Articles by Dennis Hollingsworth
Tchicai/Fewell/Della Porta/Tracanna/Manzi: Big Chief Dreaming
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Big Chief Dreaming is a collaborative effort of international musicians from the US, France, and Italy. Danish reedman John Tchicai, often associated with avant-garde pursuits, joins a bit more traditional quartet consisting of Bostonian guitarist Garrison Fewell and Italians Tino Tracanna (saxophones), Paolino Dalla Porta (bass), and Massimo Manzi (drums). Fewell has longstanding associations with Tracanna and Manzi. Dalla Porta, a frequent colleague of Tracanna, is one of Italy's bass masters. Compositions from group members form the program, marking the ...
Continue ReadingPablo Ziegler & Quique Sinesi: Bajo Cero
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Bajo Cero continues the string of fine releases from the folks at New York's Zoho Music, this time presenting an excellent example of tango nuevo in a trio format. Playing a combination of tango and jazz styles with roots in Argentina, the triumvirate is led by Pablo Ziegler, a graduate of the Buenos Aires Music Conservatory and Astor Piazzolla's pianist for ten years. He has been a featured symphonic performer and composer across the globe, as well as having associations ...
Continue ReadingDave Liebman and Phil Markowitz: Manhattan Dialogues
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Dave Liebman and Phil Markowitz are no strangers to the jazz public, particularly as members of the New York scene. Actively performing and recording together for over ten years, their longevity continues a pattern favored by Liebman. Pianist Richie Bierach was Liebman's longtime collaborator in the '70s and '80s. On Manhattan Dialogues, the duo's indisputable familiarity pays great dividends. All of the necessary elements for creating highly evolved music are here: advanced technical ability, cutting-edge harmonic understanding, spectacular imagination, tremendous ...
Continue ReadingMulgrew Miller: Live at Yoshi's Volume Two
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Mulgrew Miller may not be a household name, but he should be no stranger to jazz fans, with more than ten recordings to date as a leader. Miller might be the only pianist who can cite regular stints with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the incredible Tony Williams on his resume. This new release is dedicated to another somewhat unsung pianist, James Williams, who passed away during the recording sessions. Williams was a friend and mentor of Miller, going back ...
Continue ReadingCharles Gayle: Shout!
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Charles Gayle is without question one of the most intriguing figures in modern jazz today. His powerful, free, and onerous style defies easy categorization. His background as a vagabond New York street musician adds mystique, like the Renaissance artists who toiled without financial reward while pushing the envelope of art and music beyond conventional boundaries. He is a devout Christian and concerned citizen whose willingness to speak his mind does not always jive with club owners. He has performed in ...
Continue ReadingWarren Jones: Twice Blessed & Ohrw
by Dennis Hollingsworth
I start this review with a small admission. Warren Jones and I were both students in the '70s at Arizona State University in the Jazz Performance department. Like most good college environments, creative folks were everywhere, some going on to rather illustrious careers. Warren and players like Frank Smith, the saxophonist on Ohrwurm, chose to stay put in Phoenix and pursue their musical development through teaching, writing and performing. Both now teach at ASU and are integral parts of the ...
Continue ReadingDino Saluzzi: Senderos
by Dennis Hollingsworth
The bandoneon, long associated with the tango music of Argentina, is a relative of the German koncertina. Both are bellows and button instruments which produce their sounds via metal reeds. The great Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla had the largest impact in lifting the bandoneon from the dance hall to the concert stage. Dino Saluzzi began his association with Piazzolla in Buenos Aires at an early age, but he describes his style as neither art music nor intellectual music, preferring to ...
Continue ReadingSolar: Suns of Cosmic Consciousness
by Dennis Hollingsworth
This first effort from the trio known as Solar introduces one of the more intriguing piano-driven groups on the current scene. Pianist Eli Amin, co-founder of the Jazz Drama Program for children in the New York area, received his Master's Degree in Music Education at Lehman College, CUNY and now teaches at the school. Bassist Alan Bernstein, jazz director at the Berkeley-Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY, is a multi-talented composer/arranger with experience in a variety of musical contexts. Drummer and ...
Continue ReadingSteffen Basho-Junghans: Unknown Music 1: Alien Letter
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Painter, guitarist, composer, and free author Steffen Basho-Junghans lives in Berlin and Thuringia, Germany. He has been highly influential on the eastern German guitar scene since the late '70s. Largely a self-taught artist and musician, his style is best categorized as eccentric and highly personal. Junghans uses steel-string acoustic guitars, combining archaic sounds with altered tunings and a plethora of divergent connections. Traditional European, American Indian, and Asian scales create a landscape with circuitous ties to East Indian instruments like ...
Continue ReadingJoey DeFrancesco with Jimmy Smith: Legacy
by Dennis Hollingsworth
There have been many great practitioners of the Hammond organ in jazz history, including Shirley Scott, Groove Holmes, Charles Earland, and Larry Young. Today, Dan Wall and Larry Goldings have helped bring the organ back to the forefront. But perhaps no one can claim the overall impact of the late Jimmy Smith. His harmonic conception and technical prowess are now legendary. Spanning four decades of jazz history, Smith helped define the organ and guitar tradition with folks like Wes Montgomery, ...
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