His distinctive combination of jazz with Spanish and other European influences is always full of surprises.
RIDGEWOOD Blend Charlie Hunter Trio, a combination of jazz, funk and rock music.
The band was a pioneer in the style of Western swing, a combination of jazz, country blues and fiddle music.
The combination of jazz and Scandinavian folk music, which the ECM label pioneered, is sometimes accused of being chilly and remote, but this is different.
Last year's program included some startling pieces in a combination of jazz and contemporary classical styles, and there is every reason to assume that this year's will as well.
"We were listening to the music," he said, "and sometimes we'd chuckle because the music had this great combination of jazz, spiritual, gospel but also had a sense of humor".
And as the recorded strains of the Gospel song "Looking for You" filled the sanctuary, the barefoot dancers began making graceful swooping circles with their arms, lifting their faces with intense focus, and moving their bodies in a distinctive combination of jazz, modern and even hip-hop.
Downes had a Mercury prize nomination in 2010 for his trio album, Golden, but this year's Light From Old Stars – for a quintet including reeds-player James Allsopp and cellist Lucy Railton – shows how far Downes's combination of jazz spontaneity, classical structure and musical openness has brought him.
His distinctive sound is an emotionally mesmerizing combination of jazz, healing music, electronic dance and hip-hop.
