Darren Arthurs

3 weeks ago | jazzjournal.co.uk | Darren Arthurs

Aside from having possibly the best album title so far this year, Oliver Lutz seems to mix 70s euro-synth with dreamy horns and the result is laid-back jazz that could accompany any holiday playlist over the summer. Immediately enjoyable, the title track will lower your blood pressure, settle your BPM and have you nodding your head for the duration.

1 month ago | jazzjournal.co.uk | Darren Arthurs

Do you know that feeling where you pick up an album and immediately know that you’re going to like it? Well, that is the feeling I got here. Glasgow gypsy-jazzers Rose Room are well established and the chances are that if you like this brand of jazz, with its intricate guitar and saucy fiddle, you’ll already know them. This music is all about joy.

2 months ago | jazzjournal.co.uk | Darren Arthurs

Andy Hague is a well-respected trumpet player from Bristol and within the 10 tracks here you get a snippet of what to expect if you catch his big band in action. The recording seems a little bit “bootleg” (by that I mean it’s not too fancy or precious) and I think this is an advantage; what you hear is what was played and at times it really soars. Often live albums lack the energy you get from physically being in the room but somehow this manages to keep the urgency and energy. Brilliant stuff.

Mar 5, 2025 | jazzjournal.co.uk | Darren Arthurs

Back in 2012 a video kept appearing on my social media. It featured a man in a hat playing double bass with a black labrador sleeping happily to the right of the screen. At the time I was taking the leap from electric bass to double bass so I was lapping up any footage of double-bass playing I could find, and this video made me sit up and question if I should just stick to electric bass because what I heard was something totally different to anything I heard people do before.

Feb 1, 2025 | jazzjournal.co.uk | Darren Arthurs

There is an old saying here in the UK: “One’s man muck is another man’s brass”, and, in the arena of jazz – especially in improvisational jazz – one’s man noise is another man’s music. Where you stand when it comes to Bloodcog will depend on if you can pick out music from the noise.