Album Review
Kerry Politzer: Alternate Route
by Dan McClenaghan
A first impression as pianist Kerry Politzer's ninth album spins: This is an artist adept at bringing a band together for a one-day studio outing to play a bunch of her forward-leaning compositions to turn out a vibrant, crisp-sounding set. Obvious also, on tune # 1--"Before It's Too Late"--is that guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel has a special genius for pairings with pianists. He proved that with his contribution to Jo-Yu Chen's Stranger (Okeh Records, 2014), and he is in the mix ...
Continue ReadingSophie Agnel / Michael Zerang: Draw Bridge
by John Sharpe
Draw Bridge showcases yet another unlikely but rewarding product of the well-trodden thoroughfare between France and Chicago. Under the aegis of the Transatlantic Bridge initiative, now in its 12th year, pianist Sophie Agnel enters the studio with percussionist Michael Zerang for a series of nine collective duets. The pair traffics in a unconventional language wrested from prepared piano and an augmented drum kit, a music that intrigues as much as it unsettles. Agnel's dissatisfaction with the limitations of ...
Continue ReadingSinsuki Fujieda Group: Fukushima
by Don Phipps
Sinsuke Fujieda's straightforward jazz album Fukushima offers up some enjoyable and tantalizing moments but ultimately suffers from repetitive arrangements and the limited range of his side musicians. Jazz is a music that rewards experimentation and adventure, but on Fujieda's nine compositions, he and his band stick with a “been there, done that" approach that by the album's end seems threadbare. Fujieda plays tenor and soprano saxophones, flute and clarinet. His explorations on the four instruments reveal a professional ...
Continue ReadingDan Bruce: The Architects
by Kyle Simpler
Sometimes, an in-the-pocket groove is just what the doctor ordered, and guitarist Dan Bruce delivers with The Architects. The album marks the debut of Ohm!, a power trio led by Bruce alongside bassist Jordan McBride and drummer Gabe Jones. Known for his work with :beta collective, Bruce pares things down here, exchanging a larger ensemble for groove-centered immediacy and resulting in an album that balances soulful rhythms with thoughtful experimentation. The spotlight falls squarely on grooves that sit somewhere ...
Continue ReadingTom Gershwin: Wellspring
by Jack Bowers
On Wellspring, the fourth album under his name, Vermont-based trumpeter Tom Gershwin resumes his anomalous musical journey, pursuing a path that is for the most part low-key and serene but seldom less than interesting. In so doing, Gershwin wrests the most support he can from every member of his able quintet to unravel eight of his elaborate and expressive compositions and arrangements, two of which--the opening “Let Be" and warmhearted “Belong Here"--are miniatures, designed to provide brief respites ...
Continue ReadingMisha Mengelberg / Sabu Toyozumi: The Analects Of Confucius
by John Sharpe
As the reputations of Japanese free players grew during the 1970s, they lured a procession of Europeans and Americans eager to collaborate, among them Steve Lacy, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, and John Zorn. Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg also made the journey, first with the Instant Composers Pool (ICP) in 1982 and later independently. One of the most frequent partners awaiting visiting musicians was drummer Sabu Toyozumi. A 1994 meeting yielded The Untrammeled Traveller (Chap Chap, 2013); The Analects Of Confucius, ...
Continue ReadingEllen Rowe Quartet: Vinton's Cove
by Jack Bowers
Ellen Rowe wears many musical hats, all of which fit her extremely well: pianist, composer, arranger, educator and last but not least, band leader. Rowe supervises an admirable quartet on Vinton's Cove, displaying her sizable skills as writer and arranger while brightening the keyboard as well. Rowe dons her composer's cap on half a dozen of the album's ten numbers, and wears her arranger's headgear on all of them. Two of the songs include lyrics by the studio ...
Continue ReadingDave Stryker: Blue Fire - The Van Gelder Session
by Pierre Giroux
Dave Stryker's Blue Fire--The Van Gelder Session features the guitarist performing at one of the most revered venues in recorded jazz, and the chosen setting is anything but incidental. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary Englewood Cliffs studio in July 2025, the album benefits from the ambiance itself. Its warmth, clarity, and a sense of history, while showcasing a deeply rooted guitar-organ-drums trio that understands groove as both discipline and release. Joined by organist Jared Gold and drummer McClenty Hunter, ...
Continue ReadingIan Torres: Comprovisation
by Hrayr Attarian
Chicago-based trumpeter Ian Torres is an accomplished composer, arranger, and educator. From 2008 to 2014, he was the leader of one of the most exciting big bands in the city's history. After a hiatus of over a decade, Torres returns with his second release, Comprovisation, a portmanteau term meaning the merging of composition and improvisation. The title perfectly illustrates Torres' musical vision. Out of the nine tracks on the record, six feature Torres unaccompanied by others, playing his ...
Continue ReadingFrancesca Prihasti: Beneath the Sun
by Jack Bowers
Gracefulness and charm are the order of the day on Beneath the Sun, the fourth recording by Indonesian-born, New York-based pianist and composer Francesca Prihasti. Brevity also plays a small role, as the album's playing time is a relatively concise 36 minutes. To her credit, Prihaski makes the most of them, playing bright and alluring piano on five of her stylish and seductive melodies, Fender Rhodes on the album's warmhearted title song (written for her children, Marie and ...
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