Octet

For those who like their jazz upbeat and straight-ahead comes this entertaining first studio album from a young British pianist and composer. Matt Carter was still studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London when he began putting together its band members and music, while also backing singers such as Joss Stone and Mica Paris. Though he’s no purist, Carter’s heart clearly lies with purring big bands. His octet (all young) comes with a five-strong brass section, augmented by the guest flute of relative veteran Gareth…

London-born alto saxophonist Joshua Jaswon was so appalled by Brexit that he moved to Berlin to pursue his ambitions as band leader and composer. In 2020 he delivered Silent Sea, a moving commentary on ecology and populism, played with gusto by his pan-European eight-piece and incorporating poems from a collection by the Scottish poet Jackie Kay. Polar Waters follows a similar course, being centred on oceanic themes, its music entwined with assorted modern poems given voice by the brilliant Dutch singer Anna Serierse.It’s…