Record Reviews

IAIN BALLAMY ~ RIVERSPHERE BABEL 25161 (Barcode: 5070004082703) ~ UK ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2025 Released: 2025 This is an album by British Jazz saxophonist / composer Iain BallamyFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist Rob LuftFind albums by this artist, bassist Conor ChaplinFind albums by this artist and drummer Corrie DickFind albums by this artist. Trumpeters Laura JurdFind albums by this artist and Charlie BallamyFind albums by this artist guest on selected tracks. The album presents ten tracks, five of which are credited to the performing musicians, one each is by Ballamy and Luft, one is by Bill FrisellFind albums by this artist and two are by Antonio Carlos JobimFind albums by this artist. The music offers a beautiful mixture of Jazz and contemporary Ambient aura, with Ballamy’s seductive saxophone work, Luft’s spacy guitar layers and delicate rhythm section support, with excellent electric bass work. The resulting ambiance is quite unique, very romantic and relaxed, offering a pleasant, but not trivial listening experience. The three tracks featuring trumpets fit the rest of the material perfectly, staying within the same vein and adding a touch of Scandinavian Jazz moods. Overall, this is a refreshing, and highly satisfying experiment, expanding the Jazz elements with more contemporary electric ambient vistas, but all perfectly within the aesthetic borders one expects form musicians of the class of Ballamy. I had a surprisingly marvelous time listening to this album and recommend it wholeheartedly.

Updated: 01/12/2025Posted: 01/12/2025

CD 1 Digisleeve Recommend To A Friend

ROB LUFT ~ RISER EDITION 1095 (Barcode: 5060509790104) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album as a leader by British guitarist / composer / bandleader Rob LuftFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with saxophonist Joe WrightFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Joe WebbFind albums by this artist, bassist Tom McCredieFind albums by this artist and drummer Corrie DickFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, all of which are original compositions by Luft, except one, which was co-composed with McCredie and Dick. Luft enjoyed a remarkable rise to fame and recognition since this album was released and he is considered as one of the best young Jazz guitarists on the contemporary British Jazz scene. When I heard this album at the time of its release, I admit that I was not very impressed; obviously he was already a very skilled guitar player, but his compositional skills were still very raw, and the album sounded a bit trivial and “undercooked”. Listening to it now, in retrospect it does sound pretty naïve and immature, but already quite original and definitely worthy of being heard again. All the musicians, who participate in the recording, perform amicably and do what is expected of them. Luckily, Luft’s talent pushed him to progress rapidly and he surely made a remarkable evolution during the last eight years. Overall, this a pretty, pleasant and promising album by a very young (at the time) Jazz musician, which is a great nostalgic listening experience today, and a proof that debut albums do not always predict accurately future developments.

Updated: 24/03/2026Posted: 24/03/2026

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend