Japan Archives - JAZZ IMPRESSIONS

Routes: A Jazz Impressions Podcast – Episode 11 (A Mildly Festive Special)

Grab your winter coat and koto, we’re back with a slightly seasonal special! In this episode, we chart floral and festive paths from the library music-inspired serenity of Sven Wunder’s ‘Snowdrops’, to Roland Kirk’s honktacular rendering of ‘We Free Kings’. En route we take in hip-hop, Japanese jazz and even some Christmas music, plus a brief rundown of some of our favourite albums of the year. Stay tuned as we get cooking again in 2024.

You can also find us on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts!

Tracklists below (SPOILERS!)

Routes: A Jazz Impressions Podcast – Episode 9

We take flight in Episode 9 with two classic live cuts: Joe Henderson’s ‘Junk Blues’ and Don Pullen & George Adams’ ‘Saturday Night In The Cosmos’. But what’s the best route? Via Italy and Japan? Or as the crow flies? Ornithophobics need not apply. Thanks for all your support in this first year of the podcast and stay tuned for more Routes in the new year. Keep watching the skies!

Also available on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tracklists below (SPOILERS!)

Routes: A Jazz Impressions Podcast – Episode 7

What links the ambient jazz of Bennie Maupin’s ‘Past + Present = Future’ and the dusty grooves of DJ Krush’s ‘Dig This Vibe’? What is the best soundtrack to getting probed by aliens? And what is the French version of the Mafia? Find out all this and more in this abstract episode of the podcast – along with more of Ollie’s flawless impersonations of instrumental jazz.

Find us on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts!

Tracklists below (SPOILERS!)

McCoy Tyner – Valley Of Life

Today we pay tribute to McCoy Tyner, whose work from the 1950s right up until his death earlier this month made him “the most influential pianist-composer in modern jazz,” according to the Penguin Jazz Guide. Best known for his work in John Coltrane’s legendary quartet, Tyner was an extraordinary artist in his own right, recording countless classic albums for the likes of Impulse!, Blue Note and Milestone.

Duke Ellington – Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)

The last post looked at Duke Ellington’s album Money Jungle, a meeting of three of the greatest minds in jazz. We continue our journey with Ellington, this time looking at how he turned to the East for inspiration for his 1967 album, Far East Suite.