::Home ::Catalogue ::Artists ::Tours ::About ::Links Buy Now Ships from UK  USA Interpretations - Jon Opstad Nick Smart – Trumpet, Flugelhorn Simon Cosgrove – Soprano Saxophone James Allsopp – Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet Liam Noble – Piano, Fender Rhodes Justin Quinn – Electric & Acoustic Guitars James Opstad – Double Bass Jon Opstad – Drums Jon Opstad’s second album, Interpretations, was recorded almost three years after his debut, Still Picture, and marks a change in direction from the sense of European lyricism that imbued that project. Interpretations was inspired by the classic work of Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock around the late 1960s and early 1970s - on such albums as Shorter’s Schizophrenia, Super Nova, Moto Grosso Feio and Odyssey of Iska and Hancock’s Speak Like a Child, The Prisoner and Mwandishi - and that of a number of other progressive jazz artists recording around this period such as Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner and, of course, Miles Davis. The project is made up of seven compositions directly inspired by this era of jazz. It was recorded in a single afternoon’s recording session at Eastcote Studios, with a seven-piece band made up of some of London’s finest improvising musicians. The resulting music is exciting and richly textured, with highly charged soloing and shifting ensemble colours. NCR1003 Buy Now Ships from UK  USA A Thought - Nishlyn Ramanna Nishlyn Ramanna - Piano Stan Sulzmann - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones; Alto Flute James Opstad - Fretless Bass Jon Opstad - Drums; Percussion A Thought is the debut recording by South African pianist/composer Nishlyn Ramanna. Ramanna’s music draws upon South African and Indian influences, within a setting highly influenced by both American and European jazz. Many of the compositions on ‘A Thought’ were originally performed live with Mosaic, a highly successful South African improvisation group of which Ramanna was a founding member. On this recording Ramanna is joined by British musicians, bringing new interpretations of the material. The presence of top saxophonist Stan Sulzmann brings a new edge to Ramanna’s music, which this recording deserves to bring to wider attention outside of his home country. NCR1002 Buy Now Ships from UK  USA Still Picture - Jon Opstad Simon Cosgrove - Soprano Saxophone David Gange - Flugelhorn; Trumpet Tom Rogerson - Piano James Opstad - Fretless Bass; Cellos Jon Opstad - Drums; Percussion Chris Hill - Double Bass (track 1) Still Picture is the debut recording by drummer/composer Jon Opstad. Drawing on a range of influences, including Kenny Wheeler, Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, David Darling and Herbie Hancock, the music is varied and atmospheric. The compositions explore the textural possibilities of the instrumentation, from the combined horns to Ebowed fretless bass to the title-track’s layered cello parts, whilst leaving space for the highly individual soloing of Cosgrove and Rogerson. NCR1001