Jazz Articles

Frederick Moyer: When Summer Comes

by Chris Mosey
May 9, 2013

A homage in all but name by American concert pianist Frederick Moyer to one of his heroes, Oscar Peterson. All the songs, save two, formed a regular part of the late, great Canadian's repertoire. The closing number, Moyer's own composition, “Gospel" bears a striking resemblance to Peterson's “Hymn To Freedom." Interestingly, Moyer claims to have written it before he ever heard the Peterson number, basing it on a phrase in Felix Mendelssohn's “Capriccio Brillante." ...

Frederick Moyer: When Summer Comes

by Nicholas F. Mondello
May 9, 2013

A hardened cynic might think it could be a “grass is greener" rationale for a world-class concert pianist to take on a slew of GAS and jazz standards and record them in a solo format. “Ego-brushing," might also be tossed about. However, in the case of When Summer Comes a fine solo effort by Frederick Moyer, both descriptions are wildly off-base.Moyer, well-known throughout the concert performance world, is indeed a keyboard virtuoso. His classical repertoire specialties are the ...

Jazz Arts Trio: Swing of Many Colors

by Franz A. Matzner
June 23, 2012

For the most part Jazz Arts Trio's Swing of Many Colors presents relatively sedate recreations of recordings by some of jazz's most famous piano trio greats, including Ahmad Jamal, Red Garland, Oscar Peterson, and Keith Jarrett.Clearly a labor of love, each tune is meticulously reproduced with the fine attention to detail only a pet project can achieve. All three players are astute practitioners and their devotion to the trio form bleeds through, especially on pieces like “Night Train," ...

Jazz Arts Trio: Tribute

by Jerry D'Souza
December 9, 2008

Recreating music note-for-note is fraught with pitfalls. It could be as palatable as drinking a soda after all the fizz has escaped or it could stand deep in the shadow of the original. But as the saying goes, imitation is the best form of flattery and the Jazz Arts Trio makes that apparent as they reinterpret 11 performances with flair and skill.

Frederick Moyer (piano), Peter Tillotson (bass) and Peter Fraenkel (drums) were friends who went their separate ...

Jazz Arts Trio: Tribute

by Brian Gall
December 3, 2008

Rightfully so, more tributes to Oscar Peterson continue to appear. On its debut CD, the Jazz Arts Trio combines six tunes by this late piano legend with one song each from kings of the keyboard Erroll Garner, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver.

Tribute, released on JRI Recordings, is an attempt to re-create specific moments in jazz history.

Pianist Frederick Moyer, bassist Peter Tillotson and drummer Peter Fraenkel are three high school friends ...

Jazz Arts Trio: Tribute

by Woodrow Wilkins
November 30, 2008

When artists cover old classics, there is generally something different about them: a new arrangement, something added or something removed, in an attempt to make it “their own." Pianist Frederick Moyer and his Jazz Arts Trio take a different approach on Tribute. They perform eleven classics, note for note, just as they were recorded previously. Moyer is a classical pianist who has performed as a soloist with major metropolitan orchestras in Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Singapore, along with ...

Jazz Arts Trio: Tribute

by C. Michael Bailey
November 11, 2008

The difference between jazz improvisation and composed variations on a theme is that the former is dynamic, while the latter is static. In jazz, improvisation amounts to “spontaneous composition," where a melodic variation over a harmonic skeleton occurs instantly. Improvisations on a theme in this sense are not written down prior to being played. However, these same improvisations can be transcribed after a performance (from a recording). This is what pianist Steven Mayer did on his Art Tatum - Improvisations ...