Robert Mitchell released his solo, left hand only album The Glimpse earlier this year and was well received by both by music critics and fans alike for it’s innovative concept on piano playing and composition. Robert also held a festival entitled ‘Leftitude’ just after the release at The Forge in Camden (London) for left hand only piano that featured a number of highly-acclaimed solo pianists – it was so successful that it’s planning a comeback early next year.

A few months after the initial release and the album is still receiving glowing reviews. This one today is from Echoes, which describes the album as a”fruitful undertaking” and that “Robert Mitchell is pushing the envelope in solo piano”. The reviewer also states that “the real triumph is the sense of distillation and clarity that is achieved without any denuding” and that “this is a good time for solo innovation”.

To check out samples of the album, for more information and to purchase please click here.

Featured below is a whole track from The Glimpse entitled Lullaby No 1 (Infinite Ivy).

Sam Crowe released his second solo album Towards the Centre of Everything on WWR just earlier this month and has already received a plethora of outstanding reviews, with another one today by UK Vibe who states that the music is “immediately infectious”, “accomplished”, and adding that “a decidedly promising future lies ahead for Sam Crowe”.  

Check out the other high-praising reviews here from The Jazz Mann, London Jazz News, and Marlbank. You can also hear samples of the latest release via the album page or store. 

Featured below is Sam’s album promo video that will help any newcomers to understand a little more of what this release is all about. 

Marlbank have given the album a glowing 4 star review, stating that “Jeff Williams quartet finds itself in the realm of the cool school, a sound partly identified with the loadstar of Lee Konitz” (who incidentally will be appearing on WWR with a release later this year). Marlbank also go on to say that ”the composing is excellent working piece by piece to build the record in to something special.” 

 The album will also be featured next month in the new releases section of Drummer Magazine. The release contains high standards of playing from fantastic musicians: Duane Eubanks – Trumpet, John O’ Gallagher – Alto Saxophone, John Hébert – Double Bass, with Jeff William’s himself on drums.

Check out samples of ‘The Listener’ before it’s release date next month on June 4th, and to visit out store click here.  

We’re proud to make the official announcement about a body of work that will surely be regarded as one of the truly groundbreaking releases of 2013 in jazz and contemporary improvised music: The Anton Webern Project, the debut WWR album from Grammy-Award winning saxophonist & composer John O’ Gallagher, launching worldwide in just over a month on June 18, 2013.

Featuring an all star cast of elite musicians:

John O’ Gallagher – Alto Saxophone
Matt Moran – Vibraphone
Pete McCann – Guitar
Russ Lossing – Hammond Organ, Rhodes, Piano
Johannes Weidenmuller – Double Bass
Tyshawn Sorey – Drums
Margret Grebowicz – Voice

The Anton Webern Project is the debut WWR release from John O’ Gallagher, a grammy-award winning alto saxophonist who is known as one of the most compelling improvisers, composers and music conceptualists at work today on the avant-jazz scene.

The California native has released many critically acclaimed albums to date but it’s this new, completely-unique and ambitious project which shows his diverse talents pushed to new and exciting limits. This recording features groundbreaking reworks and adaptations of the music of Anton Webern (the Austrian composer known for his innovations in twelve-tone technique and the musical movement known as ‘Serialism’) for his seven-piece contemporary jazz ensemble, showcasing many of the most respected creative jazz musicians on the global music scene.

(Listen to a track from the album below)

With one hearing of the album the listener is transported into a sound-world unlike anything they’ve heard before as a result of O’ Gallagher’s masterfully conceived vision which morphs the improvising jazz musician with the music pioneered by the Second Viennese School. The Anton Webern Project is a true testament to seemingly limitless spirit of the ever-searching and evolving improvising musician, and will surely be regarded as a vital addition to the advancement and appreciation of Webern and twelve-tone music.

We defer to John’s own words on the music (this excerpt taken from the liner notes of the album):

“I remember the first time I heard the music of Anton Webern. It was in a music history class at Berklee in the late 1980s. His music seemed other worldly and shrouded in a mysterious process that no explanation by the teacher could unravel. This seed, planted early on in my musical development, grew into a love and fascination for twentieth century classical music. Often cited as the father of serialism (which took hold in the 1950s), it seems that there are still many preconceptions that even educated listeners have about Webern’s music. With this project one of my goals was to present his music as clearly melodic and beautiful in ways that most listeners may not be aware of. Each of the 8 Webern pieces I selected to arrange for this recording spoke to my imagination as having an unusual kinship and translatable essence to modern jazz and this ensemble in particular. I chose to stay as close as possible to the source material’s themes and counterpoint with only minor changes in places that required it. Additional material was composed to provide solo sections for improvising, as well as introductions and codas where needed. All the solo sections are either based on harmonies/trichord structures extracted from the twelve-tone rows each piece uses, the rhythmic structures of the compositions, or the harmonies that result from the counterpoint. Each piece demanded its own solutions to create a sense of a unified whole. One question that would help guide me as I conceived this project was “what would Webern’s music sound like if he were a jazz musician living in New York City today?” This recording is one possible answer to that question.”

John O’ Gallagher, NYC January, 2013

VISIT THE NEW ALBUM PAGE FOR THE ANTON WEBERN PROJECT

BY CLICKING HERE TO HEAR & LEARN MORE

News has just reached us here at WWR that Andre Canniere will be performing on Friday 31st May with his group at The Forge, Camden. The concert will contain music from Andre’s debut solo album Forward Space, released on WWR in 2012 that received high praise from reviewers, as well as music from his next solo recording that will be coming out later this year. High class musicians will be featured on the concert that include John Turville – piano, Hannes Riepler – guitar, Ryan Trebilcock – bass, Jon Scott – drums, as well as Andre Canniere himself on trumpet. 

The Forge is a fantastic space with a beautifully presented, acoustically designed concert room - a great place to hear live music. The ticket cost for the event is £11/9 online, £12/10 on the door.

Check out Andre’s preview and interview of the concert for London Jazz News here and the campaign here. 

To purchase Foward Space and check out samples of the music please click here.

Quotes from previous reviews: 

“Beautifully balanced… exhilarating”
THE GUARDIAN *****

“One of the best debut recordings in a long time… a real gem”
JAZZWISE

‘Best Albums of 2012′ (Critics’ List)
JAZZWISE

“An impressive debut from a technically assured, highly individual soloist and a gifted composer.”
LONDON JAZZ

The Forge address:

The Forge
3-7 Delancey Street
London
NW1 7NL

“Crowe is a maturing compositional force.” - The Guardian

Sam Crowe released his second album Towards the Centre of Everything WWR on Monday 29th April and has already been extremely well received by critics and music lovers alike. Check out these two previous 4 star reviews from The Jazz Mann and Marlbank.

Today sees yet another two reviews for the new release by both The Guardian and London Jazz News. The Guardian announces Sam as being a “maturing compositional force” as well as both reviews talking highly of the album’s sound and the the live Album Launch performances. London Jazz News also states that “Crowe’s influences are manifold – jazz, classical, folk, triphop, rock. His visionary writing and powerful melodies fused them into a new whole, an urban urgency mixed with the pastoral gentleness” and that at the album launch “there was a sense of something special happening.” 

The album features musicians Sam Crowe (piano/rhodes/keyboards), Will Vinson (alto saxophone), Adam Waldmann (soprano), Will Davies (guitar), Alan Hampton (double & electric bass), Mark Guiliana (drums), Emilia Martensson (vocals).

To purchase the album please vist our store. 

The Listener from Jeff Williams, out on June 4th worldwide. Featuring Jeff Williams – Drums, Duane Eubanks – Trumpet,
John O’ Gallagher – Alto Saxophone, John Hébert – Double Bass

Whirlwind Recordings is elated to announce the second release from legendary drummer Jeff Williams, whose career has spanned over four decades performing at the vanguard of jazz music. As a result of the worldwide critical acclaim (from fans, musicians and critics alike) from his debut WWR release Another Time (which received ‘Album of the Year for 2011′ by UK Jazz Radio, ‘Top 10 CDs Critics’ List from All About Jazz and was among Downbeat Magazines’ Best Albums of 2012), it was only natural to follow up with a live recording to document the ensuing development of his working group which features three of NYC’s greatest improvisers in Duane Eubanks on Trumpet, John O’Gallagher on Alto Saxophone and John Hébert on Double Bass.

The opportunity for this special live recording arose during a tour of the United Kingdom in May of 2012. Following a performance at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Jeff’s quartet next appeared at the Vortex Jazz Club in London (appropriately known as ‘London’s Listening Jazz Club’), recording equipment at the ready to intimately capture the evening. The Listener, with its unusual cover photo taken by Jeff, is dedicated with gratitude to those who were present, those who will hear the album, as well as to the premise that meaningful improvisation requires deep listening among the musicians. The selections include material new to the group, live versions of compositions from Another Time and, as an encore, the standard, ‘Dedicated To You’.

Over the last five years the quartet has appeared in various New York venues, most often at Smalls Jazz Club, where the group’s performances are archived as bootlegs. It is therefore very fitting to be able to present Jeff’s group properly recorded and documented in their comfortable surroundings of the live concert, which is where this band thrives. The Jeff Williams Quartet continues to build upon past achievements with The Listener being a prime example of what lies ahead.

Visit The Listener album page by clicking here to listen to preview tracks from the album and learn more. 

Tickets for tonight’s album launch are still available from the Vortex website. To purchase the album please visit our store.

Big news has reached us at WWR today as we hear that Euan Stevenson and Konrad Wiszniewski’s New Focus

The SAY awards are “a new and ambitious national prize established to reward and promote the creativity and diversity of art in Scotland”. It’s a prize worth £20,000 to the winner, with the shortlist being announced at the end of May and then the winner itself on 20 June. Check out the SAY site where you can hear New Focus’ Nicola’s Piece (site pictured below) and Marlbank’s review of the news here, as well as in the Scotsman and the Herald. Congratulations to Euan and Konrad as we wish them luck with the awards.

ALSO in today, adding to a plethora of high praising reviews, another has reached us for our Feb. 2013 release – Robert Mitchell’s The Glimpse. The Guardian announces that ”The Glimpse’s delicacy and sparing intensity is often very affecting.” The track ‘Leftitude’ (the title of which was used for Robert’s left-hand only piano festival held at The Forge in London earlier this year) was recently played on BBC Radio 3 Jazz Line-Up of 31 March.

To purchase The Glimpse and New Focus please visit the WWR store.

“A more confident recording that builds on the success of its predecessor to deliver a powerful artistic statement. An album that should ensure that Sam Crowe’s star continues to rise.”

Today sees the release of Sam Crowe’s second album Towards The Centre of Everything and already we have reviews in from The Jazz Mann, Marlbank and London Evening Standard as well as an in-depth interview on the new release by Jazz Views. 

Marlbank and The Jazz Mann have given the recording a high-praising 4 stars, stating it as a “robustly creative album”. It has also been chosen as Jack Massarik’s Jazz CD choice of the week for the London Evening Standard, who have also gave it a glowing review. Jazz Views recent interview on Sam Crowe makes for great reading as it reveals the concept behind the album (themes such as Gaia hypothesis, global consciousness, corruption and the evolution of the human race) and work involved with the producing of this latest release.

Sam will be performing the Towards the Centre of Everything Album Launch at The Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston this Wednesday 1st May, the very same venue where he launched his debut album Synesthesia back in 2010. Tickets should be booked in advance as it will no doubt be a sold-out concert.

To purchase the new release please visit the WWR Store.