Articles by Greg Camphire
Charles Lloyd New Quartet: Los Angeles, California, September 25, 2010
by Greg Camphire
Charles Lloyd New QuartetNate Holden Performing Arts CenterLos Angeles, California, USASeptember 25, 2010 The audience at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles witnessed something akin to a Saturday night prayer service on September 25th, 2010. As Charles Lloyd led his New Quartet in support of their latest release, Mirror (ECM, 2010), the expansive set list drew on tunes from throughout Lloyd's long career. But the group dwelled fully in the present ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Music of Central Asia, Volumes 7 - 9
by Greg Camphire
Various ArtistsMusic of Central Asia, Volumes 7--9Smithsonian Folkways2010 The three 2010 CD/DVD releases covered here are just a taste of a stunning and comprehensive nine-volume Music of Central Asia set from Smithsonian Folkways that spans various musical traditions and innovations from a vast, overlapping region including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and more. Each volume contains a CD, DVD and 40-plus-page booklet, with a wealth of information that details the history, ...
Continue ReadingAhmad Jamal: A Quiet Time
by Greg Camphire
Ahmad Jamal A Quiet Time Dreyfus Records 2010
Pianist Ahmad Jamal continues his career-long winning streak with A Quiet Time. The album expands on a stream of superb, post-mid 1990s releases made with largely the same working band: the Verve label's three-part The Essence series (1996-98), followed by Dreyfus' In Search of Momentum (2003), After Fajr (2005) and the excellent It's Magic (2008), among others. Jamal has achieved living legend status by ...
Continue ReadingKurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio: Reflections
by Greg Camphire
A warm and understated trio record, Kurt Rosenwinkel's Reflections zeroes in on an approach to standard repertoire, marking an interesting career turn for the guitarist in the process. With support from drummer Eric Harland and bassist Eric Revis, the six-string innovator opens a window to another side of his playing, featuring quiet meditations on the blues, ballads, and swing. It's a curious listening experience, coming long after Rosenwinkel has already established an original voice as a composer ...
Continue ReadingClay Ross: Matuto
by Greg Camphire
In Brazilian Portuguese, matuto signifies a backwoods country hillbilly. Guitarist, vocalist and South Carolina native Clay Ross knows a thing or two about these types of folks, and finds common ground between their counterparts across the equator on Matuto, his eclectic debut for Ropeadope Records. Ross is something of a polymath, handling guitar, vocals and lyrics as well as the Brazilian cavaquinho guitar and kashakas percussion. His vision for this project is unique; with a mix of ...
Continue ReadingJoe Martin: Not By Chance
by Greg Camphire
Bassist/composer Joe Martin has assembled an all-star cast for his second release as a leader, Not By Chance. All of the tunes, with one exception, are written by Martin, and his interplay with pianist Brad Mehldau, saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Marcus Gilmore is masterful. The group explores rhythms through unending variations, creating instant responses with minute details and close attention to structure.
But while the interaction is deep, the band doesn't immediately distinguish itself as particularly unique; it could ...
Continue ReadingWill Sellenraad: Balance
by Greg Camphire
Balance is the third album as leader for up-and-coming guitarist Will Sellenraad, capturing a day's session of his seasoned working band laying down first or second studio takes of their current repertoire. The six-stringer has a classic tone reminiscent of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, and it serves him well on this set of mostly his own compositions. The album's title track keeps an interesting balance of rhythmic feels, alternating between waltz time and 4/4 swing. It ...
Continue ReadingNew Jazz Composers Octet: The Turning Gate
by Greg Camphire
From the first track on The Turning Gate, it's obvious that the New Jazz Composers Octet has spent considerable quality time together since their founding in 1996. The sheer number of hours spent writing, arranging, and playing material has strengthened this fresh ensemble into a superior example of jazz excellence. With each member working at the top of their game, the NJCO balances cohesion and freedom to create a listening experience that is always satisfying and often transcendent. ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dessen Trio: Between Shadow and Space
by Greg Camphire
Between Shadow and Space is an aptly named release from trombonist and computer manipulator Michael Dessen’s trio, which creates oblique and evasive soundscapes that can’t be easily categorized. As Dessen writes in the album’s liner notes, “the past half century has produced a staggering array of improvisational music…my music draws energy from overlapping musical communities and histories.”
Over the course of this record’s duration, the music has points of reference such as European musique concrete as well as languages ... Continue ReadingTrio Viriditas: Live at Vision Festival VI
by Greg Camphire
Recorded at the 2001 edition of the long-running New York concert series, Live at Vision Festival VI showcases the top-notch Trio Viriditas, featuring reedsman/trumpeter Alfred Harth, percussionist Kevin Norton, and the late Wilbur Morris on bass. The long overdue release of this set follows the band's studio effort waxwebwind@ebroadway (Clean Feed, 2002); both capture a band that capitalizes on a 70s loft jazz sensibility, combining a broad palette of improvisational and compositional approaches.“Wind at the ear says June" ...
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