Multiple Reviews
Jerome Sabbagh: Purity Of Intent
by Doug Collette
The extent to which a musician expends effort to develop his own voice usually correlates to the depth of expression that eventually emanates from the personal style thereof. So it is with saxophonist/composer/bandleader Jerome Sabbagh who, in the years he has spent nurturing his profile in the New York City jazz world, has concentrated on learning from a diversity of musicians in a variety of settings. Having thus played with rhythm experts Paul Motian, Bill Stewart and Rudy Royston and ...
Continue ReadingMud Morganfield, Duwayne Burnside and Candice Ivory: Blues Triad
by Doug Collette
Posers abound around the contemporary blues universe, but none of these three is among them. On the contrary, Mud Morganfield, Duwayne Burnside and Candice Ivory all transcend cliche in their work, doing the tradition proud in his/her own distinct fashion. As a direct descendant of a blues icon Muddy Waters, Morganfield carries the heaviest load, but he does so valiantly and without undue self-consciousness. Likewise, Burnside, whose direct lineage pervades the music of the Mississippi Hill Country he has so ...
Continue ReadingNewcomers on Another Timbre
by John Eyles
As Another Timbre's two hundred and fiftieth album release has now been released and acquired by devotees of the label, it seems an appropriate time to appreciate some aspects of the label past, present or future. Firstly, it is impossible to ignore the three box sets: Wandelweiser und so weiter 6 CD set (2012), Morton Feldman Piano 5 CD set (2019), John Cage-Apartment House, Number Pieces 4 CD set (2021). Secondly, the very best musicians who release albums on the ...
Continue ReadingCelebrate Another Timbre's two hundred and fiftieth release
by John Eyles
The two Another Timbre albums below have been carefully selected from the latest batch of the label's releases, for several reasons. Firstly, the Jürg Frey album Je laisse a la nuit son poids d'ombre ("I leave to the night its weight of shadow" in English) and the Jakob Ullman album Solo I / Solo IVare Another Timbre's two-hundred-and-forty-ninth and two-hundred-and-fiftieth releases respectively, so they mark a landmark for the label. Secondly, the Frey album is his thirteenth for the label, ...
Continue ReadingRain Sultanov: Two From The Baku Jazz Festival Vaults
by Ian Patterson
Since the 1990s Azerbaijani saxophonist Rain Sultanov has forged an increasingly high-profile international career, collaborating with musicians of the caliber of Bobo Stenson, Enzo Favata, James Cammack, Tord Gustavsen, Simin Tander, Arild Anderson and Anja Lechner, to name but a handful. His own albums, such asVoice of Karabakh (Ozella, 2015), which features the outstanding singer Alim Qasimov, Inspired by Nature (Ozella, 2017) and Cycle (Ozella, 2018)--for soprano saxophone and church organ--are the works of a sensitive composer and ...
Continue ReadingThree from Elsewhere
by John Eyles
As the Elsewhere label approaches its eighth birthday--with its thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh album releases coming out together--it seems a good time to address some frequent questions and misconceptions about the label: Q: Aren't most Elsewhere releases double or triple? A: Out of thirty-seven releases, five are doubles, three are triples. Q: Don't a majority of Elsewhere releases feature piano. A: Yes, a large proportion of Elsewhere releases do feature piano.
Continue ReadingCharles Lloyd and Steve Tibbetts: Inner Directed and Independent
by Doug Collette
Perhaps not surprisingly, independent thinkers are invariably self-motivated and both those virtues apply to saxophonist Charles Lloyd and guitarist Steve Tibbetts. But while the former has roamed far and wide in a series of musical adventures involving the disparate likes of Keith Jarrett and the Beach Boys, the latter has chosen to go deep rather than broad in working with percussionist Marc Anderson for upwards of fifty years. In a similar reflection of their respective approaches, Tibbetts has mostly recorded ...
Continue ReadingBeauty in Loss
by Geno Thackara
Saying goodbye to loved ones is never easy, but putting it into art helps in a way nothing else does and often leads to something beautiful. Even between two very different musicians and very different sounds, there is a recognizable emotional thread that stays the same from Moldova to midwest America. Brian EatonLike a Root Out of Dry Ground Eatin' Records 2025 As the old philosophical saying goes, you can never step into ...
Continue ReadingTwo Unearthed Live Gems By Rahsaan Roland Kirk
by Michael Blake
What a joy it was to sit down with these never-before-heard live recordings from American jazz genius Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Unearthed by producer Zev Feldman and released in tandem by Resonance Records, these beautifully packaged CD sets--complete with striking artwork, evocative photos, and heartfelt personal reflections--are a marvelous tribute in their own right. I was first introduced to Kirk as a teenager while visiting friends whose parents' record collections often included his more commercially successful albums like The ...
Continue ReadingThe Genius of Ray Charles is on display in this four-album Tangerine Records Master Series
by Bridget A. Arnwine
Ray Charles Robinson, known the world over as multi-award-winning icon Ray Charles, may have departed this world, but his music endures thanks in part to the Ray Charles Foundation. Recently, the Foundation released four albums as part of the Tangerine Records Master Series. Those albums which include Come Live with Me, Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul (1963), Love Country Style (1970), and No One Does It Like Ray Charles were released as individual projects throughout 2025. While Ingredients in ...
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