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Anwar Marshall
Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

by Steve Plever
A glance through the track list--with covers of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye and two swing-era vocal standards--could give you the wrong impression. Yes, this is a very accessible and soulful album, but it is serious and heartfelt jazz, with Orrin Evans' personal stamp making it work. Blues, soul and gospel sounds share the stage here with swing, straight-ahead and avant-garde influences--no surprise given Evans' decade of playing with the Mingus Big Band. Evans' piano sets the tone ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

by Angelo Leonardi
Il nuovo disco di Orrin Evans e della sua Captain Black Big Band ci ricorda l'importanza delle radici per la comunità musicale afroamericana: il gospel, il blues, le big band, i cantanti e strumentisti storici. Una risorsa che è anche identità collettiva e forza culturale. Come ha sempre fatto in passato, il pianista e bandleader di Philadelphia s'ispira alla tradizione per rinnovarla e arricchirla, con passione e freschezza. Stavolta le orchestrazioni sono funzionali alle interpretazioni di quattro prodigiosi ...
Continue ReadingChris Oatts: Personalities

by Victor L. Schermer
Saxophonist Chris Oatts is a graduate of the jazz program at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance and the nephew of revered saxophonistand faculty member of Temple UniversityDick Oatts. This reviewer heard Chris Oatts at Chris' Jazz Café (similarity in the names purely coincidental) in September, 2021, with his quintet featuring one of his teachers and mentors, Terell Stafford, on trumpet. In that set, Oatts stayed within the bebop/hard bop traditions and showed exceptional sophistication, inventiveness, and resilience ...
Continue ReadingGreg Duncan: Sound Duality

by Troy Dostert
Trumpeter Greg Duncan moved from Chicago to Philadelphia in 2020, and the change of environment brought about more than an altered geography. It gave Duncan the chance to forge some creative partnerships with two new ensembles, both of which are found on Sound Duality. The first, a conventional quartet, utilizes the talents of pianist Tim Brey, bassist Sam Harris, and drummer Anwar Marshall, while the other is an organ trio, with Marshall maintaining the drum duties alongside Duncan and organist ...
Continue ReadingMelanie Charles: Y'all Don't (Really) Care About Black Women

by Angelo Leonardi
Questo primo album della cantante Melanie Charles per l'etichetta Verve apre alla cantante di Brooklyn un pubblico più ampio della nicchia dove ha operato finora: quell'universo dove s'incontrano nujazz, neosoul, spiritual jazz e sperimentazioni elettroniche con campionamenti e remixaggi. Attiva da un decennio in quest'area la Charles non è solo una splendida vocalist ma una talentuosa strumentista (flauto, tastiere), arrangiatrice e songwriter. Quest'album è un appassionante tributo alle donne afroamericane attraverso nuove interpretazioni di classici legati a ...
Continue ReadingVictor Gould: In Our Time

by Mike Jurkovic
Over the course of his first endearing works, 2016's stunning, NPR Debut Of The Year Clockwork (New Fresh Sounds), Earthlings (Criss Cross, 2018) and the lush Thoughts Become Things (Criss Cross, 2019), pianist/composer Victor Gould has exhibited a relaxed romanticism, an unerring lilt to his music. A warm empathy that draws you into the joyful, reflective and quiet moments abounding on In Our Time. As the sum and advocate of his influences, young Gould not only has a ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: The Intangible Between

by Paul Rauch
Pianist Orrin Evans has a deep understanding of the unshakeable bond between fellowship, humanity and the creative process. That knowledge has guided him through creating a remarkable catalog of music as both a leader and sideman, along the way, experiencing the fellowship of a collective of musicians he often refers to as The Village." The Village is indeed real, and most aptly expressed musically through the The Captain Black Big Band, Evans' ensemble of anywhere between nine and ...
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