Så er de mørke høstkveldene her, og vi kan døyve både høstdepresjoner og influensa med god musikk. Og her er hva de beste, europeiske jazzredaksjonene forslår for starten på den mørke tiden på året:

Axel Stinshoff, Jazz thing:
DANIEL GARCIA TRIO Wonderland (ACT)

Luca Vitali, Giornale della Musica:
LOUIS SCLAVIS, BENJAMIN MOUSSAY Unfolding (ECM Records)

Yves Tassin, JazzMania:
CHANTAL ACDA & THE ATLANTIC DRIFTERS Silently Held (Challenge Records)

Jos Demol, jazzhalo.be:
LUCIAN BAN / MAT MANERI Transylvanian Dance (ECM)

Kaspars Zavileiskis, jazzin.lv:
NUBIA GARCIA Odyssey (Concord Jazz)

Jacek Brun, www.jazz-fun.de:
GEBHARD ULLMANN & VITALII KUIANYTSIA Impromptus und Interationen (Kairos)

Madli-Liis Parts, Muusika:
DANIEL HERSKEDAL Call for Winter II: Resonance (Edition Records)

Bega Villalobos, In&OutJazz:
PAT THOMAS ISM Maua (577 Records)

Mike Flynn, Jazzwise:
THE BAD PLUS Complex Emotions (Mack Avenue)

Paweł Brodowski, Jazz Forum:
VIVIAN BUCZEK Le Grand Michel (Naxos Prophone Records)

Krzysztof Komorek, Donos kulturalny:
KURT ELLING Wildflowers, vol.1 (Edition Records)

Jan Granlie, salt-peanuts.eu:
NACKA FORUM Peaceful Piano (Moserobie)

Christine Stephan, Jazzthetik:
SUN RA ARKESTRA Lights On A Satellite (IN+OUT Records)

Dick Hovenga, Written in Music:
NEIL COWLEY TRIO Entity (Hide Inside Records)

Viktor Bensusan, jazzdergisi.com:
BEN WENDEL Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition Records)

Nuno Catarino, jazz.pt:
MOVE Free Baile – Live In Shenzhen (Clean Feed)

Henning Bolte, freelance:
ENZO FAVATA / LUCIANA ELIZONDO / MARCELLO PEGHIN Mystic Geography (Losen Records)

Tony Dudley-Evans, UK Jazz News:
LAURA JURD & PAUL DUMNALL Fanfares & Freedom (Discus Music)

Lars Mossefinn, Dag og tid:
INGEBRIGT HÅKER FLATEN (EXIT) KNARR  Breezy (Sonic Transmissions Records)

Patrik Sandberg, Orkesterjournalen:
ROY HARDGROVE’S CRISOL Grand-Terre (Verve Records)

Cim Meyer, All That …:
SHIRO ZORN + GEORGE MUSCATELLO  • MAURICIO ZOTTARELLI Into Another Land (Self Released)

Matthieu Jouan, citizenjazz.com:
JOSÉ SOARES Soma (Carimbo Porta-Jazz)

Why did I choose –

Viktor Bensusan:
Into each life some ‘Trane must fall… ‘Live At the VilIage Vanguard’ is not a déjà entendu album name with Ben Wendel and his extraordinary rhythm section.

Nuno Catarino:
The trio MOVE debuted last year with their album “The City”, blending the talents of Brazilian musicians Yedo Gibson (saxophones) and Felipe Zenícola (electric bass) with Portuguese drummer João Valinho. Their music immediately stood out for its intense, fiery jazz. Now, they’ve released a second album, “Free Baile”, recorded live in China. The album features six new tracks, all filled with raw energy. Gibson’s sax roars, Zenícola’s bass drives forward, and Valinho’s drumming creates turbulence. Their style is a mix of jazz and punk, full of power and intensity. With this second album, the trio continues to deliver bold, explosive jazz.

Dick Hovenga:
Within the British jazz landscape, pianist Neil Cowley has always been a maverick. He is one of those musicians who, with his striking touch, is always looking to break new musical ground, popping up either in jazz or pop or electronic. A constant until 2017 was his fabulous Neil Cowley Trio with double bassist Rex Horan and drummer Evan Jenkins as an amazing rhythm section. Cowley broke up the trio after the great album Spacebound Apes to have complete freedom to pursue new musical paths. Horan and Jenkins, both in-demand (guest) musicians, also went their separate ways for a while. With Entity, the British Neil Cowley Trio returns to the jazz front after seven years of silence.Entity showcases three musicians who have matured even further musically. No longer seeking the rambunctiousness of their earlier work per se, but in addition to the adventure they have always sought now bringing even more depth and balance. The first three pieces of the new record can even be called subdued, all the more so for this trio. And what a lush atmosphere and balance that calmness results in. Cowley has always been a master at writing catchy piano lines, and on Entity they come through brilliantly again. Listen to Father Daughter and you’ll see what I mean. The list of young pianists who have adopted his style is endless. Also clever how electronic elements have been added to the compositions without influencing the pieces too emphatically. For in everything, Entity exudes a reborn jazz trio.

Krzysztof Komorek:
From idea to album release in 7 days? Well, it turns out that it is possible. And on top of that, you can create something special in that time. A musical gem. A fantastic display of the artistry of the Artists involved. A beautiful collection of warm, melodic recordings. It is impossible to imagine a better surprise. And the musicians, producers and record company deserve all the honours for the effort they put into the express realisation of the idea.

Jacek Brun:
The way they are phrased, the texture they build, the narrative coherence, and the wide range of articulation, color, dynamics, and expression are impressive. The expression of these works creates an atmosphere of reverie and contemplation, inspiring the imagination to create images of a (perhaps somewhat dark) fantastic world. The erudition and mastery of pianist Vitalii Kyianytsia is simply overwhelming, and his interpretations captivate with their sophistication and virtuosity.

Bega Villalobos:
Recorded live in Berlin as the culmination of a four-day residency at the Au Topsi Pohl club, Maua (“flower” in Swahili) sees veteran Ghanaian pianist Pat Thomas leading ISM; a trio completed by the Swede Joel Grip on double bass and the Frenchman Antonin Gerbal on drums (the three are in turn part of the Ahmed project). In his award-winning career, Pat Thomas combines the creative intersections between classic jazz, avant-garde, electronic experimentation, highlife, afrobeat and pure free improvisation. Pat Thomas’s music becomes a magical combination of amazing improvisation skills and inspiring, adventurous atmospheres; There is always play in his way of composing, there is always a desire for research and a desire to enjoy; and with Maua all those elements are sublimated to perfection.

Henning Bolte:
Mystic Geography is what i (referring to Peter Green) call Albatros-music. In this case the bird crosses European regions from the Mediterranean to the Borealis and runs through centuries. The album’s music is an epic flow and glow in magistral adagio. It sails in free dazzling heights, slow and majestic, at whiles making some deep dives tothe mountains, woods and meadows below. In its airstream ancient and current music catches and merges in a patient and passionate flow.

Tony Dudley-Evans:
This album is the result of a commission for Laura Jurd to compose a piece that brought together a brass ensemble and an improvising quartet led by Paul Dunmall. The result is an intriguing blend of structure and improvisation in which the two elements integrate in exciting ways. As Laura Jurd has said: «This was an album I never expected to make, which in itself feels like a celebration of spontaneity and the unexpected.»

Yves Tassin:
I’m going back for sixth listen… Who Knows What else I’ll find ?

Jos Demol:
In every respect an extraordinary release. (Georges Tonla Briquet)

Kaspars Zavileiskis:
The English saxophonist Nubya Garcia flew wide and high in her second album, becoming one of the modern jazz tone-setters. Odyssey is a saturated, deeply emotional and diverse album, the foundations of which are determined by Garcia’s new daring to make orchestral arrangements as well. If until now we knew Nubya as one of the brightest representatives of the generation of jazz school Tomorrow’s Warriors, mixing jazz with Afro-Caribbean roots music, then Odyssey is a new guide to the future of jazz, where everything is still possible – unexpected maneuvers, extensive playing with a mixture of different styles and unusual production techniques. She’s just speeding up, that’s for sure.

Matthieu Jouan:
Finally, a project from the excellent alto saxophonist José Soares! Fresh from an artistic residency, Soma offers music inspired by a variety of philosophical and poetic themes, combining acoustic and electronic elements to knead a blob-like sonic paste.
Everything seems to float in an atmosphere of emptiness and silence, but this ethereal impression is only superficial. The subject matter is firmly rooted, delicate and subtle, and although one of the musicians may only need a single note to make a statement, it is as central as the nucleus of an atom.
Well supported, the Amsterdam-based saxophonist proceeds with small touches of warm breath, pinched incisions and held notes. Each musician is given the chance to express themselves fully, balancing graceful melodies with sonic experimentation. Simply fantastic.

Jan Granlie:
The Swedish/Danish band Nacka Forum is like the cat, it has nine lives. They’ve been threatening to leave each other for quite some time, but like an old married couple, you persevere. This extremely creative band, consisting of the three Swedish star musicians; Jonas Kullhammar (sopranino saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, tarogato, clarinet, contrabass clarinet, flutes, piccolo flute, recorder, slide whistle, percussion), Goran Kajfeš (trumpet , Crumar EVI, Syntrx 2, congas, percussion), Johan Berthling (double bass), and the Danish unique Kresten Osgood (drums, piano, marimba, percussion). On this delicious record, they also feature the 81-year-old legend Lars-Göran Ulander (alto saxophone). With Peaceful Piano, they have created a record that swings, challenges and takes the listener on a lovely journey south to warmer regions, and places we long for now that the cold autumn has come to us up here in the north.

Paweł Brodowski:
One of the top Swedish jazz singers today, Vivian Buczek was born in Malmö of Polish parents who emigrated to Sweden in the late ’60s. Her father was a great traditional trombone player, her mother played the vibraphone. I have followed Vivian over the past two decades since her debut album Can’t We Be Friends. In an interview for „Jazz Forum” she revealed that her favorite singers were Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson, but she added that every jazz vocalist should seek her/his own sound and that the best situation is where it is difficult to find comparisons. This she has evidently achieved. Vivian, indeed, possesses a unique voice and phrasing with an understaing of  jazz harmony and a feel of  blues.
She has since recorded some ten albums, this newest one is dedicated to Michel Legrand, the legendary French pianist and composer, with affiliations to jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Stan Getz. The album includes eleven songa, ten of which are by Michel Legrand, with lyrics mainly by Alan and Marylin Bergman. The most striking are the songs opening the set – “The Wind Mills of Your Mind”  (from the film “The Thomas Crown Affair”) and “I Will Wait for You” (from “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”), and the closing jazz standard “You Must Believe in Spring” (from “The Young Girls of Rochefort” ). The sole exception is the title piece “Le Grand Michel”, an original by trumpeter Peter Asplund, a member of the accompanying group, which also includes the brilliant pianist Martin Sjösted, who is responsible for all the arrangemnts, and a Scandinavian rhythm section, with Mathias Heise on harmonica adding a touch of French class and charm.

Patrik Sandberg:
1998, fresh off their GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Performance for their debut album Habana, Roy Hargrove and his celebrated group of musicians headed back into the studio to capture lightning in a bottle. Until now that recording, Grande-Terre, has never been heard. This all-star group of Cuban, American, and Guadeloupian musicians was the foundation to Hargrove’s unparalleled approach to jazz and the mélange of musical genres that appear on the record.
Featuring 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 great power and unique sound.

Cim Meyer:
Shiri Zorn (voc) and George Muscatello (g) have collaborated around upstate New York for more than a decade, and here they are accompanied by Brazilian Mauricio Zottarelli (perc) in a music rich in textures and moods. Zorn can sing lyrics of course, but she can also use her voice as a wordless instrument. A couple of Antonio Carlos Jobim tracks have depth and beauty, and familiar standard themes are refreshed and modernized. On the surface everything is light, bright, floating and airy, yet with a strong core in Zorn’s flexible voice.