Editor’s choices. An interesting selection.
A few that I’ve heard and some that I haven’t.
There are some names I know of here.
Jazzwise Best of Jazz selection: June 2026
by 13 Comments
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Surprised they haven’t included Stramash II by Colin Steele, as they have given it an otherwise very good review. I think it phenomenal, already an end of year list topper, irrespective of genre.
Stramash II wasn’t quite released yet when the list was compiled, I assume.
Lists don’t generally get compiled on date of publication.
Official release date June 12th i.e. today.
Mmmmm…groundbreaking fusion….
Hmm. Celtic trad/jazz fusion.
Nice but not really my cuppa.
It’s been done by enough others already to satisfy my interest, like Annie Whitehead and Alastair Anderson as Northern Lights or John Rae’s Celtic Feet, both releasing good albums around the turn of the century.
The fusion is actually dialled down much lower than in the original 2008 album. This very much orthodox bop style jazz, I would say, if with a string section, occasional fiddle, if more Grapelli than Scottish, and very Rufus Harley bagpipes.
“Orthodox bop”? I might give this a listen, then.
As we’ve discussed before, the crow-barring of bagpipes and Scottish fiddles into jazz to form another “groundbreaking fusion” usually has me reaching for the off switch.
Further background @fitterstoke:
https://atthebarrier.com/2026/06/15/colin-steele-stramash-ii-album-review/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSc-n9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEejUWJbcYvpuMafv3os7C8C1n1kCITp7bps4Ki1pHBq7y6K1oNh636Hni_oAs_aem_AHVh8dB88Py7OwVW3RduGA
Tapadh leat!
‘s e do bheatha!
Didn’t get any further than Gabrielle Cavassa – she’s magnificent.
She is indeed something special. Glad you brought her to our attention @mikethep.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Cavassa
She’s sung with the wonderful Joshua Redman. Wow!
Thanks for posting this list @Mike_H.
I’m much taken with these guys too.
Both Joe Lovano and Julian Lage are usually worth a listen.