I thought about a year end retrospective but there has been so much new stuff that it would have been about six hours long. Instead more new things plus more selections from the recent albums that have risen to the top of the best of list….kicking things off with an exciting new single from TAB-D featuring the ever excellent Boz Hayward and the return of the wonderful Bikini Test Failure. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

PLAYLIST

This playlist delves deep into the vibrant landscape of contemporary independent jazz and improvised music, showcasing an eclectic mix of sounds that defy easy categorization. From the rhythmic sophistication of Latin fusion and the intricate melodies of modern piano trios to boundary-pushing avant-garde improvisations, the selections deliberately cross genre lines. The journey takes listeners through structured compositions released on labels like Smoke Sessions and Harmony Pacific, into the raw, unscripted dialogues found in the catalogues of Relative Pitch and Klanggalerie. It is a sonic exploration that highlights a diverse range of global influences and innovative instrumental voices currently shaping the modern jazz scene

PLAYLIST

For Christmas Eve an eclectic mix delivering the best in new Australian Music, tidbits from recent releases on Half Edge Records, tracks from some of the best releases of 2025 and a dip in the archive for some magic from The Cramps. We kick off with a new tune from the excellent Melbourne band The Silversound.

PLAYLIST

The Silversound - Rose City 

The Cramps - Call of the Wighat 

Adventures of Salvador - Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? 

Inca Babies - Daniella 

Beta Voids - MeatHead Look 

Paul Kidney Japanese Experience - Manual Of Error 

2 Lost Souls - Cartoon Humans 

Breath After Coma - Lunatics 

Bleak Squad - Ghost of the Bad Humour Man 

Saapato - Ravens 

Géraldine Eguiluz & Michel F Côté - Les grands départs 

Ember Rev - Subterranean 

Moff Skellington - ebrethnok oostyann gassop 

2 Lost Souls - Collision Man

Lowsunday - Innocence (2025 Electromix) 

The Dream Syndicate - Armed With An Empty Gun 

Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes - Scorched Earth Love Affair (Live) 

The Go-Betweens - Sign Of The Unicorn (Airlock Demo) 

The Apartments - That’s What the Music Is For (When the Fair’s Over) 

Mark Snarski - That Machine 

Jodie Langford - Breastmilk Cheesecake 

2 Lost Souls - Satan Chuckles 

Tortoise - Layered Presence 

Marcel Gidote’s Holy Crab - Sooner or Later 

kandodo - Solstice  

Agent Starling - Jokul Frosti 

Mark Corrin - Christmas Grump by Ian Moss 

A raft of new releases is dominated by female pianists offering cutting edge music. In between two new discoveries of Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing live plus other exciting ground-breaking albums and to close something to reflect the season.

PLAYLIST

Yelena Eckemoff  “Strandvägen Pier” from Rosendals Garden (L&H Production) 00:00

Juan Bayon “Anti-Monitor” from Como Enfrentar al Mundo Entero (ears&eyes) 07:58

B.I.T. DUO with Danielle Di Majo and Manuela Pasqui “Luce di mezznotte” from R-Esistenze (Filibusta Records) 15:38 

Nadia Labrie “Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio - Part 2. Sentimentale” from Flûte Passion — Hommage à Claude Bolling (ATMA Classique) 20:46

Rahsaan Roland Kirk “Kirk’s Delight” from Vibrations in the Village: Live at the Village Gate (Resonance Records) 29:20 

Amir ElSaffar New Quartet “Orientations I-V” from Live at Pierre Boulez Saal (Maqam Records) 41:45

Haeun Joo “Until The End” from Just Gravity (577 Records) 58:26

Satoko Fujii Quartet “Solar Orbit” from Burning Wick (Libra Records) 1:05:33 

Hugo Blouin “Un camion pizza” from Le buffet (Ambiances Magnétiques) 1:18:21 

Carl Ross “Freetime Blues” from Distant Colours (Jazz Hang Records) 1:25:10 

Bellbird “The Call” from The Call (Constellation) 1:34:57 

Rahsaan Roland Kirk “Prelude To A Kiss” from Seek & Listen : Live at The Penthouse (Resonance Records) 1:41:29 

Out Of/Into “Juno” from Motion II (Blue Note Records) 1:49:11

Maria Kaushansky “So Long Centrepoint Mall” from Northbound To Finch  (Flat 6th Records) 1:57:09

Kevin Brown Quintet “Phos Hilaron” from Adventus (Self-Released) 2:02:19 

Starting and finishing in the Greater Manchester region this playlist provides and aural journey around the more obscure nooks and crannies of the world of music. Some familiar names are mixed in with new artists providing for a rich palate of unique offerings, some of them quite sonically unsettling.

PLAYLIST

Inca Babies - Buster’s On Fire

Mellowdeath - 1772 

Nuclear Dudes - The Octopus

The Residents - Betty’s Body

Self-Immolation Music - Hearing Voices

Black Rose Burning - Roses In The Dark

AudioGust - I Didn’t Hear What You Said 

Oliver James Brookes - Too Dark To See 

Hansan - Gunga 

taupe - Lemonade Tycoon

Zihua Tan & No Banda - Remnants Present

Algol, Camilo Ángeles, Christian Lillinger, Elias Stemeseder - III 

Captain Narwhal - Sweet Lady of The Proverbs

Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes - Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Where I Hide (Live)

The Apartments - Another Sun Gone Down

On Diamond - Another Sip 

Mark Snarski - Less Than Tender Arms

The Go-Between - Spirit (Airlock Demo)

Ember Rev- Creepers Crawl

Moff Skellington - Hevverstock vaunts paglish

West Coast Sick Line - Smells Like Family

The Dream Syndicate - Burn

2 Lost Souls - Asphyxiate

Starting and finishing in the Greater Manchester region this playlist provides and aural journey around the more obscure nooks and crannies of the world of music. Some familiar names are mixed in with new artists providing for a rich palate of unique offerings, some of them quite sonically unsettling.

PLAYLIST

Inca Babies - Buster’s On Fire

Mellowdeath - 1772 

Nuclear Dudes - The Octopus

The Residents - Betty’s Body

Self-Immolation Music - Hearing Voices

Black Rose Burning - Roses In The Dark

AudioGust - I Didn’t Hear What You Said 

Oliver James Brookes - Too Dark To See 

Hansan - Gunga 

taupe - Lemonade Tycoon

Zihua Tan & No Banda - Remnants Present

Algol, Camilo Ángeles, Christian Lillinger, Elias Stemeseder - III 

Captain Narwhal - Sweet Lady of The Proverbs

Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes - Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Where I Hide (Live)

The Apartments - Another Sun Gone Down

On Diamond - Another Sip 

Mark Snarski - Less Than Tender Arms

The Go-Between - Spirit (Airlock Demo)

Ember Rev- Creepers Crawl

Moff Skellington - Hevverstock vaunts paglish

West Coast Sick Line - Smells Like Family

The Dream Syndicate - Burn

2 Lost Souls - Asphyxiate

This set moves through solo sketches, trio interplay, and full ensemble fire, tracing acoustic and electric textures across studio, live, and archival formats. It opens with flowing piano, moves into exploratory trio improvisation, and shifts between guitar meditations, reworked soul and rock standards, and tightly arranged ensemble writing. Abstract textures and ambient passages emerge mid-set, followed by groove-based phrasing, UK archival material, and layered acoustic duets. The final track dips into the archive for a rhythm-forward piece built around bass and percussion.

PLAYLIST

What is cool? What is trendy? Who decides these things? In the context of this show what constitutes “Different”? In simplistic terms people send me things, or I buy them, based on past listening experience. I listen to them, if they sound sufficiently interesting, or they tug at some emotional string somewhere in the brain or heart, then they get on the show. This music sounds good to me, not stuck in some mainstream dreamed up in a committee meeting somewhere. It feels like Miles Davis Birth of the Cool did when I first heard it, recognisable as jazz but somehow completely unique in its’ construction of delivery. So this is “cool” music, or is it?

PLAYLIST

Another eclectic mix of Jazz from around the world includes a good portion of self-released material. Traditional jazz forms mingle with ambient, rock and fusion to create a fascinating playlist. The show concludes with two recent live albums from the formative years of British jazz.

PLAYLIST

ung Stratmann Quartet “Tree Huggers” from Confluence (Self Released) 00:00

Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project “Southbound Train” from The Project (Self Released) 06:43

Lena Bloch “I Refuse” from Marina (Fresh Sound Records) 14:12

Josh Rager “Fathers and Sons” from Heart’s Pace (Bent River Records) 22:26

David G White Trio “The Novitiate” from While Your Were Sleeping (Self Released/Burning Chairs Records) 29:44

The Jellyfish “Shadows” from The Jellyfish (Self Released) 36:34

N∆BOU “Unpersuadable Extern” from Indigo (Edition Records) 42:02

Nikola Bankov “5AM” from Everwanted (AMP Music & Records) 49:20

Dave Douglas “Demigods” from Alloy-Extras (Greenleaf) 56:43

Guano Padano plays with Enrico Rava “Lynch” from La Giostra (Hora Records) 1:03:45

kansha 感謝 “Portrait” from Jazz in Meanjin 019 - Live at Echo & Bounce (4000 Records) 1:09:55

Thomas Strønen : Time Is A Blind Guide “Fall” from Off Stillness (ECM Records) 1:18:49

Dan Kinzelman and Stefano Costanzo “Coil” from Infinite Ramp (Hora Records) 1:25:51

Wojtek Mazolewski “Slavic Forest” from Solo (WMQ Records) 1:32:37

Johanna Linnea Jakobsson “Out Of Mind” from Don’t Overthink It (Zack’s Talent) 1:37:04

Larry Stabbins, Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo-Moholo “Shield (Excerpt)” from Live in Foggia (Cadillac) 1:39:49

Mike Osborne/Stan Tracey “Original Part 1 (Excerpt)” from Original (Cadillac) 1:54:15

An eclectic mix of mostly new material with more than average Antipodean content, lots of Mancunian elements, and a blend of styles and movements that on first examination might appear contradictory but when listened to in sequence there is an organic flow.

PLAYLIST