Jazz Articles

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Album Review

John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years

Read "The Montreux Years" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
May 22, 2022

Montreux Jazz Festival and John McLaughlin have shared a special bond since the English guitarist first performed at the internationally renowned Swiss festival in 1972, with The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Since then, the ever-searching McLaughlin has returned numerous times, with almost every formation he has ever led. This double vinyl or single-CD release is effectively a sampler, as all bar one of these tunes appeared on the mammoth 17xCD box set John McLaughlin Montreux Concerts (Warner Bros Records, 2003). The one ...

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First Time I Saw

The Great, Late Show with Dakota Staton

by Rob Mariani
May 22, 2022

She seemed to come out of nowhere. In 1957, suddenly Dakota Staton's Late, Late Show album was even being played on the pop radio stations, as well as on the jazz stations. But she was clearly a jazz singer out of the Dinah Washington school. She had that natural swing built right into her voice, a wonderful feeling for the blues, and great spontaneous instincts when it came to interacting with her musicians.When I heard she was appearing ...

Radio & Podcasts

Miles Davis, Return To Forever, Tony Williams Lifetime, Niacin and Al Di Meola

by Len Davis
May 22, 2022

We go back to a few classics with Miles Davis from Decoy, Return To Forever, Tony Williams Lifetime, Niacin and Al Di MeolaPlaylist JK Special “Crossfire" from JK Special (Lipstick) 00:00 Miles Davis"That's Right" from Decoy (Columbia) 08:05 Return To Forever “Senor Mouse" from The Mothership Returns (Eagle) 16:00 Tony Williams Lifetime"Million Dollar Legs" from The Collection (Columbia) 24:02 Niacin"Panic Button" from Deep (Magna Carta) 32;05 Paradox Trio “Late Night" from Paradox (Tip Toe) 40:10 Al Di Meola"Crusin'" ...

Album Review

Dimitris Angelakis: Long Way Home

Read "Long Way Home" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
May 22, 2022

Homer's Odyssey is one of the most famous epics in literature, and a major theme associated with this poem is nostos. Nostos in literature is the idea of the hero returning home after a long voyage. Throughout the years, Homer's work has both directly and indirectly influenced countless works of art. Vibraphonist Dimitris Angelakis' Long Way Home builds on this idea of nostos by way of the poet Konstantinos Kavafis. Angelakis uses Kavafis' poem, “Ithaca” as the inspiration ...

Radio & Podcasts

Sharp Radway, Gerald Clayton and Armen Donelian

by Joe Dimino
May 22, 2022

We begin the 752nd Episode of Neon Jazz with pianist Armen Donelian with new music from his latest release Fresh Start. Next, we hear from his friend Billy Harper and a host of veteran artists with new material out in 2022. From the likes of Sam Kirmayer, David Nichtern, Sharp Radway and James Brown Gang. In between, we hear from legends Randy Weston, Joe Sullivan and Hubert Laws. Our final song on this hour comes from Gerald Clayton with music ...

Album Review

Potsa Lotsa XL & Youjin Sung: Gaya

by John Sharpe
May 22, 2022

German saxophonist Silke Eberhard received deserved plaudits for her trio effort Being The Up And Down (Intakt, 2021), but Potsa Lotsa, which has been one of her prime outlets for considerably longer, also merits attention. Originally a wind quartet convened to realize The Complete Works Of Eric Dolphy (Jazzwerkstatt, 2010), and named after one of his tunes, the outfit has grown in both repertoire and size. Now a ten-piece band, hence the XL, they are primarily a vehicle for Eberhard's ...

Album Review

Anthony Coleman and Brian Chase: Arcades

by Troy Dostert
May 21, 2022

An interesting cross-generational pairing, Arcades features veteran pianist Anthony Coleman alongside relative upstart, drummer Brian Chase. A key exponent of the jazz avant-garde, Coleman's body of work extends back to the 1980s with John Zorn, plus a host of recordings since then with folks like Wadada Leo Smith and Marc Ribot, not to mention a substantial series of his own releases, including a solo disc from 2019, Catenary Oath (NoBusiness). Chase's dominant claim to fame has been his tenure with ...