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Jazz Articles about Tony Reedus
Joe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams
by C. Andrew Hovan
As Duke Ellington would often remind us, music comes in two varieties, that which is good and that which is bad. This suggests that genre and category are really of little concern and that overall quality is really the defining factor in considering the validity of any musical expression. Taking this axiom one step further, let me suggest that good music comes in assorted varieties. On one end of the spectrum you have music brimming with complex structures and technical ...
read moreJoe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams
by David A. Orthmann
Over the past dozen years trumpeter Joe Magnarelli has gradually transformed a bebop-derived vocabulary into a highly personal style. Utilizing a full-bodied tone that never turns strident, Magnarelli invites the listener to focus on the substantive dimensions of his playing, rather than drawing attention to technique, velocity and influences. Beautifully crafted melodies spring from his horn in varying shapes and sizes. Sometimes he'll sustain a chain of thought for several measures; in other instances he'll parcel out a complete idea ...
read moreTony Reedus
by David A. Orthmann
Since he arrived in New York City in 1980 to take over the drum chair in Woody Shaw’s band, Tony Reedus has demonstrated the ability to shape the music of a variety of mainstream ensembles by executing variations in dynamics, touch, and degrees of activity. Treating the drum set as an instrument of kindred components, Reedus moves freely between the polarities of bold self-assertiveness and restrained support. He is capable of directing a band’s progress by employing hard, snapping accents, ...
read moreWalt Weiskopf: Anytown
by C. Andrew Hovan
Although popularity and critics polls speak much to the contrary, saxophonist and composer Walt Weiskopf is one of the most artistic and exceptional jazz musicians around. That he's gone as long as he has without receiving much notice by the jazz press or public at large is undeniably inexplicable. This fact is made even more confounding when one considers that the cerebral and explorative style he has pursued has made other men, such as Joe Lovano and Chris Potter, household ...
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