Articles by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Robert Glasper: Black Radio
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Depending on your age, Houston-born pianist/composer Robert Glasper is--like trumpeters Christian Scott and Ambrose Akinmusire, and bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding-either the herald of a new world a-comin' when jazz musicians will be heard on pop radio on a regular basis, or he's a throwback to the golden age of the seventies, when jazz stars, from Herbie Hancock to Donald Byrd, were played on African-American and pop stations.Blessed with a fleet-fingered, countrified approach to the piano that blends gospel, Thelonious ...
Continue ReadingJack DeJohnette: Sound Travels
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Drummer/pianist/composer/bandleader Jack DeJohnette turns seventy this year, and his longevity on the scene is only eclipsed by the astonishing variety of settings in which he's worked. Since emerging from his hometown Chicago, the ubiquitous drummer has played with important artists including saxophonist Charles Lloyd, trumpeter Miles Davis and pianists Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett (with whom he still works today). And then there are his wonderfully eclectic Special Edition groups--always on the cutting edge. Although anyone could hear his crisp ...
Continue ReadingEugene Holley Jr.'s Best Releases of 2011
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
At a time when Hispanics are the dominant minority in the United States, The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has decided to eliminate the Latin Jazz category. This list is posted in solidarity with those who demand that the category be reinstated. Fabian Almazan Trio Possibilities (Biophilla/Palmetto) Michel Camilo Mano A Mano ...
Continue ReadingWynton Marsalis: Newark, Delaware, November 2, 2011
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Wynton Marsalis: The Ballad of the American ArtsBob Carpenter CenterUniversity of DelawareNewark, DelawareNovember 2, 2011 A Wynton Marsalis gig is not particularly news. But his appearance at the Bob Carpenter Center was truly newsworthy, as evidenced by the appreciative, near-capacity crowd who came out to hear his stirring fifty-minute lecture/performance. “The Ballad of the American Arts" was his intimate, yet intense presentation that encompassed arts advocacy and education, plus American political, social, ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Miles Espanol: New Sketches of Spain
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
In the days of the so-called Young Lions jazz wave--which lasted roughly, from 1981 to 1992--instrumentalists and singers were all the rage. At the tail end of that period, South Carolina-born saxophonist Bob Belden was making waves for his comprehensive and compelling arranging chops. Over the last two decades, Belden has brilliantly re-imagined the music of Sting, Puccini, Stevie Wonder, and, most notably Miles Davis. Devotees of the Prince of Darkness also know that Belden is one of the world's ...
Continue ReadingRandy Weston: Blue Moses
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Brooklyn-born, six-foot-seven octogenarian pianist/composer Randy Weston has literally been a larger-than-life jazz force for six decades: his percussive pianism was forged from a distinguished keyboard continuum, ranging from Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk to John Lewis; his “Little Niles" and “Hi-Fly" are well-worn jazz standards; and the pianist may well be the greatest exponent of the African roots of America's classical music. Weston lived in Morocco in the 1960s and '70s, opened a jazz club there, and was virtually a ...
Continue ReadingModern Jazz Quartet: The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
The Modern Jazz Quartet The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings of The Modern Jazz Quartet 1956-64 Mosaic Records 2011 They were diverse in talent and temperament. John Lewis, the quiet and determined westerner, who told sound stories with his linear and logical blues-based pianisms; Milt “Bags" Jackson, the baggy eyed, Motor City vibraharp virtuoso; Percy Heath, the Philly bassist with deep, in-the-pocket basslines; Kenny Clarke, the bomb-dropping blacksmith of the beat from Pittsburgh; and Connie ...
Continue ReadingDuke Ellington's America
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Duke Ellington's AmericaHarvey G. CohenHardcover; 682 pagesISBN: 978-0-226-11263-3University of Chicago Press20010 Dozens of books in print about Duke Ellington portray him as the pre-eminent composer of the 20th century, who led his orchestra for an amazing 50 years and possessed a percussive, dark-clustered piano style that influenced everyone from Thelonious Monk to Randy Weston. This meticulously researched and elegantly written book, by British cultural historian Harvey Cohen, ...
Continue ReadingCachao: Uno Mas
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
Israel “Cachao" LopezCachao: Una MasDOC Film Institute2008 It's a cliché to say that any one man is largely responsible for a large part of modern music. But in the case of Israel “Cachao" Lopez--the Cuban-born, Miami-based bassist, composer and bandleader, who died in 2007 at around the age of 90--that claim is true. Without the pioneering musicianship of this tanned, slightly hunched over, bowlegged musician, Latin music would not exist as it ...
Continue ReadingJeff Lorber Fusion: Now is the Time
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
An accepted kernel of jazz historiography states that cats who play what has ultimately become smooth jazz play it because they can't play the real music. But even back in the day--specifically the seventies--this wasn't true across the board, as evidenced by the undeniable chops of Ramsey Lewis, Grover Washington, Jr., Joe Sample, and Philly-born keyboardist Jeff Lorber. His group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, was a mainstay on urban black radio, and his compositions, arrangements and solos swung in the ...
Continue Reading
