Like Eva Figes’ enchanting 1983 novella, Light, the latest full-length release from extraordinary Argentinian pianist Nataniel Edelman harnesses 24 hours in the life of an artist and atomises it in a marvellously virtuosic breakdown of allusive tones and mottled moods.

The Distance represents a grand creative leap for bassist-composer Michael Formanek, following two widely lauded ECM releases featuring his quartet with Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver. The new album showcases his texturally rich compositions for the dynamic 18-piece big band he has playfully dubbed Ensemble Kolossus. The project saw some of the most distinctive musicians on the New York scene bonding to realize Formaneks epic design, as he re-imagined what a big-band can be. Channeling sounds from the classic to the modern, he also composed for individual soloists in the Ellingtonian tradition.

With his extensive artistic biography, Michael Formanek is one of the most outstanding figures in American jazz, as a composer, as a bassist in ensembles, and as a soloist. The fact that the bassist has been an integral part of the creative music scene for several decades speaks for his creativity and versatility.

"Small Places" is double-bassist/composer Michael Formanek’s follow-up to The Rub and Spare Change, his widely lauded ECM debut as a leader. The new album features the same powerhouse band of longtime confreres, with Formanek in seemingly telepathic league with saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver. If anything, "Small Places" is a step beyond this quartet’s first release, with the compositions and improvisation blending so that a listener is scarcely able to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. Earthy yet atmospheric, this is jazz alive with dark-hued melody and bone-deep rhythms, rich in dynamic possibility and the sound of surprise.