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Jazz Articles about Will Slater
Gabriel Guerrero & Quantum: Equilibrio
by Jack Bowers
Colombian-born, New York City-based pianist/composer Gabriel Guerrero plays and writes quite well, and is effectively supported by an able-bodied trio on Equilibrio--even though drummer Felix Lecaros sometimes overplays his hand. Guerrero's themes--he wrote every one of the album's eleven numbers--are by and large slow-to medium-tempo pleasant, which suits the ensemble well but runs the risk of trying a listener's patience. The lone variations take place on Track 9, “Permanent Divsersion Part II," with the use of Fung ...
read moreYoko Miwa Trio: Songs Of Joy
by Dan McClenaghan
A steady gig must be a Godsend to any jazz musician. The chance to work on stage and on schedule can be the cornerstone to artistic development and a melding of the ensemble mind. For pianist Yoko Miwa, that steady job was, for a decade and a half, at Les Zygomates Wine Bar and Bistro in Boston. Then the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 hit, and those doors closed, limiting Miwa's ability to publicly shape and present her music.
read moreAnishana: Corners of the Sky
by Jack Bowers
What a pleasant surprise. When a group named Anishana records an album built around Native American themes and concepts, the inclination is to withhold judgment while preparing for the worst. Yes, Anishana is an Algonquin-derived term meaning “where do you come from?" And yes, Anishana loosely bases the music in Corners of the Sky on Native American customs and beliefs. The good news is that those indigenous Americans evidently had jazz chops no one suspected and swung like plumage in ...
read moreYoko Miwa: Keep Talkin'
by Angelo Leonardi
Tra le jazz ladies giapponesi che operano negli Stati Uniti (ad esempio Satoko Fujii e Miho Hazama), Yoko Miwa è la meno nota al pubblico italiano ed è un peccato visto l'alto valore di questo disco e dei sette già realizzati. Nata a Kobe 49 anni fa, Yoko ha studiato pianoforte nel suo Paese dall'età di quattro anni e ha proseguito al conservatorio e con Minoru Ozone, organista jazz e padre di Makoto Ozone. Nel 1997 ha vinto ...
read moreYoko Miwa Trio: Keep Talkin'
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Yoko Miwa was born in Japan, but she has set up shop in Boston, where she teaches at Berklee College of Music. She has also—beginning in 2003 with Fadeless Flower (Polystar Records)—previously released seven CDs. The superb Keep Talkin' brings that number of recorded offerings from Miwa to eight. The music of Keep Talkin' says that Miwa has fully embraced an American state of mind, beginning with the title tune, a Miwa original that sounds like something ...
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