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“Martin is clearly less interested in technical showmanship than in creating spaces for reflection and feeling.”

@alexismartin_musique for @orangegrovepublicity

Full review at https://ukvibe.org

“Yet the sound remains unmistakably Per Texas Johansson: melancholy, curious, playful, imaginative, and profoundly human.”

@pertexasjohansson for @moserobiemusicproduction

Full review at https://ukvibe.org

“What he does instead is write music that lets extraordinary musicians sound even more extraordinary.”

@mattslocumjazz / #larrygrenadier / @dehmannuel for @sunnysiderec / @redcatpublicity

Full review at https://ukvibe.org

This month’s #bluenotetonepoet from #mccoytyner is ASANTE and it’s a box-ticker folks!

FYI. @jazzmanrecords have reissued this and you need it in your life. #rickeykelly monster.

From the moment the post dropped this morning I’ve been reading the new biography on Keith Tippett. Taking a tea break with my favourite ECM release this year from @markturner7670 to recharge the batteries!

“...the cold frameworks of the pieces are overcome by the humanity of the duo’s connection as they create melodic warmth over harmonic bare bones.”

@christophirnigermusic / @marc_perrenoud for @unitrecordsofficial / @jazzfuel

Full review at https://ukvibe.org

I’m back on @blue_in_green_radio today at 4pm (UK) with another episode of my Contemporary Eye series.

Contemporary Eye gives me the chance to focus on artists whose work I’ve admired across their catalogue — with previous shows celebrating names including Abe Rábade, André Carvalho, Jamie Saft, Ernesto Cervini, Guido Spannocchi and Thierry Péala. This week’s edition is dedicated to the music of drummer and composer Matt Slocum.

Matt Slocum has long impressed me with the way he balances lyrical sensitivity with restless rhythmic invention, and his new 2026 release, A Revolving Alliance, feels like one of his strongest statements yet. Recorded live to two-track analogue tape with bassist Larry Grenadier and guitarist Emmanuel Michael, the album captures a trio working with remarkable immediacy and intuition — first takes unfolding like fully formed conversations. Following the acclaim of Lion Dance, Slocum turns exclusively to original compositions here, creating music that feels deeply reflective while still full of movement and possibility.

There’s a quiet undercurrent of uncertainty, hope and social fracture running through the record, but it never loses its warmth or sense of discovery. Pieces including “A Disappearing Path”, “New Dream” and “Two Dragons” reveal Slocum not just as a drummer of extraordinary touch and detail, but as a composer shaping subtle and emotionally resonant narratives in real time.

Contemporary Eye airs today at 4pm and you can listen via the links below:

http://www.blueingreenradio.com
http://www.blueingreenradio.com/p/listenlive.html
TuneIn: bit.ly/2LBK0BD

“Conte and Lahs effortlessly meshed their styles together as two artists each bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to their own distinct productions.”

@nicolaconteofficial and @nico_lahs for @schemarecords / #edizioniishtar

Full review at https://ukvibe.org

Fourth spin today as I let the latest @mattslocumjazz album A REVOLVING ALLIANCE absorb fully. Faultless all-analogue vinyl experience. His catalogue grows and widens. Again, thanks to @berniegrundmanmastering @redcatpublicity and @sunnysiderec for believing in the music. Spinning tonight on @thorens_turntable × @audiotechnicaemea x #grahamslee x @sugdenaudio x @harbethaudioltd

And here we see @mattslocumjazz in the wild with 2024’s LION DANCE for @sunnysiderec all-analogue king of the vinyl jungle with @berniegrundmanmastering to boot. Spinning tonight on @thorens_turntable × @audiotechnicaemea x #grahamslee x @sugdenaudio x @harbethaudioltd

My go-to all-analogue @mattslocumjazz reference album WITH LOVE AND SADNESS for testing out new hifi and components since 2022 is back on the #thorensturntable tonight. @sunnysiderec @berniegrundmanmastering Spinning tonight on @thorens_turntable × @audiotechnicaemea x #grahamslee x @sugdenaudio x @harbethaudioltd