Rising-star tenor saxophonist and composer Alex Hitchcock recently released ‘Dream Band: Live in London’ (Whirlwind Recordings), a triple album which documents three different bands led by him across consecutive nights at the Vortex . . .

Horntet are a quintet of young Polish musicians led by pianist Bartłomiej Leśniak. Despite only forming in 2019 while they were students at the Academies of Music in Krakow and Katowice, the group already have an impressive list of achievements to their name . . .

The fifth International Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Krakow, from which musician/writer Sam Norris reported the results, also gave him the opportunity to meet two of the international judges, Peter Bernstein, and Romain Pilon . . .

Mars is the latest brainchild of veteran avant-garde alto saxophonist Tim Berne, released on the always impressive and boundary-pushing Swiss label Intakt Records. Berne’s career has been characterised by the relentless originality of both his own alto playing . . . 

Live jazz looks likely to make a triumphant return to the North West in January 2021 courtesy of NQ Jazz. Since their inception in 2015, the Manchester-based live music promoters have hosted countless household names at numerous venues in the city . . .

Franco-Belgian trio Hermia/Ceccaldi/Darrifourcq are certainly not afraid to exist on the fringes of improvised music. Their first album, God At The Casino, is a fascinating mélange of edgy grooves, wild extended techniques and avant-garde soundscapes . . .

It’s impossible that London-based pianist and composer Tom Taylor could have known about the unusual circumstances under which his debut album, First Light, would be released; no tours or parties, just a Bandcamp upload and an informative Tweet . . . 

The Royal Academy’s celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the ECM label happened over two nights. Our coverage is of the first night, and the first half of the second night – the second half consisted of previously unperformed works by Kenny Wheeler from his archive . . .

The return of Jorge Rossy’s ‘Beyond Sunday’ quintet to Pizza Express Dean Street last week was met with an enthusiastic response from a packed-out audience. The Barcelona native, who is perhaps best known for his drumming in Brad Mehldau’s seminal trio, has been focussing . . .

Vijay Iyer’s Ritual Ensemble (Wigmore Hall. 10 January 2020. Review by Sam Norris) The atmosphere at Wigmore Hall prior to the UK debut of Vijay Iyer’s Ritual Ensemble was one of excitement, with a palpable sense that we were about to witness something unique . . .