Europe Jazz Media Chart July 2026

Yves Tassin, JazzMania:

ANU JUNNONEN & TUUR FLORIZOONE
White Paper
Aventura Musica

BANDCAMP
YOUTUBE

Yves Tassin:

"Time has had no hold over the sensitivity and romanticism of their collaboration, nor over their originality" (Jean-Pierre Goffin)

Jos Demol, jazzhalo.be:

PIERRE VAIANA, MATHIEU ROBERT,
FABIAN FIORINI Daedalos
Igloo Records

BANDCAMP
YOUTUBE

Jos Demol:

“The labyrinth on the cover probably better describes the trio’s winding musical paths. Their sonic imaginings and improvisation are simply not linear, but require the discovery of new paths. Even the trio’s line-up differs significantly from that of a classic jazz ensemble. There is no bass or drums. This raises the question of what the trio’s actual focus is – or whether it drifts along different orbits, gets lost on wrong turns, finds harmony or dissonance. So let us allow ourselves to be captivated by the world of Daedalos.” (Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther)

Kaspars Zavileiskis, jazzin.lv:

EDGARS CĪRULIS Imaginarium
Jersika Records

BANDCAMP

Kaspars Zavileiskis:

"Latvian jazz pianist Edgars Cīrulis has proven himself to be a versatile artist. Jazz programs with his wife, singer Kristīne Cīrule, then Trio Elpo where jazz thinking meets contemporary music and even rock overtones, as well as other projects, but this is his first solo album. It is truly a solo piano by one musician and touches equally well on the neo-classical field or simply peacefully enjoyable instrumental piano music. However, Edgars Cīrulis' jazz gene shines through in these small compositions, which overall create a relaxed, but also philosophical atmosphere. Among the original works are compositions created by his wife Kristīne, Danish double bass player Albert Reinholdt Østergaard and the legendary Catalan pianist Federico Mompou. Imaginarium has been released on a suitably ascetic designed vinyl and should be considered a great soundtrack for gentle summer moments of enjoyment with a glass of wine in hand. Welcome to the world of a modern and imaginative composer."

Jacek Brun, www.jazz-fun.de:

PARZHUBER TRIO Parz
Owl Way Records

jazz-fun.de
BANDCAMP

Jacek Brun:

"Sometimes a single syllable is enough to express an entire idea.
PARZ is more than an abbreviated version of drummer Alex Parzhuber’s surname. It is a statement of intent. A reduction to the essential. An attempt to leave everything superfluous behind in order to reveal the core of a musical vision.
In the summer of 2025, Alex Parzhuber, Fabian Dudek (alto saxophone, Ableton, wind controller), and Oliver Lutz (electric bass) entered Cologne’s Linie1 Studio to record their second album together. The result possesses the immediacy and energy of a live session while embracing the precision of contemporary studio production. These two qualities are not at odds here; rather, spontaneity and sonic clarity reinforce one another.
The influence of Knower’s uncompromising rhythmic drive and Bon Iver’s expansive sonic landscapes can certainly be heard, yet the trio transforms these inspirations into a language entirely its own. Jazz, electronic music, and contemporary production techniques merge into an organic whole that defies easy categorization.
A particularly significant role is played by pianist Olga Reznichenko, who appears on three key tracks of the album. Her contribution reaches far beyond conventional piano playing. Through her synthesizer textures and unmistakable musical imagination, she considerably expands the trio’s sonic palette. Suddenly, the music opens in every direction, gaining depth and spatial dimension. Moments emerge in which the groove is not merely sustained but illuminated from within.
Equally remarkable are the musicians’ solos. They are not simply extensions of the compositions or virtuosic displays of technical prowess. Instead, they tell stories of their own, develop individual dramatic arcs, and repeatedly offer fresh perspectives on the musical narrative. Here, improvisation becomes an independent storyteller.
Yet the album’s greatest strength lies elsewhere. What matters is not the sum of its individual parts, but the collective sound they create together. One no longer hears drums, bass, and saxophone existing side by side. Instead, one hears a single musical organism that breathes, thinks, and responds as one. It is precisely this quality that makes the album difficult to measure against familiar standards.
Perhaps we are witnessing the emergence of a new aesthetic. Not a stylistic revolution, but a new way of making music together. PARZ is not a concept that asks to be explained. It reveals itself through listening—immediate, surprising, and filled with creative energy.
And so one thought remains above all: some albums expand our record collection. Others expand our understanding of what music itself can be."

Bega Villalobos, In&OutJazzMagazine:

RODRIGO AMADO
THIS IS OUR LANGUAGE QUARTET Wailers
European Echoes Archive Series

BANDCAMP
Inandout-jazz.es

Bega Villalobos:

"Rodrigo Amado – tenor and alto saxophone, Joe McPhee – tenor saxophone, Kent Kessler – double bass and Chris Corsano – drums.
Wailers, the excellent new album by Portuguese saxophonist and master improviser, Rodrigo Amado. And the quartet he re-assembles for the record is predictably top-notch."

Mike Flynn, Jazzwise:

THE SOLOMON GUNDY BAND Hancestry
selfreleased

BANDCAMP

Krzysztof Komorek, Donos kulturalny:

VOICE ACT WITH JIM BLACK Bee Space
Fundacja Słuchaj

Donos.home.blog
BANDCAMP

Krzysztof Komorek:

“Two years after studio album by Voice Act, we received an album featuring the live rendition of this project. Bee Space was recorded during the first edition of the kxntrst festival. The quartet appeared on stage accompanied by a special guest – the outstanding drummer and improviser Jim Black. Drums are neither typically associated with nor designed for accompanying the voice alone. However, here the voice is treated as an instrument, and the improvised material lends itself well to such collaboration. Both the quartet and the drummer can boast experience and familiarity with such situations. Jim Black fit perfectly into his role. He entered into a dialogue, commented, added to the narrative, and sometimes countered the vocals. He skillfully moderated his presence – sometimes marking it only with single strokes, other times "playing" through absence, leaving space solely for the voices."

Jan Granlie, salt-peanuts.eu:

RED KITE This Too Shall Pass
Is It Jazz? Records

Jan Granlie:

“Red Kite is one of Norway's super bands in the landscape where jazz and rock meet in an excellent way. This is the quartet's most emotionally charged release to date, where guitarist Even Helte Hemansen's brilliant guitar playing and fine, and slightly melancholic compositions, lead the other musicians (Gisle Johansen’s briliant saxophones, Trond Frønes steady bass, Torstein Lofthus’s heavy drums, and the guest, Ståle Storløkken’s nice keyboards), in eight beautiful compositions. And the last song can almost be compared to the ending of The Band on The Last Waltz, so monumental and beautiful as is it. And when we think it's over, they "creep" in with an ending that swings deep into the soul. Beautiful! And when they end on the "three", we are left sitting there just waiting for the fourth beat, which could have been a solid drum ending, but which never comes. Clever!”

Christine Stephan, JAZZTHETIK:

ROBINSON KHOURY MŸA Transara
ACT / Edel

PODCAST HÖRBAR
YOUTUBE
RADIO FRANCE

Dick Hovenga, Written in Music:

YOUR BROTHER’S KEEPER & GARY BARTZ
Where Rivers Meet
Brownswood Recordings

Written in Music

Dick Hovenga:

"In these confusing times, we need more jazz, especially spiritual jazz. Music that not only demands your attention but also gives you a sense of warmth. Legendary American saxophonist Gary Bartz and drummer Jake Long, one of the leading musicians in the London jazz scene, got in touch for a new collaboration. Long put together a band, and Where Rivers Meet is the beautiful result.
In 2019, like-minded musical souls came together: Bartz and the young London band Maisha, the group led by drummer Jake Long. This collaboration, a brilliant idea of the record label Night Dreamer, produced a wonderfully inspired album at the Artone studio in Haarlem with the Night Dreamer Direct-to-Disc Sessions.
Where Rivers Meet is comparable in that respect, because Long brought former Maisha members Ali MacSween (piano, synthesizers and modular FX), Axel Kaner-Lidstrom (trumpet), Twm Dylan (double bass) and Tim Doyle (percussion) into the studio."

Viktor Bensusan, jazzdergisi.com:

MARIAM WALLENTIN / VESTNORSK
JAZZENSEMBLE Spring Flood
Hubro

BANDCAMP
YOUTUBE

Viktor Bensusan:

"If Billie Holiday had the chance to meet Leonard Cohen, she might have issued an album like this. A Swedish singer-songwriter backed by a dynamic Norwegian band has produced an album after a visit to a Swiss city. This is an album full of poetry, strings and horns, stories to tell (or yell), stories yet untold, with reminiscences of Basel (why not with fresh basil), Kjetil Møster as the artistic director and master musician.
Mariam may soon become "My Funny Wallentin"...""

Henning Bolte, freelance:

BOI AKIH Entangled
enja

Henning Bolte:

"Songs are haunting through the vibrations and vastness of space. In what way, what shape are they lingering there or finding their way in moving our spirits and souls? They emerge and manifest themselves in manifold ways and we discover, recognise and shape them ourself via the enormous variety of our talking voices and talking temperaments from different deeper grounds and fanning heights, thereby transforming them together in figures for exchange. In that process we often ignore things or separate things from each other before we grasp and understand the transitions, connections and unity.
The 11th album of the Dutch-Moluccan duo Boi Akih has its focus on that inner and outer process, make the layers, edges, wanderings, rustling, murmuring, hissing, rubbing, the universe of taking shape perceivable and audible and becoming aware where things appear to be connected in astonishing ways. It all terminates in a song about gathering wild honey in the rain forest of the Maluku and discovering the philosophy of a wise honey hunter.
Boi Akih is the duo of vocalist Monica Akihary, recipient of the Boy Edgar Award, the most prestigious Dutch jazz price, and composer/guitarist Niels Brouwer. The duo also works with a larger ensemble of Dutch and French musicians."

Tony Dudley-Evans, UK Jazz News:

NEBBIA / BANNER / ANDRZEJEWSKI Presencia
Ears&Eyes Records

BANDCAMP

Tony Dudley-Evans:

"After a series of European dates in which the music was worked on and developed, this album was recorded in a Berlin studio by three musicians from the Berlin scene. Saxophonist Camila Nebbia is originally from Argentina, and bassist James Banner is from the UK,but both have been part of the scene in the German capital for more than a decade. Drummer Max Andrzejewski was born there . All three are known for their playing in free jazz and improvised music contexts, but on this album they move between composition and improvisation, often blurring the boundaries between the two."

Lars Mossefinn, Dag og tid:

WALDEMAR 4 Mystiske nr. 10
Slaraffensongs

YOUTUBE

Patrik Sandberg, Orkesterjournalen:

STEVE SWALLOW Vinter Songs
ECM

Patrik Sandberg:

"Bassist Steve Swallow teams up with Chris Cheek on sax and Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Adam Nussbaum on drums, guitarist Steve Cardenas and Gil Goldstein on piano. Nine collected originals make up a fluid swing, thoughtful balladry and a chamber-music-like sense of space and interplay in full bloom."

Cim Meyer, All That ...:

MIHO HAZAMA & THE DANISH
RADIO BIG BAND Imaginary Visions
Edition Records

Cim Meyer:

“Between each monthly Chart, I manage to hear about 100 releases. Some months there are many goodies, for example IMAGINARY VISION, which was put aside in 2022. None of the releases I have heard in the last month has surpassed it.
Miho Hazama is an exciting composer and arranger. She lives in New York and embraces both symphonic classical music and the American big band tradition from Thad Jones to Jim McNeely to Maria Schneider, while of course she also has a backdrop from her native country: Japan. Hazama is full of ideas that are constantly springing into her arrangements. She wants a lot – for some probably too much. It is demanding music both for the orchestra and for the listeners. However, The Danish Radio Big Band realizes her visions to perfection and demonstrates the extent of the orchestra’s diversity and high instrumental level. One of the most important parameters for success as an orchestra leader is to understand the individual qualities and characteristics in the band. Hazama is capable of that too.”

Matthieu Jouan, citizenjazz.com:

HILDE Timbre
Boomslang Records

Matthieu Jouan:

"One might think that Hilde is an unclassifiable project that gradually finds its footing, using the song format as a compass, but that would be far too simplistic—precisely because the balance among the musicians allows for numerous gaps in which they can express great freedom and pay significant homage to Western composed music and improvisation. This project asserts its great aesthetic freedom. Hilde is on a very colorful and enjoyable path." (Franpi Barriaux)

Axel Stinshoff, Jazz thing:

JOE LOVANO Paramount Quartet
ECM

Luca Vitali, Giornale della Musica:

FUTURO ANCESTRALE (doronzo, kyriakides,
moor, rosaly) Elsewhen
Unsounds records and Tora Records

BANDCAMP