Jazz Articles
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Simon Nabatov 3 + 2: Verbs
by John Sharpe
What constitutes a composition? German-based Russian-born pianist Simon Nabatov makes a convincing case that a simple verbal instruction can suffice on Verbs. It is not a claim he makes himself, but the six supposed improvisations each mines such a distinctive seam that, although spontaneously conceived without melody or other formal arrangement, the initial proposition proves enough. Perhaps germane to the achievement is the presence of the pianist's regular trio mates, bassist Stefan Schönegg and drummer Dominik Mahnig, although that is ...
Continue ReadingMike Mele: Guitarist, Composer and Educator
by Doug Hall
On this show, we chat with guitarist Mike Mele, a graduate from Berklee College of Music in 1990 (Cum Laude). Mele is a prominent educator, and has taught guitar lessons through The Music Emporium in Lexington, Massachusetts for over twenty-five years. He has also taught at Berklee College of Music, Tufts University, Sharon Music Academy, Bentley College, and currently is a music teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy. He spent the last thirty years performing with many ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Inoue: Presents Jo Kondo's Works For Piano 2015-2020
by Chris May
Jo Kondo is a composer unto himself, but for ready reference he can be filed in the proximity of John Cage and Morton Feldman, both of whom he got to know in 1978 in New York while in the city on a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. Satoko Inoue is a concert pianist specializing in modern music. Presents Jo Kondo's Works For Piano 2015-2020 is her second album of Kondo's music for the ezz-thetics label, following Presents Jo Kondo's New ...
Continue ReadingJohn Swana: Philly Gumbo Vol.2
by C. Andrew Hovan
It seems like a lot of up and coming trumpeters these days go for the bop stylings of Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw as their main influence. Far fewer look to players like Art Farmer or Kenny Wheeler for inspiration. That's what has made watching the development of Philadelphia trumpet man John Swana so fascinating over the years. While he has the chops needed to communicate in the high-octane language of be-bop, his tone and use of space suggest that ...
Continue ReadingTerry Adams: Terrible [Deluxe Edition]
![Read "Terrible [Deluxe Edition]" reviewed by Dave Linn](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/1915e29cbe092b861b4848bdfe28ad6b.jpg)
by Dave Linn
Terry Adams is best known for his work with the seminal band, NRBQ (New Rhythm & Blues Quartet). Their self-titled debut (Columbia, 1969), included Sun Ra's “Rocket Number Nine." The follow-up was a collaboration with early rock legend Carl Perkins called Boppin' The Blues. In 1974 singer, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire, Big Al Anderson and drummer Tom Ardolino joined the band. For the next 20 years that lineup thrilled live audiences around the world. In 1994, Anderson (dismayed by the ...
Continue ReadingJoseph Daley, Michal Aftyka, Les McCann & Larry Roland
by Maurice Hogue
The tuba is not a horn that you'll hear that often in a typical jazz ensemble, but when you do, it's memorable. Joseph Daley is one of the noted masters of that instruments, with a career that has seen him playing with artists from Anthony Braxton to Carla Bley to Jane Cortez to the Liberation Music Orchestra. He's just released The Tuba Chronicles Vol. 2 and it's one of the feature new albums in this edition of OMJ. Rising star ...
Continue ReadingNew Old Luten Trio: Trident Juncture
by Glenn Astarita
In 2023, the New Old Luten Trio album on Euphorium Records featured, albeit posthumously, the legendary Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky who was Germany's answer to the avant-garde saxophone. Known affectionately as Luten Petrowsky, his reeds here join forces with Elan Pauer on piano and Christian Lillinger's drumming wizardry. This near hour-long extravaganza, recorded back in 2016, at Leipzig's naTo, is not just music; it is a spirited rendezvous of improvisation--a testament to a decade of the trio's synergy. Hence, a musical homage ...
Continue ReadingNew Releases, Grammy Winners, Birthday Celebrations For Blanche Calloway, Carole King & More
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast includes new releases from Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo, Alliance (led by Sharel Cassity and Coleen Clark), Tierney Sutton and Nubya Garcia, with nods to several Grammy winners and birthday shoutouts to Blanche Calloway, Chick Webb, Carmen Staaf, Jen Allen, and Carole King, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire. Playlist Audrey ...
Continue ReadingAnthony Hervey with the John Toomey Trio at the Attucks Jazz Club
by Mark Robbins
Anthony Hervey may be fairly new on the jazz scene but he plays the trumpet with the chops of an older experienced player. A graduate of the Julliard School in 2020, Hervey has been a first-call sideman for Christian McBride, m :Jon Batiste, Michael Buble and Wynton Marsalis among others. His musical prowess was not only evident in his playing but he showcased his vocal blues talent with a couple of songs from Keb' Mo' and Muddy Waters. Equally at ...
Continue ReadingNikos Chatzitsakos: Tiny Big Band 2
by Jack Bowers
Cleaving to the premise that one Tiny Big Band deserves another, bassist Nikos Chatzitsakos is back with Tiny Big Band 2, the second album by his feisty nonet and a follow-up to the well-received Tiny Big Band! (self-produced), recorded in 2022. This time, Chatzitsakos uses two vocalists instead of one, rotating them on half of the album's eight tracks, and brings back only three of the earlier album's instrumentalists, plus himself. The returnees are cornetist Robert Mac ...
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