New Release Friday

Once again it’s Friday and that means the new releases have dropped. Our New Jazz Releases Spotify playlist is updated each Friday with the tracks that have genuinely caught our attention — the ones we want to make sure you don’t miss. This week’s selection ranges from a Sydney quartet celebrating twenty years together to a recording made in Kyiv under conditions that lend the music an uncommon gravity. Here’s what we’ve added, and why.

The Vampires — “Pitah” (from Skydancer)

Twenty years is a long time for any ensemble to stay together, let alone to keep evolving. The Vampires — Jeremy Rose on saxophones, Nick Garbett on trumpet, Alex Masso on drums, and Noel Mason on bass — have been doing exactly that since they formed in Sydney in 2005, and Skydancer, their eighth studio album released today, June 19, feels like a band at genuine ease with their own voice. That’s not complacency. It’s confidence earned over two decades of collaborative work.

“Pitah”, the fourth track on the album, is the one I keep returning to. The intertwining of Rose’s saxophone and Garbett’s trumpet has always been central to what The Vampires do, and here it feels particularly assured — lines that seem to anticipate each other, a rhythmic interplay between Masso and Mason that breathes without ever losing momentum. The album was recorded at Golden Retriever Studios in Sydney and features eleven original compositions. Their previous record, Nightjar, won the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album in 2023. Skydancer feels like it deserves to be in that conversation too.

Gary Bartz & Your Brother’s Keeper — “Cauldron” (from Where Rivers Meet)

This one needs no softening up. When Brownswood Recordings brings together a London collective with a player of Gary Bartz’s stature and historical weight, you pay attention. “Cauldron” is the opening track on their collaborative album Where Rivers Meet, and it sets the tone with real authority — Bartz’s saxophone carrying decades of New York jazz history into a conversation with a younger British ensemble that clearly knows exactly what it’s doing.

I’ve written about this record at more length in our full review, which is worth reading alongside the music. You’ll find it here.

Charlie Hunter — “Going Commando” (from Space Bomb)

Charlie Hunter has spent his career doing things on guitar that most players wouldn’t attempt, and Space Bomb, released via SideHustle, is further evidence that he’s not slowing down. The lineup here is well chosen: drummer Corey Fonville, bassist Andrew Randazzo, and the multi-instrumentalist and producer DJ Harrison — also known as Devonne Harrison — bring a deep understanding of where jazz, funk, and R&B intersect. The result across the album’s fifteen tracks is forty minutes of music that doesn’t waste a moment.

“Going Commando” is a good entry point — groove-forward, rhythmically locked, with enough harmonic interest to keep you honest. This is music that knows what it is and commits to it fully. There’s something refreshing about that.

Carlo Muscat — “Sparrow Song” (from That’s About It)

Of everything in this week’s playlist, That’s About It is the record that demands the most from the listener — and gives the most back. Carlo Muscat recorded his eighth album as a leader in Kyiv, with a Ukrainian ensemble, during wartime. Air-raid sirens and power outages were part of the recording conditions. That context is impossible to separate from the music, and yet Muscat’s approach — focused on ballads, characterised by lyricism, space, and harmonic detail — doesn’t reach for grand statement. It’s measured, considered, and quietly affecting.

“Sparrow Song” captures that quality well. The phrasing is unhurried; the ensemble plays with a sensitivity that feels earned. We have an extended review of this album coming soon, and I’d encourage you to seek the record out before then. It deserves your time.

High Fidelity — “Love Is All There Is” (from Spring Again)

Violinist and violist Natalia Brunke has written eleven original compositions for Spring Again, arranged for jazz vocals and string quartet, and performed here by the ensemble High Fidelity. It’s a format that could easily tip into the decorative, but Brunke’s writing has too much harmonic and rhythmic intelligence for that. The string voicings carry real weight; the interplay between voice and strings feels like a genuine conversation rather than accompaniment.

“Love Is All There Is” is a good illustration of what the album does well — lyrical without being soft, detailed without being fussy. A full review is coming, but this one is worth your attention right now.

All five tracks are on our New Jazz Releases Spotify playlist, updated every Friday with the best new music hitting the platforms. If you’re not following it yet, now is a good time to start — it’s the quickest way to stay across what’s worth hearing each week.

And if your tastes run across a few different corners of the jazz world, head over to our Playlists page — we maintain a range of curated lists covering everything from contemporary European jazz to classic sessions. Follow the ones that suit you.

New Release Spotify Playlist

The Jazz In Europe New Release playlist features tracks from the new releases featured on Jazz In Europe. Updated weekly, this playlist is the perfect place to discover new music from the leading jazz musicians currently on the scene. We hope you enjoy this selection.