Organising and running a music festival these days might sound like pure madness… It’s not only about passion for and dedication to music and its interpreters, but also a risky work of art considering the volatile Covid-related situation, ever-changing rules and widespread insecurity affecting the cultural sector on a global…

Have a weekend in Italy on us! Take Saturday and Sunday off, join us on Facebook and discover the new sounds coming from the Italian music scene. From 10AM on Saturday 30th of May till 11PM on Sunday the 31st (British Summer Time), in partnership with Turin-based eclectic label Salgari…

French composer and musician Christophe Chassol, who has collaborated with Frank Ocean and Solange, has become known for “ultrascore”, a musical technique that can be thought of as harmonising reality. Ludi (released on 6th March 2020 via Tricatel) is his latest effort applying this technique, as he continues to draw…

Still cerebrating how to celebrate the last night of 2018 and the first morning of 2019? We are here to help with a selection of some of the best NYE parties happening in London and the rest of UK. Whether you’re willing to spend the 31st December dancing, revelling in…

Two weeks to go until the new edition of Jazz:Re:Found. In its past editions, the forward-looking festival has brought to Italy names such as hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash, techno legend group Underground Resistance, funk-jazz Brazilian masters Azymuth and many more. This year’s theme Black & Forth sums up the two…

Boomtown Fair is a lot of fun. It is an immersive and well-detailed festival that puts a great deal of effort into making Boomtown feel like a real town. This year, Boomtown placed participants at the final chapter of a political framework, questioning where the wealth and power between Boomtown…

Set in the heart of the Sussex Downs, Love Supreme Festival returned for its 6th year of spreading the gospel of jazz, blues and soul to some 40,000 music lovers. Unless you were the man who told me, bizarrely, that he “doesn’t like virtuosity in music”, you were going to…

If you mention Casino Royale to any Italian music enthusiasts born from the 60s on, they won’t suddenly associate the name with the 007 movie, but their eyes will light up all the same recalling a band that has possibly ‘soundtracked’ more than a few moments of their lives. That’s…

The latest edition of Jazz:Re:Found brought to life one of the finest names in the Italian jazz scene – saxophonist James Senese and his band Napoli Centrale. The son of an African-American U.S. soldier who arrived in Italy during the American occupation that liberated the country from Nazi-Fascism, Senese grew…

Colours rise from dark contours as a London jazz renaissance takes form. Feeling both early and late, We Out Here captures the tones of this evolving shape.  Tenor saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings directs the way, bringing together a collection of his most in-demand friends on the new-jazz scene. Familiar names such…

I remember the first time I heard Chassol like it was yesterday. I was listening to “Pipornithology, Pt. II” – from his acclaimed album Big Sun – and I was blown away, by the way, he started with the recording of a singing bird and used it to create an…

Embraced by the Alps Mountains in the North-western area of Italy, Turin is a city marked by its aristocratic past and industrial history. This contrast best represents the city’s multiple facets: richness and poverty, innovation and tradition, history and modernity all living together in one place. This blend and mix…

For the 3rd year running, vintage drinks brand Drambuie is running its Brass and Crimson series, an event aiming to showcase both the finest in contemporary jazz sounds and meanwhile raise the profile of its brand for a new generation. Where once cocktails were consumed in smoke-filled rooms to the…

Last Sunday we went to The Pickle Factory for the first night of Ovation, a monthly series that will bring the best of contemporary jazz and world music to the intimate East London venue. The events are co-curated by Tom Skinner (Hello Skinny, Matthew Herbert, Owiny Sigoma Band, and Sons…

Gilles Peterson has become synonymous with the continued revelation of the latest talents that fuse non-traditional jazz with musical influences from across the world.  This explains why his twelfth annual worldwide awards sold out quickly and why many consider him an ambassador for world music, bringing new global concepts back…