The Jazz Mann | Jazz music reviews and news from the Jazz Mann Ian Mann

Winner of the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Media, 2019

Jazz Album Reviews

Sam Green

Rivers and Lakes

An impressive debut from Green. His writing is intelligent, atmospheric, and exhibits a strong sense of narrative and sense of place, plus a distinctive group sound.

Guido Spannocchi Quartet

Kammermusik

David Bowden

Unsung Songs

Sara Colman & Rebecca Nash

Ribbons Vol. 1

Martin Speake Big Band

Hidden Vision – the arrangements of Charlie Rees

Jack Wilson

The Bear And The Wolf

Aidan Thorne / Jason Ball Duo

Poems of a Space

Jazz Mann Recommended Listening

Hilary Geddes Quartet

Redleaf

The music of “Redleaf” is difficult to categorise (as is always the best way) but it is richly evocative and superbly played, striking a good balance between composition and improvisation.

Hannah Horton

Stories on the Wind

Horton's most ambitious and most fully realised work to date. Her writing combines accessibility with musical sophistication and is strong in terms of both melody and rhythmic colour and texture.

Tomos Williams’ Cwmwl Tystion

Cwmwl Tystion III / Empathy

The standard of the writing and playing throughout the series has been exceptional. Cwmwl Tystion really has been a major triumph for Tomos Williams

Julian Arguelles

Echo Fields

“Echo Fields” is as good as anything that Arguelles has recorded. This is a mature record from an artist who is still at the peak of his creative powers.

Live Jazz Reviews

BMJ Collective with Fabienne Ambuehl

BMJ Collective with Fabienne Ambuehl, Black Mountain Jazz, Melville Centre for the Arts, Abergavenny, 12/07/2026.

Josephine Davies

Josephine Davies Satori Quartet, Shrewsbury Jazz Network, The Hive Music & Media Centre, Shrewsbury, 11/07/2026.

Matt Skelton’s Blackhawk Quintet

Matt Skelton presents ‘The Blackhawk Quintet: Celebrating Shelly Manne’ at Jazz at Progress, Progress Theatre, Reading, Berkshire, 03/07/2026.

Gareth Williams / Dave Green Duo

Gareth Williams / Dave Green Duo Play Music Inspired by Bill Evans & Scott LaFaro, Cheltenham Jazz Club, The Victory Club, Cheltenham, 29/06/2026.

Fiona Ross Quartet

Fiona Ross Quartet, Black Mountain Jazz, Melville Centre for the Arts, Abergavenny, 28/06/2026.

Alex Hitchcock Quartet

Alex Hitchcock Quartet, Music Spoken Here, The Marr’s Bar, Worcester, 25/06/2026.

Jazz Mann Features

First Saturday at Cheltenham Music Festival, 04/07/2026.

Ian Mann enjoys the global sounds of the trio Za Górami (Alice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas, Misha Mullov-Abbado) and the Senegalese / Irish duo of Dudu Kouate and Shunya.

Brecon Jazz Club presents Music Network Tân Cerdd, The Muse Arts Centre, Brecon, 09/06/2026.

Ian Mann enjoys this latest collaboration between Brecon Jazz Club and a collective of singers and musicians associated with the Cardiff based Tân Cerdd Community Interest Company.

Jazz Mann News

Geoff Wright stands down from Derby Jazz and MJAZZ.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Long serving jazz promoter and administrator Geoff Wright is taking a step back after fifty years of involvement with jazz in Derby and the wider East Midlands.

The Green Note, Camden Town, London - Newsletter 16/07/2026.