Seven of the Best

'It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends'. Taking her title from the essay by Joan Didion which closed the author's debut collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, this week Jess Williamson introduces her new album A Mile South of Heaven by way of the single and record opener 'Goodbye to All That'. The singer duly notes: Didion's essay is about leaving New York after eight years and how 'it's distinctly possible...

A couple of weeks ago Downbeat published their August issue and with it their 74th annual critics poll of the best in jazz. The list is a lengthy undertaking in so far as it contains 62 categories, which invite critics to vote for a mix of established figures and rising stars. The headlines for this 74th edition of the...

Kris Davis Trio - 'The Subtext' The title of the upcoming album Lost In Geneva by the Kris Davis Trio apparently relates to the pitfalls and pratfalls of life on tour, in this case one of those mishaps - a missing piece of luggage or a cartographical abnormality or a simple journey gone awry - that always seems to occur...