Jazz Articles about Rob Thorsen

David Whitman: Ode To Joe

by Jack Bowers
October 10, 2023

While West Coast drummer David Whitman's Ode to Joe [Henderson] is a rather brief one at less than thirty-three minutes, it is otherwise admirable for what is enclosed within its concise parameters. Whitman leads a well-schooled septet whose makeup is freshened by rotating tenor saxophonists Bob Sheppard and Rob Lockart and guitarists Bruce Forman and Chris Montgomery. Whitman and trumpeter Andrew Neesley share composer credits, and Neesley handles the arrangements, awakening warm memories of the Golden Age ...

David Whitman: Ode To Joe

by Richard J Salvucci
September 17, 2023

Dipping into this fine recording is, to mix metaphors a bit, like opening a time capsule. That capsule is called One For All (A&M, 1990), perhaps the final studio recording of Art Blakey with The Jazz Messengers. It was not a perfect outing, but it was a memorable one. The lines got into the head and stayed there, just waiting for a chance to be reawakened. Well, now is the time with Ode to Joe. A convenient link between the ...

Christopher Hollyday: Dialogue

by Angelo Leonardi
July 7, 2021

Il ritorno discografico di Christopher Hollyday—a un quarto di secolo dall'ultimo disco—è proprio una sorpresa. Chi segue il jazz dei primi anni novanta ricorderà il formidabile debutto del sax contralto non ancora ventenne in un disco da leader per l'RCA/Novus, accompagnato da Wallace Roney, Cedar Walton, David Williams e Billy Higgins. Un talento naturale dalla tecnica smagliante e lo stile alla Jackie McLean, che nei successivi tre dischi per l'etichetta l'imposero tra i promettenti young lions della sua generazione. Nel ...

Rob Thorsen: Lasting Impression

by Jerry D'Souza
June 8, 2009

Bassist Rob Thorsen became interested in jazz when he heard Dave Brubeck, Cannonball Adderley and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The acoustic bass, which he discovered when he was in his twenties, became his instrument of choice as he began his career as a performer on a cruise ship. On Lasting Impression, his fourth CD as leader, Thorsen plays compositions by Charlie Parker, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane and George Gershwin, along with his own work.

Thorsen grafts his ideas convincingly onto the ...

Rob Thorsen: Lasting Impression

by Dan McClenaghan
May 19, 2009

San Diego-based bassist Rob Thorsen seems to be shining up a '50's-'60's jazz classics lesson with the first four cuts on Lasting Impression. The set opens with Charlie Parker's “Dexterity," a crisp, jaunty take on the classic, with Gilbert Castellanos--another San Diego jazz scene stalwart--sitting in on trumpet, giving the tune a bright, fluid feeling. John Coltrane's “Giant Steps" is done in piano trio mode, with Josh Nelson's upbeat keyboard workout making the melody shine before he accompanies with a ...

The Rob Thorsen Quartet: Evolution

by C. Michael Bailey
November 1, 2003

Bassist-led recording dates make among the most interesting and swinging music produced in jazz. Paul Chambers’ recordings for Blue Note are a great case in point. Veteran bassist Rob Thorsen extends this tradition with Evolution. Thorsen is a San Francisco native who has been playing and performing the better part of his life and has appeared with many jazz luminaries, including Mark Murphy, John Hendricks, James Moody, Charles McPherson, and Richie Cole. He is a bassist in the vein of ...

Rob Thorsen Quartet: Evolution

by J. Robert Bragonier
October 8, 2003

One pleasant consequence of so many independent CDs on the market is the opportunity to hear regional musicians who otherwise would have gotten little or no national exposure. It is exciting to find groups as good or better than nationally known variety. Rob Thorsen's quartet is but one example. When he was 18, bassist Rob Thorson began playing in San Francisco blues and street bands. Over the next several years, he was exposed to the artistry of ...