematic mood pieces, and sensuous slow jams, Jazz Hands is the Missouri pianist's most eclectic album of his long career. Simultaneously classic and contemporary, it's Bob James at his majestic, ground-breaking, and timeless best.

Paul McCartney retreated from the spotlight of the Beatles by recording his first solo album at his home studio, performing nearly all of the instruments himself. Appropriately, McCartney has an endearingly ragged, homemade quality that makes even its filler - and there is quite a bit of filler - rather ingratiating. Only a handful of songs rank as full-fledged McCartney classics, but those songs - the light folk-pop of "That Would Be Something," the sweet, gentle "Every Night," the ramshackle Beatles leftover "Teddy Boy," and the staggering "Maybe I'm Amazed" (not coincidentally the only rocker on the album) - are full of all the easy melodic charm that is McCartney's trademark. The rest of the album is charmingly slight, especially if it is read as a way to bring Paul back to earth after the heights of the Beatles. At the time the throwaway nature of much of the material was a shock, but it has become charming in retrospect.