Alex Woods Quartet - Highline (September 17, 2021 Stoney Lane Records)

The much awaited debut from wonderful Birmingham-born saxophonist Alex Woods, along with his New York/Scandinavian Quartet, for his debut Highline, inspired by three years of living in New York.

Using the classic sax, piano, bass, drums quartet, Highline branches off in new directions of improvisation with strands of folk, blues and classical influences pulling together Alex’s album of adventurous originals.

Featuring Billy Test, piano; Marty Kenney, bass; and Andreas Swendsen, drums. As a group, they transition seamlessly from beautifully melodic ballads to groove based works and energetic swing.

1. Tales Told

2. Between The Lines

3. Suite Part I

4. Suite Part II

5. Suite Part III

6. Clouds

7. Slow Walker

8. Testing The Waters

9. Lullaby

All music by Alex Woods

Recorded and mixed by Chris Sulit at Trading 8s, Paramus, NJ, USA

Mastered by Alejandro Merola at Superche, London, UK

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Xhosa Cole - K​(​no​)​w Them, K​(​no​)​w Us (July 30, 2021 Stoney Lane Records)

Xhosa Cole, the acclaimed 24 year-old award-winning saxophonist, is to release his much-anticipated debut album this summer, celebrating the rich tapestry of music and heritage of great African-American composers and improvisers - formative influences on his life and music - through a contemporary black British lens.

“... Cole expressed a touchingly modest reverence towards his great forebears, but there’s absolutely nothing modest about his playing, which is madly inventive at every moment and remarkably individual for one so young.” - The Telegraph

Featuring special guest appearances from fellow Birmingham-raised musicians – MOBO-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch and celebrated pianist Reuben James - K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us takes its inspiration from words by the great Dizzy Gillespie about Louis Armstrong - ‘no him, no me.’ As Cole explains, “this album acknowledges the shoulders on which all of the musicians in the band stand as one. To understand me and my music is to understand all the amazing teachers and musicians who have helped me along this path - without the greats who helped to forge this journey over half a century ago we wouldn’t be lucky enough to be walking in their footsteps today.”

Full of warmth, character and authenticity, K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us features seven pieces all with strong meaning to Cole. Opening with trumpeter Woody Shaw’s Zoltan, Xhosa recalls spending his late teens at Edgbaston reservoir in Birmingham repeatedly listening to clips of the album with a friend - “trying to milk all the little nuggets of information out of those moments of pure genius.” What’s New (Bob Haggart) was one of the very first jazz tunes Xhosa remembers hearing, from one of his favourite vocalists Ella Fitzgerald. “I’m what you call a hopeless romantic, which is why the old American song books resonate with me and get me all up in my feels!” Further tracks feature music from heroes Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan and Thelonious Monk. “There is no composer like Monk and there is no pianist like Monk. The depth of his groove coupled with his harmonic commitment and integrity makes for one BAD musician! I’ve learned so much trying to prize open his compositions - you have to mine for the abundance of gold and treasures he’s left humanity.”

• K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us releases on 30th July 2021 on Stoney Lane Records, available on CD, limited edition 180g vinyl and all digital platforms 

1. Zoltan

2. Blues Connotation

3. Manhattan

4. Played Twice

5. On A Misty Night

6. What's New

7. Untitled Boogaloo

8. Zoltan (radio edit)

Xhosa Cole - Saxophone

Jay Phelps - Trumpet

James Owston - Bass

James Bashford - Drums

with special guests

Soweto Kinch - Saxophone (6, 7)

Reuben James - Piano (3, 6, 7)

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Young Pilgrims - We're Young Pilgrims (2021 Stoney Lane Records)

Young Pilgrims, the addictive young brass band brimming with jazz-rock energy, release their much-anticipated new studio album We’re Young Pilgrims this June, alongside a cluster of live dates as Britain’s live music scene reawakens!

"The feverish, brassy, raucous intensity of 'Canal Tripping' is refreshing from Young Pilgrims new this June on Brum jazz indie Stoney Lane. The ballsy 'Hall of Meat' is also streaming drawn from We're Young Pilgrims. Strap yourself in." - Marlbank

Growing out of the thriving Birmingham jazz scene, Young Pilgrims have found themselves drawing fans from across Europe and beyond with their intense live performances - from beer-soaked dance floors to London’s South Bank, the Paris Jazz Festival to Love Supreme Festival.

The Pilgrims’ adventurous brass-heavy, rock-influenced sound is brought together by their explosive nine-strong line-up, featuring trumpets and trombones alongside the baritone sax, sousaphone and two drummers driving the band’s high-energy rhythmic groove.

With improvising invention set against their infectious melodies, the band follow their 2016 debut (Little Things) with their first fully produced studio album - released 18th June on Stoney Lane Records - with an unorthodox tour reclaiming Britain’s old bandstands, festivals and venue dates taking their imaginative music across the UK later in 2021 and into 2022.

Inspired by renegades, Scottish cities, skateboarding and even a brief and murky incursion into a local canal, We’re Young Pilgrims features eight originals from frontman Richard Foote alongside fellow Scots Kieran McLeod and drummer Jonathan Silk, with striking new arrangements of music from Vulfpeck, Elliot Smith and D’Angelo.

Canal Tripping is written in homage to trombonist Richard Foote’s unfortunate plunge from his bike into one of Birmingham’s canals, giving a nod to the now legendary passerby who saved Richard, his bike and his trombone from the depths of the waterways. Foote’s Hall of Meat, meanwhile, takes its name from “a notorious and gnarly” Instagram page from Thrasher Magazine, as Richard writes: “a tribute to all the skaters out there, taking slams, getting smoked, bouncing back up and making some serious tricks.” Silk’s original Pilgrimage draws inspiration from the band’s long-running residency at Birmingham’s Hare & Hounds, whilst i Of The Underground (Kieran McLeod) is a subtle nod to an oft-missed piece of design circulating around London since 1916. The lowercase ‘i’ designed by Uruguayan-born Edward Johnston, for the famous original London Underground typeface, represents all renegades and non-conformists, with the music conjuring images of typewriters, train noises and the many characters encountered on the Tube.

1. Intro 00:36

2. Rufio 05:34

3. Hall Of Meat 03:48

4. Kabuki Dance 08:01

5. Back Pocket 03:15

6. Pilgrimage 03:42

7. Everything Means Nothing To me 03:27

8. Dear Green Place 04:29

9. Canal Tripping 04:41

10. i of The Underground 04:21

11. Feel Like Making Love 06:29

Young Pilgrims are ...

Richard Foote – Trombone

Sam Wooster – Trumpet

Chris Maddock – Baritone Saxophone

Jonathan Silk – Drums

Mike Adlington – Trumpet

Euan Palmer – Drums

Sean Gibbs – Trumpet

Michael Owers – Sousaphone

Kieran McLeod – Trombone

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 composed by Richard Foote. Tracks 5 and 7 arranged by Richard Foote. Tracks 4 and 10 composed by Kieran Stickle McLeod, track 11 arranged by Kieran Stickle McLeod. Track 6 composed by Jonathan Silk. Track 5 written by Jack Stratton. Track 7 written by Steven Paul Smith.

Produced by James Gardiner-Bateman

Recorded by Luke Morrish-Thomas at East Cote Studios

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