Jazz Articles about BeatleJazz

BeatleJazz: All You Need

by J Hunter
March 26, 2007

Remember when Miles Davis used Michael Jackson's “Human Nature" and Cyndi Lauper's “Time After Time" as concert staples? The uproar over his choices brings up a question: What, exactly, is a standard? Is the definition strictly limited to the contents of The Great American Songbook? Or is it simply a tune that did not originate as jazz, but was adapted to the genre? Thanks to artists like Brad Mehldau and Richard Glasper, Radiohead is now considered prime fodder for jazz ...

BeatleJazz: With a Little Help from Our Friends

by Jim Santella
April 16, 2005

With its third album of reinterpreted songs associated with the era of the Beatles, this sterling piano trio (plus guests) explores spiritual themes and poignant melodies that have long been tucked away in our mind's library of influential music. Both the latter, mystical period and the earlier, blue collar, everyday affair with the Beatles are included here.

Michael Brecker soars spiritually on “Working Class Hero," with strong ties to the memory of John Coltrane. Randy Brecker weaves a ...

BeatleJazz: With a Little Help From Our Friends

by Paul Olson
April 11, 2005

Let me be the first to admit that I am prejudiced against jazz musicians covering the Beatles. This is in no way related to the source material: like all sentient mammals on the Planet Earth, I adore pretty much every note the Fabs recorded. It's just that their material is so weighted with cultural and nostalgic baggage that (unlike standards like, say, “All the Things You Are ) it retains too much of its Beatleness to be just a set ...

BeatleJazz: Another Bite Of The Apple

by Jim Santella
September 1, 2001

Most nightclub trios don't take requests. Those that do, however, probably know each of these songs inside and out. Many of us grew up with 'em. They're beautiful songs that take us somewhere special every time we hear them. BeatleJazz laces each familiar tune with new spices. It's the kind of swinging improvisation that comes out naturally and quite differently each time. On “Let It Be," for example, the trio lays down the melody with a loping, laid back feel. ...