Jazz Articles

Will Sellenraad: Balance

by Greg Camphire
April 10, 2009

Balance is the third album as leader for up-and-coming guitarist Will Sellenraad, capturing a day's session of his seasoned working band laying down first or second studio takes of their current repertoire. The six-stringer has a classic tone reminiscent of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, and it serves him well on this set of mostly his own compositions. The album's title track keeps an interesting balance of rhythmic feels, alternating between waltz time and 4/4 swing. It ...

Will Sellenraad: Balance

by J Hunter
March 30, 2009

Will Sellenraad grew up in a place and time many people dream of: New York City's downtown scene of the '60s and '70s, when music and art were both in a state of quicksilver flux. Given that his parents (prominent New York artists themselves) named their son after modern-art pioneers William de Kooning and Piet Mondrian, it is pure serendipity that Sellenraad's Beezwax Records debut reflects the sound of CTI, a record label that got just as much criticism as ...

Grant Levin Trio: The Bust

by Dennis Hollingsworth
April 7, 2005

Chances are Grant Levin is not a name you will immediately recognize. A Northern California pianist, Grant attended the Jazz Studies program at the University of Nevada at Reno. The Bust is his inaugural effort in the form of a traditional piano trio. Along for the ride are drummer Rufus Haereiti and bassist Hans Halt, a faculty member in the music department at UNR. Just 22 when this recording was made, Grant definitely adds his name to the growing list ...

Joe Robinson: While I'm Waiting

by Dennis Hollingsworth
March 16, 2005

Joe Robinson hails from the seaside town of Brighton, England. The rest of his bandmates are Englishmen as well, but you will be hard pressed to determine their home base when listening to While I'm Waiting. If you enjoy mainstream tunes, well crafted solos, and playing that remains primarily inside the changes, you will find this recording right up your alley. Four of Robinson's original compositions are on hand to help set the tone on the date.

There is no ...

Franklin/Clover/Seales: Colemanology

by Eric J. Iannelli
February 22, 2005

The title of this disc, this trio's third for the unique Indiana-based Beezwax label, suggests that Ornette Coleman is a field of study or expression unto himself, a notion few Coleman fans are likely to dispute. But aside from the long and loose closing title track penned by pianist Marc Seales, this veteran jazz outfit tends to walk a more conservative and composed line than Coleman is renowned for.

Louis Armstrong's “Basin Street Blues," which precedes “Colemanology" (not to be ...

Franklin, Clover & Seales: Ears Wide Open

by Ken Hohman
November 9, 2003

The small label Beezwax has done a big favor for jazz listeners by bringing together bassist Henry Franklin, drummer Steve Clover and pianist Marc Seales. While each player has carved out a distinctive niche in the jazz world – be it unsung solo works (Henry Franklin), academic residence (Marc Seales) or supporting roles for some of the most respected performers in jazz history (all three) – this unlikely trio performs with the kind of natural synergy that you would expect ...

Franklin, Clover, Seales: Three Worlds

by Ben Ohmart
September 1, 2001

A trio grows in Elkhart, Indiana, home of the new jazz label, Beezwax. A strong trio, with a softer, subtler approach to contemporary, smooth jazz. The best actors know where to place pauses in their speeches. So too do the best jazz combos. Every second of Franklin/Clover/Seales' Three Worlds is like a whispered conversation of music, three-way, but in total unity. ‘New Stories’ is one of the best examples of unhurried, dialogue music, though thoroughly instrumental. Seales’ spirited piano work ...