7th February 2016: ★★★★★ from Jazz Journal for The Kora Band’s ‘New Cities’ plus reviews from Songlines, Jazzwise, airplay and more…
The Kora Band, an ensemble which integrates the uniquely entrancing timbre of the kora — a traditional 21-string harp from West Africa — into a jazz context, present their third release New Cities and first for Whirlwind.
New Cities presents a suite of compositions constructed on the foundations of traditional west African Mandinka music. Each song takes an element from a traditional piece, deconstructs it, and uses the resulting material as the basis for a new composition.
Since New Cities was released to critical acclaim, it has continued to receive enthusiastic reviews and here are the highlights from the latest:
“The playing is exemplary… exciting.”
Songlines (website)
“Irresistible, foot tapping appeal that lasts from start to finish. Mighty enjoyable.”
★★★★★ Jazz Journal (website) (scroll down to read in full)
“The pianist Andrew Oliver and Kora Player Kane Mathis discover new musical perspectives by creating a dialogue between the jazz, blues and classical of their backgrounds and that of west African Mandinka folk music.”
Jazzwise (website)
“It’s not jazz with kora, it’s a complete and complex sonic landscape utilising the core of each tradition – the strong grooves and cross rhythms of the Mandinka kora meshed with ensemble playing, mellow reed sounds, silvery brass, and some lovely tunes. A significant achievement.”
London Jazz (full review)
“Brilliant compositions, engaging instrumentation, exciting sound. ‘New Cities’ blurs the boundaries between modern jazz and traditional music of West Africa.”
CD Reviews (Blog) PL (read in full)
As well as receiving airplay on BBC Radio 3 over the new year, New Cities was featured on Radio Cardiff’s Jazz Breakfast. Listen again: here
Jazz Journal February 2016