Articles by Glenn Astarita
Chris Jonas: backwardsupwardsky
by Glenn Astarita
Few artists can translate geography into sound with the spatial clarity that Chris Jonas achieves on backwardsupwardsky. A saxophonist, composer and multimedia artist whose résumé includes collaborations with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor and William Parker, Jonas has always favored creative risk. This two-LP set on Edgetone Records transforms desert solitude--specifically his winters camping on Arizona's Barry Goldwater Missile Range--into a sprawling, multi-ensemble work. The music captures both the intimacy of campfire sketches and the sheer scale of the landscapes that ...
Continue ReadingDatadyr: This We Know
by Glenn Astarita
Norwegian jazz trio Datadyr delivers a compelling sophomore album with This We Know, refining their sound into a sophisticated gem of modern fusion. Guitarist Odd Erlend Mikkelsen, bassist Øystein Høynes, and drummer Amund Nordstrøm draw from their Bergen roots, blending American blues, country and jazz with a cool Nordic reserve. Their previous album, Woolgathering (Is It Jazz?, 2022), played like a musical resume, displaying skills in a scattered fashion. This follow-up sharpens the focus, prioritizing compositions over showmanship--as if the ...
Continue ReadingDave Douglas: Alloy
by Glenn Astarita
Dave Douglas continues his alchemical pursuits with Alloy, forging a trumpet-centric ensemble that elevates group dialogue to new heights--proving that in jazz, three is not a crowd, it is a conspiracy of cool. Commissioned for the 23rd season of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, the project pairs the leader with British trumpeter Alexandra Ridout and New Hampshire's Dave Adewumi, creating a brass coalition where collaboration outshines competition, like diplomats dodging discord. The title nods to the art of melding ...
Continue ReadingSoft Machine: Floating World Live
by Glenn Astarita
Keyboardist Mike Ratledge's “The Man Who Waved at Trains" emerges as a highlight from Soft Machine's 2025 remastered album Floating World Live, representing a crucial period in the Canterbury legends' evolution during their pivotal era with guitar great Allan Holdsworth . Moreover, Drop (MoonJune, 2025), drawn from a 1971 concert, also receives the remastered treatment for 2025. “The Man Who Waved at Trains" highlights Soft Machine at their most reflective, weaving together Ratledge and Karl Jenkins' hypnotic keyboard ...
Continue ReadingBob Dee's Cosmosis: New Moon
by Glenn Astarita
Bob Dee's Cosmosis releases New Moon as an instrumental album that explores modern creative jazz with soulful undertones. Led by guitarist and composer Bob Dee, the project features seven tracks that blend exploratory melodies with rhythmic depth, displaying the group's considerable technical abilities. The opener “Prajñā," sets a radiant tone with John Isley's luscious flute lines amid the leader's melodic jazz soloing and the quasi-Latin undertones from drummer Greg Joseph and Michael Bates' walking bass lines. The arrangement ...
Continue ReadingChes Smith: Clone Row
by Glenn Astarita
Ches Smith, the San Diego-born Sacramento-raised drummer who studied philosophy at the University of Oregon before diving headfirst into the Bay Area's experimental music scene, has long been one of modern jazz's most restless spirits. His deep resume includes work with Marc Ribot, Tim Berne, John Zorn, Mary Halvorson and Nels Cline, cementing his reputation as a first-call rhythmic architect for the avant-garde and progressive jazz. Following his acclaimed ten-piece ensemble album Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic, 2024), Smith took a bold ...
Continue ReadingSoft Ffog: Focus
by Glenn Astarita
Soft Ffog, a Norwegian jazz-prog quartet from Bergen, emerged with their self-titled debut in 2023. Led by guitarist Tom Hasslan, the band features keyboardist Vegard Lien Bjerkan, drummer Axel Skalstad and bassist Trond Frønes. With nods to 1970s giants like Camel, Focus Soft Machine and Mahavishnu Orchestra, they blend intricate prog rock with improvisational jazz, evoking a retro spirit that feels fresh rather than dated. Their 2025 sophomore album Focus sharpens this vision across four sprawling tracks, marking ...
Continue ReadingPlainsPeak: Someone to Someone
by Glenn Astarita
Jon Irabagon's PlainsPeak delivers a soulful homecoming via a love letter to Chicago with its debut, Someone to Someone. Ditching the tech-heavy sprawl of his earlier work like Server Farm (Irabbagast, 2025), the leader returns to Chicago's gritty roots with a lean acoustic quartet that is all heart and sly wit. Irabagon, a Chicago-born saxophonist and winner of the Thelonious Monk Competition, leads with his alto's warm expressive tone. He is joined by trumpeter Russ Johnson, a longtime ...
Continue ReadingNicolas Ferron Trio: Multiverse
by Glenn Astarita
The Nicolas Ferron Trio hails from Montreal's vibrant jazz scene where guitarist Nicolas Ferron has been slinging strings alongside local heavyweights like Rémi-Jean Leblanc and Benjamin Deschamps. With Multiverse, Ferron--joined by Jonathan Cayer on B3 organ and Louis-Vincent Hamel on drums--crafts a sonic wormhole that blends psychedelic rock, a punky attitude and experimental jazz. This eight-track 47-minute journey does not merely nod to jazz tradition--it teleports it into a kaleidoscope of modern energy. Ferron's compositions paired with the trio's taut ...
Continue ReadingMatthieu Clement: RUMA
by Glenn Astarita
Mathieu Clement, born in 2001 in Luxembourg, is a dynamic 24-year-old drummer and composer (with a mature talent that belies his age) now based in Cologne, Germany. He began playing the drums and vibraphone at the age of seven, studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, and was part of the JugendJazzOrchester NRW. Clement's discography includes his debut Coming Home“ (Jazz Thing Next Generation, 2022), and the trio album Fume, (Klaeng, 2024). Ruma is a spirited septet ...
Continue Reading
