Jazz Articles
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Anthony Wonsey: The Thang
by C. Andrew Hovan
Wisdom, it is often said, comes with age and experience. This axiom has special relevance for those who pursue excellence in the arts. Whether painters, dancers, or composers, the true creators have found that it takes time and patience to develop a singular voice. Youth seems to bring with it a desire to put technique at the fore, but those with more experience know that true originality starts when an artist utilizes his abilities to channel the spirit of the ...
read moreDavid Hazeltine and Mike Kaplan: Two Perspectives On Cedar Walton
by David A. Orthmann
Years ago, I often went to a club in which a guest soloist was coupled with the house rhythm section. At one point in nearly every opening set, in an effort to find some common ground, the leader called Cedar Walton's “Bolivia." Sitting and waiting in anticipation for the theme to be played became an important part of witnessing each performance. Regardless of who was on the bandstand, “Bolivia" never failed to bring out the best in everyone.
read moreGilad Edelman: My Groove, Your Move
by David A. Orthmann
Gilad Edelman is the son of Marc Edelman, the brains and will behind Sharp Nine Records, a fiercely independent label which has produced some of the finest straight-ahead jazz records of the past fifteen years. Despite limited resources and operating in the midst of the industry's severe downturn, Sharp Nine has released impressive recordings by significant, well-traveled artists like pianists David Hazeltine and Tardo Hammer, tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart, alto saxophonist Ian Hendrickson-Smith, the bands Planet Jazz and One For ...
read moreDmitry Baevsky: The Composers
by David A. Orthmann
In some respects, The Composers is cut from the same cloth as Down With It, Dmitry Baevsky's 2010 release on Sharp Nine. The alto saxophonist selects seldom-played compositions from the jazz canon and executes thoughtful interpretations, so that the heads of tunes like Cedar Walton's “Ojos de Rojo," Wayne Shorter's “Mister Chairman," and Duke Ellington's “Self Portrait (of the Bean)" stand quite nicely on their own. A crack rhythm section consisting of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist John Webber, and drummer ...
read moreDmitry Baevsky: Down With It
by David A. Orthmann
As jazz moves in many different directions and breaks free from the all too familiar and readily categorized sounds of its first century, how does an artist make bebop sound like something other than an exercise in nostalgia or an academic pursuit? In the hands of the thirty-four year-old alto saxophonist Dmitry Baevsky, bop is still a vein worth mining. Down With It, Baevsky's third date as a leader, contains an inspired selection of material, smart execution, and some marvelously ...
read moreGrant Stewart: Plays the Music of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
by George Kanzler
Here's a refreshing take on Ellingtonia, one that doesn't rely on the overdone ("Take the A Train," “Perdido") or easy ("C-Jam Blues"). Canadian native Grant Stewart brings a post-Swing, combo approach to his Ellingtonia, even going so far as to reference Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk{{ and the {{Duke Ellington/John Coltrane collaboration. The tenor saxophonist, whose own distinctive style has echoes of Clifford Jordan and later Al Cohn in tone and conception, leads a pos tbop/hard bop-leaning ...
read moreJoe Locke / David Hazeltine: Mutual Admiration Society 2
by David A. Orthmann
In the last year of the twentieth century, Sharp Nine Records released Mutual Admiration Society, a quartet date co-led by vibraphonist Joe Locke and pianist David Hazeltine, which also included bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Billy Drummond. A brainchild of Sharp Nine honcho Marc Edelman, the collaboration between these two longtime friends was based on a desire to explore each other's strengths. Hazeltine was keen on interacting with the blues-oriented, earthy side of Locke's playing, as well as experiencing the ...
read moreTardo Hammer: Look Stop & Listen: The Music of Tadd Dameron
by Jack Bowers
Nearly a decade ago I had the pleasure of reviewing Hammer Time, the impressive debut album by (as I wrote then) an “enormously talented" young pianist, Tardo Hammer. While we've both grown older since then, I am happy to report that at least one of us (guess who) has continued on an upward path. Hammer's latest album for Sharp Nine Records (his fourth) is another handsome feather in his cap. The lively and engaging session is devoted entirely to music ...
read moreGrant Stewart: Young at Heart
by David A. Orthmann
Since moving from Toronto to New York at age 19, Grant Stewart has spent 15 years dutifully toiling in the city's jazz underground. Only over the past few years have we begun to hear some worthy examples of the tenor saxophonist's labor--a release under his name for Criss Cross, a pair on the same label by Reeds and Deeds (a band he co-leads with Eric Alexander), and a couple on the Video Arts imprint. Although all of these discs are ...
read moreTardo Hammer: Look Stop & Listen
by J Hunter
A teacher at Cambridge, Massachusetts' New School of Music when he's not leading singer Annie Ross' band, pianist Tardo Hammer has backed up stalwarts including Lou Donaldson and Abbey Lincoln, and was a member of the Art Farmer-Clifford Jordan Quintet. The last credit is the key here, because Jordan played on Live at the Theatre Boulogne--the 1994 Soul Note release by Dameronia, Don Sickler and Philly Jo Jones' big-band tribute to legendary composer/arranger Tadd Dameron. How much influence Jordan had ...
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