New Music From Jackson, Gehenot, Arbenz, And More

World of Jazz 787

This selection offers a captivating journey through the expansive landscapes of contemporary jazz and avant-garde exploration, highlighting the incredible breadth of modern improvisation. By weaving together delicate chamber textures, spirited orchestral arrangements, and the visceral energy of experimental fusion, the sequence prioritises a sense of constant discovery. From intimate melodic conversations to the sprawling, historic depths of genre-defining masterworks, these tracks reflect a shared commitment to pushing boundaries while maintaining a profound emotional resonance. This is music designed for those who appreciate the interplay between structured tradition and the thrill of the unknown.

AUDIO

PLAYLIST

• Ashley Jackson “Udhero Na (feat. Emi Ferguson) from Cover Girl (Decca Records) 00:00¹

• Igor Gehenot Trio “Shining Face” from Shining Face (Hypnote Records/Igloo Records) 05:24²

• Florian Arbenz “Stomp” from Conversation_Lab 2025 (Hammer Recordings) 11:50³

• Fie Schouten, Vincent Courtois, Sofia Borges, Pierre Baux “the bed & the room” from Open Space (Relative Pitch Records) 27:04 ⁴

• Goal Weight: Maggie Cox and Jennifer Gersten “Your New Uncle” from Keep Telling Yourself That (Relative Pitch Records) 33:22 ⁵

• Amelia Ya’el “Beneath The Waves” from Voices 1 (Signbearer Records) 43:52⁶

• São Paulo Underground “Arnus Nusar” from Beija Flors Velho E Sujo (Cuneiform Records) 49:45 ⁷

• Jazzlab Orchestra “Night Bus” from Glissement du temps (Effendi Records) 57:31⁸

• Michel Bénébig Quartet “Tchubedu Blue” from Live at ATO (Rattle Records) 1:08:49 ⁹

• Teiku “Khasul Seydur Peysakh (Chasman melody)” from Klang (Gingko Records) 1:24:57¹⁰

• Jean Derome & Somebody Special “The Smile” from Le Sourire (Ambiances Magnétiques) 1:32:17¹¹

• Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” from The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (Columbia/Legacy) 1:39:50 ¹²

NOTES

1. Cover Girl celebrates the women who have fearlessly shaped the popular music landscape. With brand new arrangements, harpist Ashley Jackson pays homage to those artists who defied the limitations of genre, inspiring her own sense of what’s possible using the language of music. Although a purely instrumental album, Cover Girl is driven by the unforgettable melodies that defined generations. Cover Girl features the music by such popular icons as Nina Simone and Whitney Houston, who took pop music to new heights. The EP also includes music by newer artists including Arooj Aftab and concludes with “Dreaming my Dreams,” the simple yet heart-wrenching ballad by The Cranberries. Ashley is the primary performer with flautist Emi Ferguson joining her for this track.

2. This project marks a return to the classic piano trio format for the Liège-based artist, following a series of duo and funk-inflected experiments. Dedicated to Gehenot’s son, the album is characterised by a blend of melodic post-bop and “meditative” lyricism, featuring long-time collaborator Sal La Rocca on double bass and Italian drummer Umberto Odone. The repertoire consists of original compositions alongside refined interpretations of standards, emphasising a “luminous” and intimate atmosphere that reflects the collective maturity of the group.

3. A cross-continental jazz project launched by Swiss drummer and composer Florian Arbenz, serving as a new chapter following his ambitious 12-album “Conversation” series. The ensemble features a powerhouse quartet including American saxophone legend Greg Osby, London-based pianist Ivo Neame, and bassist Orlando Le Fleming. The project celebrates a 25-year professional relationship between Arbenz and Osby, while integrating the distinct rhythmic and harmonic visions of the London jazz scene. Musically, the collaboration spans a wide stylistic range, moving from hard-swinging solos and intricate post-bop improvisations to atmospheric, dreamy soundscapes. On the featured track the line-up includes Arno Krijger on Hammond B3

4. Open Space is a compelling avant-garde jazz and improvised music release. Recorded with a focus on textural depth and spontaneous dialogue, the album explores the sonic possibilities of acoustic instruments within a minimalist, atmospheric framework. By prioritising silence and subtle timbral shifts, the quartet creates a series of expansive soundscapes that live up to the “Open Space” title, offering listeners a masterclass in restrained, collective spontaneity. They say “The (improvised) music is inspired (and structured) by the iconic book of Georges Perec from 1974 titled Espèces d’espaces. We designed a musical story following the chronology and the emotional evolution of the book. Music, too, generally needs a ‘void’ to move. It demands openness and, as such, is an invitation.” The musicians on the release are Fie Schouten - clarinets, Vincent Courtois cello - Sofia Borges - drums, and Pierre Baux - spoken word.

5. The debut album of the New York City-based experimental bass-violin duo of Jennifer Gersten and Maggie Cox. It is a collection of improvised songs testifying to a frisky, impish, no-holds-barred imagination for acoustic string playing. Bassist Maggie Cox exploits her titanic expressive and dynamic range on an instrument outfitted with gut strings, and violinist Jennifer Gersten transforms a beater violin through object preparations into an engine of ghastly twangs. Jabbing and indistinct, abrasive and sweet, their magnetic language originates in a shared body of musical references that span the centuries, as well as an indomitable sense of humour about the indignities of downtown girlhood in our unprecedented times.

6. Chicago-based saxophonist and composer Amelia Ya’el announces the release of her debut album, Voices I, a bold and unflinching exploration of the baritone saxophone’s full sonic and physical potential. Centered on extended technique, timbral density, and long-form improvisational narrative, Voices I establishes Ya’el as a commanding new voice in creative music.

7. Beija Flors Velho E Sujo is the fourth album by São Paulo Underground released June 4, 2013. The group is an electronica-laced Tropicalia funhouse, a secret passage between Chicago’s volatile avant garde jazz scene and Brazil’s teeming creative capital. In this incarnation, SPU is a power trio and a post-modern orchestra rolled into one, marked by glistening sonic textures, seductive electronica beats, unabashedly beautiful melodies, an expansive improvisational palette and fiercely gleeful interplay. A potent program of new material honed during a 2012 North American tour, “Beija Flors” captures an ensemble hitting a fierce creative stride. Ecstatic, roiling and utterly unpredictable, the music flows from three distinct musical personalities united by “the idea of infinite love, the idea of breaking through to the other side through sonic power and beauty,” says Mazurek, a veteran disrupter of genre conventions. The line-up is Mauricio Takara - Percussion, Cavaquinho, Electronics; Guilherme Granado - Keyboards, Synths, Sampler, Voice, and, Rob Mazurek - Cornet, Evolver, Ring Modulator, Analog Delay, Harmonium

8. For two decades now, Montreal’s Jazzlab Orchestra has been a driving force for musical creativity in their home province of Québec, across Canada, and around the world. This unique collective - with 500 international concerts under their belt - is back with an exciting new project: an ambitious album that blends polyrhythmic, polytonal, and impressionistic musical textures into a mesmerizing new whole, driven by the sophisticated writing and improvisation that the group has long been Known for. Their new opus Slip of Time (Glissement du Temps in French), is an intrepid musical journey through ten original pieces (7 on CD, 4 on LP, and 10 released digitally) written by members of the collective as well as three other renowned jazz composers: François Bourassa, Gentiane MG, and Pierre de Bethmann. This project marks their 20th anniversary and is a landmark work in the group’s history. This album also serves as a tribute to saxophonist Mario Allard, an essential member of the collective who passed away suddenly in early 2025. His musical presence resonates in every note of this recording.

9. The inaugural album of a planned series of releases of in-concert jazz recordings supported by and recorded at Auckland’s ATO Jazz Club. Featuring Michel Bénébig (organ), Roger Manins (sax), Ron Samsom (drums), and Michael Howell (guitar), this exceptional line-up knocks their vibrant, high-spirited, life-affirming, organic jazz out of the park, creating in-the-moment music that is irresistibly infectious, defying one’s feet not to tap and one’s heart not to leap!

10. Chicago–Detroit avant-jazz quartet Teiku—pianist Josh Harlow, percussionist Jonathan Barahal, bass clarinetist Jason Stein, and double bassist Jaribu Shahid—with their sophomore album out June 5, 2026. Harlow and Barahal founded Teiku to interpret their respective families’ unique Passover melodies as conduits for spontaneous musical expression. Their debut, released in 2024, was a meditation on their shared history and a tribute to the aurally transmitted ancestral melodies that they grew up singing. Klang, expands on this concept by drawing source material from the wider community, rare manuscripts, voice recordings, and memories of late-night ritualistic chants. Five of the six tracks represent the same Passover song/liturgical text, but each, due to regional and family variations, is a completely distinct and unique melody. These melodies are transfigured, deconstructed, and reframed, but their essence, of gathering, collective power, and remembrance, remains.

11. Jean Derome, one of Ambiances Magnétiques’ founders and is one of Québec’s most celebrated musicians. Born in 1955, Derome has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and his back-catalogue includes international collaborations with the likes of Lê Quan Ninh, Fred Frith, the Louis Sclavis Quartet, Chris Cutler, Tristan Honsinger, and Tom Cora. Le sourire features his all-star band Somebody Special and follows the approach found on their self-titled debut release: reimagining the songs of saxophonist and composer Steve Lacy. Derome leads the outfit on alto horn, bass flute and occasional voice, and enlists both collaborators from his longtime trio project (bassist Normand Guilbeault and Pierre Tanguay on drums), then adds the legendary Montréal vocalist Karen Young and the dense, elegant piano work of Alexandre Grogg. Lacy was known for his engagement with a wide range of literary texts in his songs and the authors featured here include Anna Akhmatova, Samuel Beckett, Robert Creeley, Bob Kaufman, and Judith Malina. The result may be firmly rooted in jazz, but remains committed to a vision of it as a living artform, and thus leaves ample room for playfulness and exploration.

12. Celebrating the legendary trumpeter in his centenary year with the title track from his transformative sessions recorded between August 19, 1969, and February 6, 1970. Listening 56 years later this music still has extraordinary power. The four disc box set from which this track is taken includes the original album plus later recordings. The track began the session and was recorded August 19, 1969 featuring Miles Davis – trumpet, Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone, Bennie Maupin – bass clarinet, Joe Zawinul – electric piano (left), Chick Corea – electric piano (right), John McLaughlin – electric guitar, Dave Holland – bass, Harvey Brooks – electric bass, Lenny White – drum set (left), Jack DeJohnette – drum set, (right), Don Alias – congas and Juma Santos (credited as “Jim Riley”) – shaker, congas.