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Joe Alterman: Swinging Success
by R.J. DeLuke
It was 2012 when pianist Joe Alterman was preparing to play at the famed Blue Note jazz club in lower Manhattan, not far from where he went to college, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in music. Alterman was checking the sound. The club was basically empty. An older man came in, wheelchair-bound, heading toward the stage. Alterman knew who he was. Hell, he was the opening act for the older gentleman. But Alterman “knew" Les McCann ...
read moreJoe Alterman: Seeking wisdom from the masters
by Leo Sidran
In this episode, pianist Joe Alterman talks about his new record The Upside of Down, southern charm, “finding in jazz and black music what [he] had tried to find in Synagogue," tipping the doorman, being born 50 years too late, playing for regular people, using adversity as an opportunity, what he learned from his friendships with Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, Nat Hentoff, and Ahmad Jamal.Joe is a southern guy with a sunny disposition. He came from Atlanta, and ...
read moreJoe Alterman Trio with John Sandfort at The Jazz Corner
by Martin McFie
The Joe Alterman Trio with John Sandfort The Jazz Corner Hilton Head Island October 12-13, 2018 The Joe Alterman Trio played back-to-back nights at The Jazz Corner on Hilton Head Island, with special guest John Sandfort joining on tenor saxophone. The quartet played two openers together before Sandfort left the stage to Alterman on piano, Justin Chesarek on drums and Stan Piper on upright bass. Driving the strong opening bass ...
read moreJoe Alterman: Give Me The Simple Life
by C. Michael Bailey
Bruce Lindsey, in his review of Joe Alterman's Give Me The Simple Life, notes that the young pianist has..."the feel of a musician who's been immersed in his chosen music for decades." Citing Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson and Red Garland as influences, Altman betrays influences that further give bona fides to his experience beyond youth. Chief among these influences is Garland, who held the piano chair in Miles Davis' first great quintet with John Coltrane, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe ...
read moreJoe Alterman: Give Me The Simple Life
by Bruce Lindsay
There's a tension for many young jazz musicians, between the desire to start recording and the rather contrary need to develop technically and aesthetically before going public. Sometimes there is no tension: Joe Alterman is a case in point. The pianist may be a mere stripling in his early 20s, but he has the technique, the understanding and, most importantly, the feel of a musician who's been immersed in his chosen music for decades. Give Me The Simple Life, his ...
read moreJoe Alterman: Piano Tracks, Volume 1
by Dan McClenaghan
The late Miles Davis had a hand in pushing the standard-playing piano trio out of fashion. The iconic trumpeter's Bitches Brew (Columbia Records, 1970) moved jazz in new and bold directions, and it didn't take long for the piano/bass/drums format to slip into the quaint and old fashioned--and very un-hip--category.Then along came Keith Jarrett--a Davis modern music alum--and his Standards, Vol. 1 (ECM, 1983) and Vol. 2 (ECM, 1985), shining a light on a concept that had slipped ...
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