[COULEURS JAZZ MONTH – THE BEST OF!]
On COULEURS JAZZ RADIO – www.couleursjazzradio.fr:
Paris-time: Monday 04:00pm, Wednesday 05:00pm, Thursday 06:00pm.
NYC time :at 08:00PM Tuesday and 10:00 PM Wednesday
12 Best albums releases of last month: February 2026, so:
Chantez sous l’appli !
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With :
- Franco D’Andrea, Gabriele Evangelista & Roberto Gatto for “Live“
- Cascino Trio for “Follow The River”
- Adonis Rose Feat. Phillip Manuel for “Unusual Suspects”
- Yumiko Yamashita Medium Ensemble for “Quotidien”
- James Fernando for “Philly 3”
- SLR5 for “Consenso”
- Marc Benham for “Triceratops”
- Ingrid Jensen for “Landings”
- Antonió Faraó/Stéphane Belmondo Quartet for “ Do it! ”
- Peter Beets for “The Blues Goes To Spains”
- Louis Billette for “Lux II”
- Hans Backenroth for “For Ray, Milt & MJQ”
Franco D’Andrea, Gabriele Evangelista & Roberto Gatto trio – Live
Believe it or not, Franco D’Andrea, a veteran of Italian jazz piano — and indeed of Italian jazz as a whole — had never recorded live in a club!
It was only at the age of 83 that he finally fulfilled this dream, partly by chance, as his sets at the Torrione Jazz Club in Ferrara were recorded without his knowledge. Made after numerous trio concerts, this recording perfectly captures the warm atmosphere of a jazz club where D’Andrea and his partners delight themselves while delighting the audience in equal measure.
… Read the rest of Thierry Quénum’s review, Here.
Cascino Trio – Follow The River
Pianist, arranger, and producer, Patrick Cascino has spent several decades developing a musical universe in which jazz moves freely between Europe and Africa. Trained at the Berklee College of Music, he developed a strong command of harmony and a pronounced taste for improvisation there—foundations he would soon expand toward other sonic territories.
From Andalusian rhythms to Sahelian pulses, his piano absorbs Mediterranean and African traditions without ever reducing them to folklore. His richly colored playing blends lyricism and groundedness, jazz refinement and the memory of percussion, in a fertile tension between composition and trance. At the helm of the Cascino Trio, repeatedly acclaimed on the French scene, he asserts a singular musical identity shaped by encounters and commitment. In this trio, he is joined by a superb rhythm section: Charly Tomas on double bass and Luca Scalambrino on drums.
In Follow the River, Cascino continues this path of convergence. The album traces a subtle thread between diverse musical cultures, privileging attentive listening and collective breathing. It is inhabited, sincere music, in which jazz becomes a language of sharing and transmission.
Drummer, composer (and Grammy Award winner — though who doesn’t have a Grammy these days? 😉), Adonis Rose was immersed in music from early childhood in one of the most fertile environments imaginable for jazz: New Orleans. Every note, every stroke of his cymbals and drums resonates with the spirit of New Orleans.
With the blood of his grandfather, drummer Wilfred “Crip” Severin Jr., and his father Vernon Severin—both influential and highly sought-after drummers in the Crescent City—flowing in his veins, he clearly had the predisposition, along with the advantages of his geographic roots. And when your uncle is bassist Chris Severin, another omnipresent figure on the New Orleans music scene, you could say the fairy godmothers were watching over young Adonis. He had all the elements in place to lay down the beat on stages and in the streets of New Orleans, and eventually in some of the most legendary venues around the world.
Singer Phillip Manuel, also a native of New Orleans and likewise born into a family of musicians, has performed alongside major jazz figures such as Terence Blanchard and Bill Summers. His musical career is marked by his classic interpretations of the repertoire of Nat “King” Cole, as well as his intimate renditions of Fire and Rain by James Taylor, and compositions by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.
Rose and Manuel have worked together for years. Manuel has appeared in several live concerts with New Orleans Jazz Orchestra at the Jazz Market and recorded with the orchestra on its tribute album to Allen Toussaint. Likewise, Rose performs on two of Manuel’s albums. “Phillip is a gifted singer and an exceptional lyricist who only gets better with age,” says Rose. As an anecdote, Manuel had been considering stepping away from the stage and the recording studio, but Rose persuaded him otherwise. A fortunate decision indeed.
We can only be grateful for that!
Yumiko Yamashita Medium Ensemble – Le Quotidien
Le Quotidien is the debut album by composer and clarinetist Yumiko Yamashita, born in Kyoto. Marked by great formal delicacy, this work is a confident entry into the jazz of tomorrow—the kind being crafted here and now, day by day. Between Kyoto and Paris, the musician has shaped a style attentive to nuance, breath, and resonant silences. Her universe, at the crossroads of contemporary European jazz and a more introspective sensibility, unfolds with unassuming elegance.
The Medium Ensemble brings together two bass clarinets, a voice, and a rhythm section of rare subtlety, sketching out a singular sonic landscape. This uncommon instrumentation allows for deep, velvety timbral interplay, where melody circulates freely. One senses the inspiring shadow of Wayne Shorter in the spiritual quest, as well as an almost cinematic attention to detail.
Le Quotidien explores the poetry of ordinary moments: muted grooves, pared-down themes, restrained lyrical surges. An album both sophisticated and warm, it affirms a personal voice already fully embodied—an artist whose sound we are certain to keep hearing.
Line Up:
Déborah Tanguy – voice
Yumiko Yamashita – bass clarinet
Thomas Savy – bass clarinet
Carine Bonnefoy – piano
Léna Aubert – doublebasse
Julie Saury – drums
James Fernando – Philly 3
Philly 3 is already the sixth album by James Fernando. Balancing dazzling virtuosity with a touch of playful mischief, the pianist delivers ambitious writing that challenges the piano-trio tradition without ever losing its sense of swing. Nine original compositions—plus a nod to Erroll Garner—make up an album that is as cerebral as it is exhilarating.
Surrounded by Dan McCain on bass, Sam Harris (guest bassist on two tracks), and the incandescent drummer Kyon Williams, Fernando builds a language in which metric modulation becomes a narrative device and multiple forms unfold like short films. His approach blends classical counterpoint, bebop energy, and contemporary rhythmic daring, achieving a rare balance between rigor and spontaneity.
One might think of Oscar Peterson for sheer power, Brad Mehldau for harmonic sophistication, or Tigran Hamasyanfor explorations of odd meters. Yet Philly 3 never feels derivative: it asserts a singular, free, and deeply human voice. An album that combines humor, tension, and high-level musical conversation.
LineUp:
James Fernando, piano & compositions
Dan McCain, bass
Sam Harris, bass ( tracks 3 & 9)
Kyon Williams, drum
SLR5 – Consenso
Sicilian-born double bassist Sal La Rocca is a leading figure in Belgian jazz. He has provided the rhythmic backbone for greats such as Philip Catherine, Mark Murphy, Lee Konitz, and Richie Beirach, to name just a few.
Can we really speak of a distinctly Belgian jazz? That’s for you to decide. With his quintet, however, La Rocca offers a swinging jazz infused with joy and playful spirit—a remedy for gloom, best taken in generous doses in the slightly mad world surrounding us.
The interplay—the sheer pleasure of playing together while truly listening to one another—can be felt throughout the album’s nine tracks. One might well wonder why we so often receive albums that are complicated and hermetic. Is it really so difficult to create music that is beautiful and uplifting, yet sufficiently sophisticated to delight us?
That’s all we ask for: something jubilant, finely crafted, music in the service of listeners—not only its protagonists.
Most of the tracks are currently featured in selection on Couleurs Jazz Radio. You can give them a “thumbs up” when they’re broadcast—don’t hesitate.
And above all, go hear them live (hopefully they’ll cross the border and let us savor this lovely creation in person).
Sal La Rocca: double bass
Steven Delannoye: tenor and soprano saxophone
Phil Abraham: trombone
Igor Gehenot: piano
Umberto Odone: drums
Marc Benham – Triceratops
The remarkable pianist and organist Marc Benham returns to the record bins with Tricératops, a flamboyant album recorded in trio format alongside trombonist Fidel Fourneyron and drummer-percussionist Émile Biayenda.
The guiding idea is a kind of musical quest toward Pangaea—that primordial supercontinent uniting Africa, America, and Europe. Tricératops draws on the image of the mythical dinosaur to embody a three-headed hydra, nourished by multiple influences. The track Cioran Boogaloo, inspired by the sounds of New Orleans, offers a striking example: Benham plays piano and Hammond organ simultaneously in an acrobatic and refined performance that recalls the spirit of the duo Eddy Louiss / Michel Petrucciani, enriched by Fourneyron’s dancing velocity and Biayenda’s subtle touch.
Trained early in classical music and later at the Bill Evans Piano Academy in Paris, and an adept of stride piano, Benham first made his mark as a solo artist with Herbst and Fats Food, a tribute to Fats Waller. In 2017, he invited trumpeter Quentin Ghomari to join him on Gonam City, before co-founding the collective Pégazz & l’Hélicon. In 2020, Biotope, recorded with John Hébert and Eric McPherson, opened the doors to the prestigious label SteepleChase Records—home to iconic artists such as Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, and Lee Konitz—making Benham the first French pianist to record for the label.
Long praised by our occasional yet faithful contributor Guillaume Lagrée (Le Jars Jase Jazz) , and regularly featured in selections on Couleurs Jazz Radio, Marc Benham stands as one of the most compelling pianists on the European jazz scene. DownBeat has described him as “an essential voice from across the Atlantic.” Here, Benham confirms the breadth of his artistry: sovereign technique, limpid phrasing, keen harmonic sense, and constant melodic invention. A talent that Martial Solal once summed up perfectly: “A truly beautiful pianist, just the way I like them.”
Note: the trio will present Tricératops live on April 5, 2026 at the Sunset in Paris.
Ingrid Jensen – Landings
With this new release, Landings, Ingrid Jensen opens a new chapter in her already remarkable career.
Issued as part of the anniversary collection of Newvelle Records, the album unfolds with luminous intensity, where virtuosity and freedom coexist with rare fluidity. Her playing—ever daring—blends power, precision, and a breath-sensitive lyricism poised on the edge of vulnerability.
Surrounded by Gary Versace (organ), Marvin Sewell (guitar), and Jon Wikan (drums), Jensen shapes a quartet capable of shifting from rhythmic blaze to the most delicate introspection. Her original compositions stand alongside those of her partners, as well as a piece by Carla Bley, creating a richly contrasted sonic landscape. A highlight of the album is the presence of the legendary George Coleman, who revisits Amsterdam After Dark with striking authority and vitality.
Recorded in New York City under carefully crafted technical conditions, Landings asserts an aesthetic that feels both contemporary and timeless. A vibrant album in which each track seems to be born before our ears—free, inhabited, profoundly alive. After this, you may land gently.
Antonió Faraó/Stéphane Belmondo Quartet – Do it!
Just Do It!… And they did it… to our greatest delight. Antonio Faraò and Stéphane Belmondo, well known to our readers, deliver here an album that feels entirely natural.
Nothing showy (they don’t need it), nothing artificially spectacular: simply jazz in its most direct and fully alive form. And it feels wonderful to the ears!
The quartet—completed by master of time Thomas Bramerie on double bass and Benjamin Henocq, the backbone—functions like a modern string quartet, an exchange space where every voice naturally finds its place.
The long-honed musical rapport between Faraò and Belmondo is evident in every phrase. The Milanese pianist combines fiery virtuosity with controlled lyricism, while Belmondo’s trumpet and flugelhorn deliver a purified, rarefied voice. The balance between inner fire and poetic restraint gives the album an intensity without exaggeration.
Between original compositions and a standout cover of Herbie Hancock’s One Finger Snap, the quartet celebrates modern jazz tradition without nostalgia, echoing Gustav Mahler’s words: tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the maintenance of the fire. This new album is a luminous illustration of that: fluid, generous, and profoundly authentic jazz.
So, Do It!
Hans Backenroth Quartet feat. Roger Svedberg – For Ray, Milt & MJQ
Hans Backenroth – doublebass
Roger Svedberg – vibraphone/percussions
Daniel Tilling – piano
Oscar Johansson Werre – drums
Louis Billette – LUX II
With LUX II, his fifth album, Louis Billette takes yet another step forward. His writing gains in depth and maturity, carried by a sextet that breathes together, giving each theme an organic richness. The brass instruments converse with density, supported by a supple rhythm section that is never showy, always in motion.
The album alternates between architectural tension and melodic surges. Some pieces unfold like spiral constructions, while others assert themselves through thematic clarity before branching into freer territories. Emotion surfaces without exaggeration, especially in the most stripped-down moments, where the writing allows for an almost intimate musical exchange.
From the melancholy of Promenade Céleste to the lively energy of Boom that makes you want to move, and the labyrinthine exploration of Labyrinthe—featured in this month’s Best of—the album offers a broad emotional spectrum.
More than a simple collection of compositions, LUX II asserts a coherent sonic identity. A fully realized record where formal rigor meets genuine collective warmth.
Louis Billette : saxophones
Shems Bendali : trumpet
Jules Boittin : trombone
Mathieu Llodra : piano
Yves Marcotte : bass
Marton Kiss : drums
Peter Beets and his New York Sextet form the perfect ensemble to bring his reimagined Spanish compositions to life—full of charm, inventiveness, modernity, and infectious vitality.
Listeners of Couleurs Jazz Radio know our fondness for flamenco colors. They surface throughout the album, embedded in a broader, architecturally ambitious musical landscape built around works by Spain’s greatest composers—Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, and Enrique Granados. You will also hear hints of Frédéric Chopin, George Gershwin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with a Spanish twist.
Kudos to Peter Beets for this astonishing offering of uncompromising straight-ahead jazz, performed at the highest artistic level.
Nate Jones – Trombone
Ian Cleaver – Trumpet
Gideon Tazelaar – Tenor Saxophone
Reuben Rogers – Double bass
Willie Jones III – Drums
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