Home » Jazz Articles » Andy Hunter
Jazz Articles about Andy Hunter
Vancouver Jazz Orchestra: Vancouver Jazz Orchestra Meets Brian Charette
by Pierre Giroux
The Vancouver Jazz Orchestra's debut album arrives with a sense of purpose that feels both timely and reassuringly traditional. Formed to showcase the city's rich pool of jazz musicians while creating a platform for composers and arrangers, the VJO proves itself not through rhetoric but through sound. This release features a confident, well-rehearsed ensemble playing music almost exclusively by Vancouver writers, united here by the invigorating presence of Hammond B3 master Brian Charette. Steve Kaldestad's “Equestrian Interlude" opens ...
Continue ReadingVancouver Jazz Orchestra: Meets Brian Charette
by Jack Bowers
Through the years, Canada has produced an impressive number of world-renowned big bands including Rob McConnell's peerless Boss Brass, the Toronto and Winnipeg Jazz Orchestras, those led by trombonist Dave McMurdo, pianist Jill Townsend and trumpeter Steve McDade, and one of the world's foremost undergraduate bands, Montreal's McGill University Jazz Ensemble. On its debut recording, Meets Brian Charette, the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra proves beyond any doubt that it deserves inclusion in that special fraternity. Simply put, the VJO ...
Continue ReadingWDR Big Band featuring John Goldsby and Bob Mintzer: Big Band Bass
by Artur Moral
What better way to bid farewell to a long, fruitful relationship than with a mutual gift? That is the decision John Goldsby and the extraordinary WDR Big Band made after 30 years of intense collaboration. Extended partnerships are perhaps not too frequent in today's jazz landscape, even in the more conducive orchestral realm: well-known are the lengthy associations, uninterrupted and almost exclusive, of Harry Carney with Duke Ellington And His Orchestra (over 46 years!) or Freddie Green with the Count ...
Continue Reading3 Cohens, WDB Big Band: Interaction
by Angelo Leonardi
A dieci anni di distanza dalla loro ultima collaborazione discografica, Yuval, Anat e Avishai Cohen tornano con quest'album live, che documenta il concerto dato con la WDR Big Band il 16 giugno 2022 alla Filarmonica di Colonia. Altra figura centrale dell'evento è Oded Lev-Ari, che ha scritto le partiture e diretto l'orchestra. Oded collabora con i Cohen sin dagli anni in cui tutti studiavano a Tel-Aviv. Anche se suonano assieme dall'adolescenza, il sodalizio professionale dei tre fratelli è ...
Continue ReadingThe 3 Cohens: Interaction
by Mike Jurkovic
As a thriving collective, the 3 Cohens have recorded four outstanding studio albums over the first quarter of the 21st century: the self-produced One (2003), 2007's Braid, 2011's Family and 2013's Tightrope, (last three released by Anzic Records, the label founded by clarinetist Anat Cohen with kindred-spirit producer-collaborator Oded Lev-Ari). Dipping, darting, diving, the 3 Cohens have crisscrossed the global stage, bringing their joyful high-flying interplay to Brazil, New York, Europe and Australia. Searing, swerving and soaring, trumpeter Avishai Cohen's revved-up swing testament, ...
Continue ReadingWDR Big Band: Bluegrass
by Jack Bowers
Violinist Darol Anger literally had a dream, one in which he was performing his bluegrass music not with the David Grisman Quintet or another small group but in front of a full-fledged big band--and in Germany, of all places. Even though it was a dream he thought would never come true, it was so vivid and tantalizing that Anger shared it with his longtime friend and musical colleague, mandolinist Mike Marshall, who agreed that it was rather far-fetched but nonetheless ...
Continue ReadingMarshall Gilkes: LifeSongs
by Dan Bilawsky
A sojourn in the city of Cologne is akin to a homecoming for Marshall Gilkes. The lauded trombonist spent four memorable years in that cultural hub beside the Rhine, making his mark within the ranks of the WDR Big Band's brass section, and his departure in December of 2013 did nothing to dampen his love for the region and the tremendous fellow feeling binding him to his colleagues. Illustrating this point, one month later Gilkes returned for a proper farewell ...
Continue Reading
