Following the acclaimed Fantômes…Futurs (see here), double bassist and composer Kham Meslien returns with Vévés électriques, a second album where memory, landscape, and improvisation drift into one another. With Laurent Bardainne, Roger Raspail, Naïssam Jalal, and David Neerman alongside him, Meslien expands his intimate double-bass language through subtle loops and organic textures. Echoes of Iceland, the Caribbean, and imagined places surface throughout as spiritual jazz, contemporary classical, and ambient soundscapes meet in a quiet search for emotion, identity, and freedom. The album arrives on 13th November via Heavenly Sweetness. So far, Meslien has shared two phenomenal tracks from the album, ‘Bâtons ciseaux‘ and ‘Vaisseaux fantômes‘. Take a listen to both now.

In 2021, Olha Bekenshtein commissioned John Hollenbeck to write large-ensemble arrangements of Ukrainian music. Due to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, that commission was halted. In June 2022, Hollenbeck teamed up with the Hot Club Jazz Orchestra at Canoa Studios in Portugal to record the material which became Peace and Justice. Highlights include the powerful title track; the addictive spoken word and haunting vocals of ‘Sighs‘ and ‘Red Shades‘; a hymnal; and a moving reimagining of a 1914 Ukrainian resistance anthem. Wonderful stuff.

Biomania’s Birds and Drones is a striking fusion of studio craft and live energy. Driven by emotion and cinematic tension, the EP explores a paradox: the bird soaring freely alongside the drone – a symbol of surveillance and war. This duality becomes both theme and method, showing how technology can elevate human expression while threatening the natural world. A subtle conceptual thread runs through the record: nearly every track title begins with “D.” Birds and Drones is music that moves, reflects, and unsettles, a bold statement on progress, fragility, and the spaces where art and technology collide. Highly recommended for fans of Butcher Brown and Makaya McCraven.

I am absolutely smitten by Julia Bilat‘s blend of avant-garde jazz and experimental classical. On Selva Oscura, cellist Bilat explores her instrument’s depths, delving into dark, unpredictable soundscapes. She brings forth splintered harmonics, rough bowing textures, and resonant drones with a striking physical presence. This solo recording unfolds like a journey through the shadows – intimate, tense, and deeply immersive. It highlights Bilat’s remarkable talent for balancing delicate nuances with sudden bursts of intensity. If you’re into instrumental jazz music that follows its nose and makes things up as it goes, this one’s definitely worth a spin; at the very least, it’ll keep you guessing.

After albums like Retiens mon désir, Nuits sans sommeil, and 2024’s Advitam Æternamour, French singer-songwriter and pianist Clea Vincent returns with Speakeasy. The six-track EP showcases a minimalist shift focusing on solo piano compositions and subtle arrangements. There’s a lovely looseness to it. The piano leads with intimate phrasing and small melodic detours, while Romain Sanderre‘s drum machine and bass tick along in the background, never overstaying their welcome. The arrangements have a real sense of play, especially on gems like ‘Mellow Mood’ and ‘Quadro’. Check it out below; it’s pretty cool.