Phronesis - Alive (LP Deluxe Version) March 11, 2022 Edition Records

Jasper Høiby's Phronesis, widely recognised as one of the finest piano trios in Europe, will release a limited edition vinyl pressing of their groundbreaking 2010 album ‘Alive’ in March 2022.

Over the last two decades, Phronesis forged a reputation for spell-binding live performances, capturing the imaginations of audiences worldwide. Years of performing, touring and recording gave this trio a matchless rapport that inspired an ever-flowing stream of pioneering new music.

The group’s first album on Edition Records and their first live recording, it was ‘Alive’ that truly catapulted the trio onto the international stage.  Flawless in execution, and driven by some of the most infectious and compelling music written in recent years, this extraordinary recording became one of the most talked-about live piano trio releases.  It was awarded Album of the Year in 2010 by both Mojo and Jazzwise and was voted Jazzwise Magazine’ No.1 Jazz Album of the last 5 years in 2015. It won endless plaudits and praise for its irresistible excitement, skillful flair and expansive compositional craft, and prompted extensive international touring across the world.

At the centre of the band’s sound was bassist and founder Jasper Høiby, the charismatic and dynamic player and composer, and a musician who has been central in shaping the story of Edition Records as a label. On ‘Alive,’ Jasper is joined by Ivo Neame on keys and Mark Guiliana on drums, standing in for Anton Eger on this one-off live recording.

To celebrate over a decade since the album first dropped, ‘Alive’ will be released on vinyl for the first time ever in March 2022 with brand new artwork and liner notes specially written by Jasper.

Get your orders in early – this special edition vinyl album is a must-have collector’s item for fans of the group.

1. Untitled #1 02:14

2. Blue Inspiration 11:05

3. French 08:35

4. Eight Hours 05:32

5. Abraham's New Gift 10:07

6. Rue Cinq Diamants 06:09

7. Happy Notes 10:08

8. Love Song 14:06

9. Untitled#2 07:14

10. Smoking the Camel 13:52

Jasper Høiby  Double Bass

Ivo Neame  Piano

Mark Guiliana  Drums

Details

– Each Vinyl will be packaged in a double album gatefold

– Each LP will be pressed on Ocean Blue Coloured Vinyl

– The first 200 copies sold on the Edition Store will be numbered

– The Deluxe Vinyl package will include sheet music of all 10 tracks as a PDF download

Available as limited edition vinyl, with online-only exclusives, as well as on WAV and MP3

VARIATIONS & PRE ORDER NOW

Ivo Neame - Glimpses of Truth (November 26, 2021 Whirlwind Recordings)

Ivo Neame’s twisting grooves and harmonic ingenuity have helped establish his distinct voice in international contemporary jazz. The celebrated Phronesis pianist returns to Whirlwind for Glimpses of Truth, a powerful artistic statement marking the first time Neame’s big band compositions have been committed to disc. Neame’s most assured body of work to date will undoubtedly be remembered as one of this period’s most impressive artistic achievements.

“Having lots of people play this intricate polyrhythmic music can be really emotionally powerful,” says Neame. Taking inspiration from Phronesis’ large ensemble projects, the compositions also played a didactic role, as a way of introducing newcomers to complex rhythmic structures. The pandemic flipped that idea on its head: faced with dwindling opportunities to hear these compositions live, Neame thought “’I’m just going to plough on regardless and record it all’.” Composed, multi-tracked (Neame plays all the tutti sax lines), videoed, mixed and mastered remotely over the pandemic period, Glimpses of Truth embraces the digital on a global scale, as Gilad Hekselman, Jim Hart and Ingrid Jensen appear alongside a stellar selection of UK musicians.

Neame’s creations grapple meaningfully with wider social issues. “We’re always struggling with the real truth of anything,” he says, explaining the album’s title. “People talk about how we’re in a post-truth world – this album is my interpretation of that.” The release emerges into a post-Trumpian landscape abounding with conspiracy theorists who fully embrace their own truths. “But a lot of the time, it’s very murky – that’s why I call it ‘glimpses’. These days, it’s ‘this is my truth, that’s your truth’, it’s all very vague because the world is so chaotic.” Glimpses of Truth offers stark clarity as a healing balm, working methodically through rhythmic complexity towards a negotiated artistic truth.

Neame stumbled across an article which claimed that 12 million Americans believe interstellar lizards run the United States. “I wanted to write a tune that would encourage people to wake up and question their beliefs" – ‘Rise of the Lizard People’ is what followed, immediately dropping you into Neame’s world of pulsing rhythms and shifting feels. ‘Strega’ follows, the distinctive double-drum setup of Maddren and Scott accompanying Jensen’s pensive trumpet touches. A mandolin-like left-hand tremolo gradually envelops ‘Broken Brains’; George Crowley features as the track veers towards introspection. The widespread mental health issues the title references are “not something to be taken lightly,” says Neame. “We all have to check ourselves.”

‘Phasing Song’ takes inspiration from Steve Reich and John Adams; a saxophone canon multitracked by Neame forms its compositional crux. ‘Perseverance’ is similarly layered, but the freest track on the album proves “you don’t need to be in the same room at the same time to achieve something spontaneous and interactive.” “I’m not precious about any music, it’s all up for grabs,” says Neame; ‘Ghostly Figure’ is proof of that, heading in a gently unsettling electric direction with bouncing synths and eerie trombone murmurings. The album finds Neame well equipped on his continued search for hard-fought truths.

1. The Rise of the Lizard People

2. Strega

3. Broken Brains

4. Phasing Song

5. Persevere Part 1

6. Persevere Part 2

7. Ghostly Figure

Nathaniel Facey - alto saxophone

Ingrid Jensen - trumpet

Gilad Hekselman - guitar

Noel Langley - trumpet

Jason Yarde - baritone saxophone

Trevor Mires - trombone

Gareth Lockrane - flutes

Tom Farmer - double bass

James Maddren & Jon Scott - drums

Ivo Neame - piano

Jim Hart - vibraphone

George Crowley - tenor saxophone

Recorded at Wonderland Studios (Oct 6-10, 2020)

Mixed by Ivo Neame and Alessio Romano

Mastered by Peter Beckmann

Produced by Ivo Neame

Executive Producer - Michael Janisch

Photography by Monika S Jakubowska

Graphic Design by Dave Bush

PREORDER

Ken Stubbs - 3 Shadows, 4 Angels (June 2021)

Ken Stubbs formed his first jazz group – ‘First House’, with fellow ex music biz sufferers, Tube driver and Demon of the double bass, Mick Hutton, the marvellous, number-crunching drum genius, Martin France and the formidable composer and magician-keyboardist, Django Bates.

They where fortunate to record twice for ECM, with the Perfectionist-German-Sound Wizard, Manfred Eicher.

1. 2 Ounces of Love 02:55

2. Melancholia 06:38

3. Nobody Else But Me 09:05

4. 3 Shadows (for Jonny Cash) - The Beast in Me 04:27

5. 4 Angels 11:15

6. En La Orilla Del Mundo 06:37

7. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams 08:54

8. Unity Village 07:29

9. For Heaven's Sake 05:30

Ken Stubbs - Alto Saxophone

Ivo Neame - Piano

James Muller - Guitar

Brett Hirst - Bass

Simon Barker - -Drums

Recorded 2020 - 2021 In Australia

Recorded and mixed by Christian Pyle and Ken Stubbs

Mastered by Ken Stubbs

Pre-order

Ant Law - Life I Know (EDITION RECORDS November 9, 2018)

Ant Law’s astonishing long awaited 3rd album ‘Life I Know’ draws on a depth of musical and life experience into a career defining album, uniting some of the finest players in British Jazz

Life I Know is the third and much anticipated album from British guitarist and composer Ant Law. Utilising some of the finest musicians in British Jazz today, Ant Law has crafted a masterpiece, merging wide-ranging stylistic and genre influences, virtuosic musicianship and melodic accessibility into one career-defining album. Abounding in warmth and energy, Life I Know is a deeply experienced musical expression of all the influences that surround Ant: his sense of community, culture, human interaction and creative spirit. It’s these influences that inspire Ant’s ambition and motivation to create.

Ant Law musical journey hasn’t followed the traditional path. A BSc in Physics with Music at Edinburgh, a summer semester at Berklee and a further two years gigging and Ant threw himself into the London scene a decade ago, playing with contemporaries, listening and learning. Two albums of his own, and three with Tim Garland’s band, much touring and hundreds of gigs later, he’s finally ready to release his new recording.

Although there had been a period of four years since his last album, there was never a rush to release Life I Know. As Ant explains:

‘When I moved to London a decade ago, I needed to establish myself. The first two albums helped me say “I am here” and to start working more. I reached out to artists I admired and developed my compositional approach. The resulting four tours as a leader were tremendously enlightening, but I knew I had to develop my instrumental approach and my sound world.

I became much busier as a sideman, recording and touring with groups like Partikel and artists like Tim Garland, but all the while I was composing, “charging up”, for this new recording project. Drawing new experiences and music together is what this album is about. I wanted to make it count – so I began exploring the new music in live contexts with my group.

Immortalising music in a recording environment is not to be taken lightly – choosing takes, mixing, mastering – these things have taken time – after all, they are the audio manifestation of self-realisation. Now, the timing is right, you can hear it in the music!’

And as for the music, Ant describes the album, track by track…

“This album draws together many aspects of my life. In some cases this is a literal thing – for the closing track I invited Tim Garland to play a soprano solo on a framework that really suits his aesthetic. In other cases this is more metaphysical and involves my imagination.

Each piece in the collection is inspired by a different experience.

I wanted to have an exciting opening track, and I chose Movies – inspired by, well, a trip to the movies. Whilst many guitarists playing jazz steadily shed all their non-jazz influences, I haven’t, yet. This is an exciting rock piece with a rock guitar solo.

Searching is a piece inspired by natural beauty – in particular riding the train up the east coast of England/Scotland, south of Edinburgh. As the railtrack gets progressively nearer to the sea on that bit of coastline, the drama and infinity of the North Sea’s expanse becomes more apparent. The piece reflects this as it builds in scale and dynamic. It is based around an unusual 6 bar harmony – this uneven phrase correlates to the beautiful (but uneven) natural landscape.

Aquilinus begins in a similar fashion (the word means Eagle-like). It eventually settles into a jazz-style form with heads and solos. Tim Garland joins on this piece, reinforcing the soaring melody and taking a solo.

Pure Imagination – by removing nearly all the chords in this piece I wanted to leave more to the imagination of the listener. The arrangement is  vast and spacious. In fact the lyric “There is no life I know, that compares to pure imagination” is what inspired the title of the album.

Angular rhythmic frameworks (such as that forming the basis of Laurvin Glaslowe) are shared by South Indian music and contemporary jazz styles. This was the perfect piece to mesh together those influences and draw on my extended musical community. I invited Asaf Sirkis to compose and perform the konnakol introduction.

The Act Itself is the darkest piece, a long-form contemporary classical type thing. The title refers to the psychological relationship between thoughts and actions, and which of those defines us. Some of the aspects of the music are fantastic and imagined, others are more realistic and literal.

Credits emerged out of a solo guitar piece I wrote and the arrangement was done very spontaneously in the studio, including a rare example of me playing the piano. I wanted to have a euphoric and warm piece to finish on, reflecting the resolution of the album, and an antidote to some of the more dissonant and dark music in the preceding track. This piece plays as the credits roll…

With a new home at Edition Records, Ant Law is entering into a new and exciting stage of his career, one where his talents will be recognised internationally – as an extraordinarily innovative guitarist, and as Life I Know proves, a fine composer, arranger and band leader.

ANT LAW guitar

MIKE CHILLINGWORTH alto saxophone

IVO NEAME piano

TOM FARMER double bass

JAMES MADDREN drums

1. Movies 4.54

2. Searching 2.40

3. Aquilinus 7.45

4. Pure Imagination 2.50

5. Introduction to Laurvin Glaslowe 2.59

6. Laurvin Glaslowe 3.24

7. The Act Itself 12.37

8. Credits 4.16

Phronesis - We Are All (EDITION RECORDS September 14, 2018)

JASPER HØIBY double bass 

IVO NEAME piano 

ANTON EGER drums

WE ARE ALL - THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM

LP, CD & DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

We Are All, the band’s eighth and newest studio album, offers plenty of emotional range and musical richness for committed Phronesis fans and new listeners alike. But in its title and scope, it also seeks to focus attention on an important message of togetherness and balance beyond the one the trio demonstrate on the bandstand.

Worldwide Release: 14th Sept 2018

ONE ALBUM. MULTIPLE COVERS. ONE MESSAGE OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS

FORMATS AVAILABLE:

- Limited Edition LP with Yellow Vinyl and double sided cover. 

- Two Collector Edition CDs with different covers. 

- Download & Streaming Album with three single releases all with different covers.

Each format - the LP, two CD versions, the digital album and 3 digital singles will be produced as part of a Collectors Edition with each edition having a different cover image that communicates a sense of unity on a shared planet and shines a light on the interconnectedness of all living species.

Please Note: The music is exactly the same on all formats, the only difference is the front cover image.

Julian Argüelles - Tonadas (EDITION RECORDS July 20, 2018)

European Jazz at its finest blending Spanish roots, Nordic space and sound with one of the brightest and most talented British bands around. 

Tonadas (simply meaning Tunes) is the lyrical and vibrant new quartet album from saxophonist Julian Argüelles. Drawing on his Spanish roots Argüelles has produced a gem - a beautifully warm, harmonically rich and melodic album, abundant with an elegant tone and absorbing colour.

Tonadas has everything you’d want and expect from a contemporary Jazz album, yet it surprises on another level. With shifting turns of phrase and effortlessly flowing band interplay, Argüelles’ growing status as a master composer, bandleader and creator are clear. This music is profoundly joyful and masterfully produced.

With some of the UK’s most dependable, experienced and exciting musicians pianist, Ivo Neame, bassist Sam Lasserson and drummer James Maddren, the rhythm section are flexible and intelligent enough to deliver the promise in Julian Argüelles’ writing and arrangements. Exploratory in feel yet integrated in one strong and committed sound, the album is elegantly poised as possibly one of the great European contemporary Jazz albums of this year. 

For over three decades Julian Argüelles has been at the forefront of European Jazz, working with some of its finest practitioners including musicians of the calibre of Dave Holland, John Taylor, Django Bates, Kenny Wheeler, Phronesis, Mike Gibbs and Carla Bley to name some. With Tonadas, Argüelles has mindfully and boldly crafted a band and composed music that further defines him as a composer and musician for the future and promises to command the attention of fans and critics alike.

1. Alalá

2. Alfama

3. Bulerías

4. Tonadilla

5. Barrio Gótico

6. Alegrías

7. Sevilla

8. Tía Mercedes

Julian Argüelles tenor and soprano saxophones, percussion

Ivo Neame piano

Sam Lasserson double bass

James Maddren drums, percussion

Recorded by Stefano Amerio at ArteSuono, Udine, Italy in November 2017. 

Mixed and mastered by Stefano Amerio in January 2018.

Ivo Neame announces a new album with new lineup and new sound (EDITION RECORDS March 23, 2018)

NEW RELEASE

British pianist Ivo Neame announces the release of his new vibrant and progressive album 'Moksha' with new lineup and new sound.

Out 23rd March.

Available on LP, CD and DN

LISTEN BEFORE YOU BUY

IVO NEAME acoustic piano, fender rhodes,

mellotron, hammond organ, nord lead

GEORGE CROWLEY tenor saxophone

TOM FARMER acoustic bass

JAMES MADDREN drums

An innately gifted pianist, composer and bandleader, Ivo Neame has demonstrated over the last decade that he is a musician of world-class quality with a powerful spirit of adventure and exploration. He is by any measure an original and a risk-taker. With Moksha, he returns to Edition Records with an album that will define a new era for him in his already illustrious career. With a new band, a greater use of electronic keyboards and an edgier rhythmical groove and band interplay, Neame has produced his most remarkable and boldest musical statement to date.

READ MORE

Marius Neset (with Lionel Loueke, Ivo Neame, Petter Eldh, Anton Eger & Jim Hart)– Circle of Chimes (ACT MUSIC 2017)

Andre Canniere - The Darkening Blue (WHIRLWIND RECORDINGS 2016)

“The sky puts on the darkening blue coat

held for it by a row of ancient trees;

you watch: and the lands grow distant in your sight,

one journeying to heaven, one that falls.”

For his third Whirlwind release, Pennsylvania-raised, London-based trumpeter Andre Canniere shifts in an oblique direction from previous albums Forward Space and Coalescence with original compositions inspired by the words of Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and American author Charles Bukowski.

The Darkening Blue is a sextet project which reaches into the heart of Stephen Mitchell’s insightful translations of Rilke, some of which are conveyed by one of UK jazz’s most expressive vocalists, Brigitte Beraha. There are instrumentally diverse interpretations, too, of Bukowski’s writings, which are illuminated throughout by Tori Freestone (tenor sax), Ivo Neame (piano, keyboards, accordion), Michael Janisch (acoustic/electric bass) and Ted Poor (drums).

Combining Rilke’s mystical intensity with a reassuring wistfulness, Beraha delivers lyrical stanzas which rhythmically and organically enfold Canniere’s narrative arrangements to kindle rich, tumbling, connective improvisation – and that sense of engagement and craft flows throughout an album which is as forcefully dynamic as it is emotionally moving, frequently drawing out imaginative displays of virtuosity.

Yearning, waltzing ‘Autumn Day’ bids farewell to summer through Canniere’s lilting instrumental and vocal melodies which are contrastingly imbued with soft aromas and impending solitude; and Bukowski’s poem ‘Bluebird’ (reinterpreted through Monique Canniere’s words) is a sparkling first take whose songlike structure swings out to fluent trumpet and tenor sax improv, while the horns closely mesh with Beraha’s natural, pliant vocalisations (an especially appealing compositional quality here).

Ted Poor’s incisive drumming colorizes ‘Splash’, a buoyant, bass-and-piano-propelled episode which features Freestone’s elegant modal explorations; while the airy tranquillity of Ivo Neame’s electric piano and Canniere’s dreamy trumpet in ‘Area of Pause’ snap into pure energy, throwing caution to the wind in a rippling dash to the finish.

Perhaps a post-modernist theme for turbulent political times, Bukowski’s ‘Hug the Dark’ is menacingly pictorialized through an urgent, heavy-rock groove, with Freestone pushing hard at her tenor’s limits over jagged electric piano, ominous electronics and Michael Janisch’s distorted bass – and, as elsewhere in this hour’s homage to profoundly-communicated verse, Canniere’s own instrumental invention and technique reach new heights.

Creatively embracing the specific progression of Rilke’s poetry, ‘Evening’ falls, rises and then unravels into spine-tingling, paroxysmal free jazz; ‘Going Blind’ finds Beraha’s spirited, precise voice tracing a weightless pathway to eventual freedom; and closing ‘Sunflower’ – a carefree dedication to the leader’s daughter, Emelie – eases out to blithe trumpet, unison horn phrases and Ivo Neame’s characteristically breezy piano.

Andre Canniere is thrilled by the way his new project, with its jazz, indie rock and songwriting influences, has come to fruition: “These are great musicians who intuitively ‘bring their thing’ to my compositions, which is what I love; and I’ve been crazy about the work of Rilke and Bukowski for some time – it can affect people in many different ways. So if I can turn listeners onto some great poetry, introducing them to something in addition to the music, then that’s great.”

Press Highlights

"A fine example of a stellar line-up achieving a remarkable amalgam of depth, warmth and sensitivity."

★★★★ All About Jazz

"Canniere's instrumentals confirm his composing power... The band is terrific."

★★★★ The Guardian

"The Darkening Blue is Canniere's most ambitious, wide-ranging and personal album to date."

Jazzwise Magazine (feature)

"The musicianship is beyond reproach."

Bebop Spoken Here

"A lovely sound, with melodic lines flowing easily off into improvisations."

The Jazz Breakfast

“Varied and intriguing... The pairing of Canniere with tenorist Tori Freestone is a delight."

Jazzwise Magazine

"This is sophisticated yet accessible music, immaculately performed by a crack band of highly compatible musicians."

Jazz Views

"A tremendous band, w​ho all impress individually and collectively."​

The Northern Echo

Andre Canniere Website

https://twitter.com/RepublicOfJazz

Phronesis - Life to Everything (Vinyl Edition) 2015

Life to Everything is the new live album by Anglo/Scandinavian trio Phronesis, recorded over three shows ‘in the round’ at The Cockpit, London as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival in November 2013. 

Since the success of their fourth album ‘Walking Dark’ two years ago, the trio have been on a meteoric rise, gaining acclaim from fans over two tours of the USA and Canada and a tour of Australia, whilst also rising to the forefront of the European club and festival scene. With so much time spent on the road and a reputation for spell-binding roller-coaster live performances, (which led to Jazzwise once describing them as one of the most exciting bands on the planet), it was natural for the band to want to record their fifth album in front of a live audience. In Høiby’s words – ‘performing live has been the strength of this trio from the start – it sparks an extra focus, excitement and joy. As the album title suggests – it’s where everything comes to life’.

Released April 7, 2014 

Recorded by Matt Robertson on 16th & 17th November 2013 over three performances at The Cockpit, London as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. 

Mixed by August Wanngren in Copenhagen, December 2013. Mastered by Thomas Eberger in Stockholm, December 2013. 

Photographs and cover by Dave Maric Produced by Phronesis

JASPER HØIBY double bass

IVO NEAME piano

ANTON EGER drums

01. Urban Control (Anton Eger) 

02. Phraternal (Ivo Neame) 

03. Behind Bars (Jasper Høiby) 

04. Song for Lost Nomads (Ivo Neame) 

05. Wings 2 the Mind (Jasper Høiby) 

06. Nine Lives (Jasper Høiby) 

07. Deep Space Dance (Ivo Neame) 

08. Herne Hill (Anton Eger) 

09. Dr Black (Anton Eger)

Bonus tracks

10. Charm Defensive (live from Jazzhouse, Copenhagen)

11. Democrazy (live from Jazzhouse, Copenhagen)

12. Lipwash (live from Jazzhouse, Copenhagen)

BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

JAVI