2016 was an incredible year for Jazz. Top of the pile was an amazing album by Trumpeter Theo Croker ‘Escape Velocity’, we haven’t heard music like this for many years. It just piped Terrace Martin ‘Velvet Portraits’ another great album fusing Jazz, Soul , Funk and a little hip-hop to great effect. Shola Adisa Farrar joined with Florian Pellissier Quintet to make the best vocal jazz album of the year, the deep and at time spiritual ‘Lost Myself’. Tom O’Grady from Cambridge is Resolution 88 who made a superb heavy jazz fusion album ‘Afterglow’. Ashleigh Smith charmed us with her vocal Bossa Jazz set ‘Sunkissed’.
Brazilian Ed Motta made what is probably his best album ‘Perpetual Gateways’ like a jazzier Steely Dan in places, real jazz in others. Our own Sean khan had a great set ‘Muriel’ featuring guest vocals including Omar, Heidi Vogel and Sabrina Malheiros. Cuban Dayme Arocena delighted us with her ‘One Takes’ another Jazz album of the year
