Album:  Varier : Berlin

Release Date: 2 October 2026

Label: Dark Circle Recordings

Renowned saxophonist, woodwind player, bandleader and composer Tamar Osborn stands at the heart of the UK’s forward‑thinking music movement. A multi-instrumentalist whose genre-slipping creativity has made her the go-to voice for artists within the new wave of jazz and improvised music, Osborn now unveils her most ambitious and exploratory project to date. Continuing its mission to champion adventurous and diverse contemporary jazz, Dark Circle Recordings release Varier: Berlin on 2 October 2026.

Well known and highly regarded as a bandleader and featured player across a wide number of groups — most notably her modal ensemble Collocutor (but also Sarathy Korwar, Emanative, Dele Sosimi, Ill Considered, Jessica Lauren, Flock and many more) — Varier sees Tamar embracing change and developing a fresh approach to her music.

Centred around the concepts and rituals of improvisation, collaboration and music as a tool for healing, Varier is a project drawn from two recording sessions completed in different cities — Berlin and London — with two different ensembles. The Varier:Berlin session is the first to be released (Varier: London will follow in May 2027) and sees Tamar further develop her exploratory and innovative approach to collaborative playing alongside some of the very best musicians in the global jazz/improvised scene.

For both sessions Osborn took in six loosely composed sketches and five guiding words—heart, gut, trance, raw and space – using them as the central touchstones to root the music and its inspirations. With no rehearsals beforehand, each of the six sketches was captured in just three takes, creating an atmosphere of freedom in the studio where the sessions were shaped through improvisation.

Ahead of the release of Varier:Berlin in the autumn, Osborn shares the lead track, Raw (Berlin) available from 5 August.  “The track evokes the vulnerability of complete emotional and physical exhaustion” says Tamar, “yet also the renewal and emerging wholeness that follows the process of catharsis. It began with me experimenting on a Nigerian clay udu drum. I recorded and looped a two-tone pattern which I began improvising over: my route into generating ideas for bass lines and melodies.  Out of this process, overlapping melodies and the original udu rhythm became the centre of the piece. From there, it was simply a matter of shaping the music together in the studio”

The Berlin-connected ensemble Osborn assembled for the first instalment of Varier became a crucial foundation for the project. With so much freedom built into the sessions, trust between the musicians was essential. Tamar has chosen wisely picking players who approach the music not as an intellectual exercise but with an instinctual pulse and playful curiosity. Drawing on long-standing connections and a deep trust in each musician’s unique voice, she was keen to discover what would emerge when they came together. Joining Tamar, who plays baritone sax and alto flute (she also produced and edited the album), is Italian bassist Rosa Brunello, whose genre-defying creativity and musical connections with the other players made her the natural choice. Completing the ensemble are Cuban saxophonist Regis Molina, who draws on a deep knowledge of jazz, Cuban traditions and classical training; percussionist Bex Burch, who brings years of experience across different musical contexts; percussionist Maurizio Ravalico, a longstanding collaborator from Collocutor; Senegalese percussionist Dudú Kouate, who contributes his expertise in contemporary music and free improvisation; and Maurice Louca, whose unique approach to electronics and prepared guitar adds another distinctive voice to the group.

Varier: Berlin’s richly layered, unfolding textures and rhythmic interplay envelop and entrance the listener, offering surprise and intrigue. At once intimate and expansive, the album is a testament to the power of collective improvisation—music created through deep listening, trust and openness—and marks the beginning of an ambitious new body of work from one of the UK’s most distinctive musical voices.