Jazz Articles
Daily articles including interviews, profiles, live reviews, film reviews and more... all carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. You can find more articles by searching our website, see what's trending on our popular articles page or read articles ahead of their published dates on our future articles page.
Romain Collin: Tiny Lights...
by Geno Thackara
Romain Collin's head must be one fascinating place to live. From the glimpse he reveals on Tiny Lights..., it's an experience like an ongoing film full of colorful action and almost nonstop excitement. His fourth release has him spinning aural gold out of energetic rock, groovy jazz-fusion and electronic trance that almost risks getting too smart for the dance floor. This vivid whirl through the imagination is equal parts bouncy, brainy and beautiful. The titular lights represent positive ...
read moreRomain Collin: Tiny Lights...
by Jerome Wilson
Romain Collin is a young pianist whose previous recordings have shown an affinity for electronic textures and minimalism. This release expands on those ideas. It adds rock energy and hip hop beats to create a buzzing, mechanized universe of sound where Collin's piano is often the most human element on display. The set begins with “Overflow" where layers of quick drum beats, bright piano notes and winding electric guitar mesh together to create a glossy, optimistic feeling. “There ...
read moreRomain Collin: Press Enter
by Hrayr Attarian
French pianist Romain Collin's third release as a leader, Press Enter, can easily serve as a soundtrack for an art house flick. This is very natural for Collin who has both written music for several films and proved himself an accomplished performer. Collin uses intricately constructed harmonic fragments to build captivating sonic mosaics thus most of the originals on this disc are densely textured and cinematic. The thrilling “Webs" has an expectant ambience that drummer Kendrick Scott and ...
read moreRomain Collin: Press Enter
by Karl Ackermann
On his way to creating this extraordinary album, French pianist Romain Collin had the opportunity to chat with Wayne Shorter about those who delay and defer their aspirations. Shorter's two word strategic summation would become the title for this project, Press Enter. Now a jny: New York City resident, Collin did not begin his musical journey through the customary club circuits of Europe or New York, instead touring India and Vietnam with players from the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz. ...
read moreThe North: Slow Down (This Isn't the Mainland)
by Ian Patterson
When French pianist Romain Collin and Hawaii natives double bassist Shawn Conley and drummer Abe Lagrimas, Jr got together in jny:Honolulu there was no special agenda; just three friends playing a few gigs in a relaxed environment, far from the hurly burly of their adopted cities of Los Angeles and New York. However, a trio chemistry was born and shortly afterwards a three-week writing/recording session in an idyllic location ensued. As the title suggests, the music is pretty laid back. ...
read moreRomain Collin: Unearthing A Sound
by Ian Patterson
The environment one grows up in is undoubtedly hugely influential in a person's life. Pianist Romain Collins grew up just stone's throw from the site of the Antibes Jazz Festival, and his exposure to some of the greats of jazz there as a youngster may have had a lot to do with his later decision to leave France and pursue jazz studies in America. Eight years after arriving in New York Collin released his debut recording as leader, the beautiful ...
read moreRomain Collin: The Calling
by Ian Patterson
In the dense jungle of the jazz piano trio, unearthing and successfully making heard an original voice is no small feat. Romain Collin caught the attention of many with his debut, The Rise and Fall of Pipokhun (Fresh Sound, New Talent, 2009), a mellow yet ambitious conceptual suite that marked the New York-based Frenchman as a pianist and composer of note. Collin's innate lyricism shone through from his keys, as did a rare delicacy of touch that conveyed emotional power ...
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