Articles by Daniel Lehner
lisa liu: Introducing...Lisa Liu
by Daniel Lehner
Lisa Liu's Introducing...“ is a great example of one of the subtly exciting things about “vintage" styles: that, no matter how observant, studious and sometimes even intentionally conservative the endeavor can be, human nature ends up evolving them anyway. Liu's general genre is called many things--trad jazz, gypsy jazz, et. al.—but the album is not merely a meticulous recreation of a period, but a capably produced amalgam of different pre-bop styles that she handles both dutifully and skillfully.
Continue ReadingNicole Glover: First Record
by Daniel Lehner
If for some reason Portland-native Nicole Glover's First Record ended up being her only one, she would still have made a lasting impact on the jazz world. The 24-year-old saxophonist's debut is an ambitious one that lays a lot on the table and seeks not only to establish her as a capable player, but a voice in the crowded world of jazz tenor. Aided by fellow Portlanders, both in her peer group (Jonathan Lakey on bass) and a few generations ...
Continue ReadingAndrew D'Angelo: Story of the Living
by Daniel Lehner
The album artwork for Andrew D'Angelo's Norman features the album's namesake, D'Angelo's grandfather, as a young man, seated slyly and serenely. The significance of naming the album “Norman" was not only a nod to the fact that D'Angelo bears that as his middle name, but also that the album is dedicated in part to D'Angelo's mother. “I really wanted to make a record basically for my mother. Because, I mean, can you imagine what it's like watching your ...
Continue ReadingNick Grinder: Ten Minutes
by Daniel Lehner
It's a shame that more trombonists don't make records like the one 25-year-old Nick Grinder has. The instrument has long since proven its worth in bebop, post-bop and neo- bop, but few bone players have elected to exploit the instrument's unique timbre and music- making structure, not to mention writing music most conducive for it, in the way that Grinder and his band have in their debut. In a strong first recording that lays out eight original compositions, Grinder and ...
Continue ReadingSteven Lugerner: Jericho and San Francisco
by Daniel Lehner
Eric Dolphy once mused, “When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone, in the air. You can never capture it again." Luckily for fellow multi-reedist Steve Lugerner, that's a piece of wisdom that the Bay Area musician did not take at face value. For his release, For We Have Heard, Lugerner devised a means of music making that seriously excited his band mates like Myra Melford and Matt Wilson. “Upon hearing it, they all freaked out," recalls Lugerner. “I ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: The Low End Theory
by Daniel Lehner
Specialists don't usually have the luxury of controlling much of their destiny. For a low woodwind expert like Brian Landrus, it would be of little surprise to anyone to find that, though he'd have the freedom to experiment with sounds and timbres for his own records, he would be little more than a hired gun for his sideperson work. Fortunately, Landrus's conviction as an artist, as well as technical skill as a multi-reedist, has given him the leeway to put ...
Continue ReadingNathan Hook's Mobiustrip at Somethin' Jazz Club
by Daniel Lehner
Nathan Hook's Mobiustrip Somethin' Jazz Club New York, NY Tenor saxophonist Nathan Hook's Mobiustrip opened their set at Somethin Jazz Club in Midtown East, NYC with a tune called “You Probably Thought This Would Be Fun," and it was appropriate. This is not to say that Hook's music was unenjoyable or without merit (far from it, actually), but whatever expectations of dissonance and complexity a hard-worn member of the NYC jazz scene might come to ...
Continue ReadingDaniel Meron Quartet: New York, NY, Saturday May 4, 2013
by Daniel Lehner
Daniel Meron QuartetMetropolitan RoomNew York, NYMay 4, 2013After debuting his first album, Directions, when first moving to New York from Berklee in 2010, Israeli-born pianist Daniel Meron has moved on to new avenues relatively quickly. One of these is focusing on more song-based material (complete with lyrics), which has regained popularity in the jazz world, though it is still a unique challenge. Meron and his quartet, consisting of vocalist Maia Karo, drummer Rodrigo Recabarren and ...
Continue ReadingDavid Fiuczynski: In the In Between
by Daniel Lehner
The most recent compositional premiere by guitarist David Fiucyznski has a title that almost manages to sum up his entire sphere of influence. “Flam! Pan-Asian Microjam for J Dilla and Olivier Messiaen" premiered at Berklee College of Music in 2012 and was inspired by a geographically and temporally enormous range of styles. Fiuczynski describes the piece as a trinity of inspirations with respect to rhythm, harmony and melody.“It's kind of a triangle between Pan-Asian music, Messiaen bird calls ...
Continue ReadingAbe Ovadia Trio: New York, NY, November 6, 2012
by Daniel Lehner
Abe Ovadia TrioCornelia Street CafeNew York, NYNovember 6, 2012The night of the 2012 U.S. presidential election happened to be a few days into the slow return of many West Village jazz clubs, back to regular operation after Hurricane Sandy. Thus, Cornelia Street Café and many other clubs like it were eager, even in spite of all of the recovery from the previous week and the hubbub of the election results, to get acts back on ...
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