Articles by Edward Zucker

Jaleel Shaw: Almost There

by Edward Zucker
April 21, 2008

Barely thirty, alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw has was won two ASCAP Young Jazz Composer awards, received the Billboard Endowed Scholarship for Outstanding Academic and Musical Achievement (1998), the Outstanding Student Teacher Award, The Boston Jazz Society Award (1999) and he was also a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition (2002).Currently Jaleel holds a regular seat with the Roy Haynes Quartet and the Mingus Big Band. He's also released Optimism (2008), the follow-up to his 2005 Fresh ...

Chase Utley: Chasin' the Hits

by Edward Zucker
April 1, 2008

Actors want to be singers, singers want to be actors, and athletes want to be both. We have seen Wayman Tisdale and Bernie Williams release jazz albums in recent years. Now, Chase Utley, the Philadelphia Phillies starting second baseman and MVP candidate, has thrown his hat (or CD) into the ring. Utley's debut release titled Chasin' the Hits on the No Errors label straddles the line between contemporary jazz and hard-bop. As a vocalist, ...

Jimmy Bruno: From Surgery and Carjackings to His Guitar Institute

by Edward Zucker
December 26, 2007

Jimmy Bruno's stature as one of jazz's top hard bop guitarist is undisputed. His career as a musician and educator warrants the numerous times that he has been interviewed at All About Jazz. In this interview with AAJ contributor Edward Zucker, Bruno discusses his current CD, Maplewood Avenue (Affiliated Artists, LLC, 2007), the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute, carpal tunnel surgery and a near carjacking. He also offers his uncensored opinion on numerous other topics. Surgery All ...

Wayne Escoffery: Veneration: Live at Smoke

by Edward Zucker
April 30, 2007

Live at the Village Vanguard: These magical words signified a musician had made it in the world of jazz. For the current generation of musicians, Live at Smoke may now take its place.

Tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery clearly has arrived, as evidenced on Veneration: Live at Smoke. Escoffery, who performs regularly with Tom Harrell, the Mingus Big Band and Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet, has honed his chops and is in clear command of his instrument. This outing provides an ...

Clint Eastwood: Do You Feel Lucky?

by Edward Zucker
April 1, 2007

He went from being Rowdy Yates on TV to the cinema's “Man With No Name and “Dirty Harry to winning an Academy Award for directing. Yet, all along the way, Clint Eastwood's passion for jazz has remained a constant. His jazz-related projects in the past include directing the Charlie Parker biopic Bird, and starring in Play Misty For Me. Eastwood's son Kyle is also involved in jazz. Kyle is a bassist, who has released several CDs as a leader. Therefore, ...

Birthday for Dreambox Media; Rebirth of Ortlieb's

by Edward Zucker
March 19, 2007

On March 8, 2007, Philadelphia's jazz community witnessed a celebration and a reopening.

Dreambox Media at Chris' Jazz Cafe

On this night, the Dreambox Media label celebrated their 20th anniversary at Chris' Jazz Café, with a CD release party for The Birdhouse Project, the label's 100th release.

Featured on the release are Randy Sutin on vibes, Tyrone Brown on bass and label co-founder Jim Miller on drums. The trio opened the night playing ...

Grant Stewart: In The Still Of The Night

by Edward Zucker
February 19, 2007

It would not be a stretch to call Grant Stewart an international jazz nomad. Stewart was born in Canada and moved to New York City at nineteen. During his career, he has recorded for labels that read like a UN roll call, including French, Japanese, Spanish and Dutch imprints. In The Still Of The Night is his first release as a leader on an American label.

The tenor saxophonist receives support from drummer Joe Farnsworth, bassist Peter Washington ...

Don Byron: Doing The Boomerang at Philadelphia's Painted Bride

by Edward Zucker
February 16, 2007

Don Byron Painted Bride Art Center Philadelphia, PA February 3, 2007

Don Byron's release Do The Boomerang: The Music Of Junior Walker became a darling of the critics and made the best-of lists for 2006. The disc, a danceable, funk and R&B-filled party record, was Byron's homage to one of his favorite musicians, Junior Walker.

Byron and his band once again did right by Walker at the Painted Bride on this Saturday ...

Nathan Eklund Group: The Crooked Line

by Edward Zucker
February 14, 2007

The Crooked Line, Nathan Eklund's sophomore release, reveals a musician on an upward trajectory. Eklund arranged the ten tunes on the CD and composed all of them except Bjork's “Isobel, “All The Things You Are and Lee Morgan's “Totem Pole. The original compositions are the most striking and display a subtle complexity as they traverse the terrain of hard bop and beyond. It is too early in Eklund's career to make comparisons to others, but he is a composer to ...

Skirl Records Visits Philadelphia

by Edward Zucker
January 6, 2007

We are in a period when more and more people download their music via the internet; important retailers such as Tower Records are shutting their doors; and blank CDs outsold pre-recorded CDs last year. Yet, Chris Speed--a multi-instrumentalist and longtime member of New York's downtown scene--has undertaken the Herculean task of starting an independent record label with the launch of Skirl Records. On December 15, 2006, Speed and several bands on his label came to Philadelphia for a ...