Articles by Jack Bowers
Chris Smith: Jazz Grunge
by Jack Bowers
"Grunge," according to Webster's, denotes “one that [who] is grungy." As for “grungy," the word meets one of several definitions, none of them flattering: dirty, filthy, stained, nasty, muddy, smudged...you get the idea. “Grunge" also has a second meaning: “rock music incorporating elements of punk rock and heavy metal," which is the one that New York City-based drummer and educator Chris Smith has singled out for replay on his debut recording, Jazz Grunge. While that may seem ...
Continue ReadingJimbo Ross: So Do It
by Jack Bowers
Jimbo Ross is a jazz musician who happens to play the violin, not a violinist who happens to play jazz. And yes, there is a difference. Actually, Ross plays a specially designed five-string electric viola/violin on So Do It, as he did on Jazz Passion and Latin Satin, his debut album for Bodacious Records in 2024, and has for the better part of his four-decades-plus career on studio dates, concerts and guest appearances with a veritable who's who of jazz ...
Continue ReadingJason Charos: Opening Statement
by Jack Bowers
Trumpeter Jason Charos was a student at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, as were alto saxophonist David Mason and pianist Connor Rohrer, while tenor Kendric McAllister was a recent graduate when Charos' impressive Opening Statement was recorded in March 2022. Since then, the “four amigos," as they are sometimes known, have headed to New York City to broaden their horizons and pursue their budding careers. The amigos are ably supported on the studio date ...
Continue ReadingRavita Jazz: Alice Blue
by Jack Bowers
Alice Blue is a pleasant, no-frills session neatly performed by Ravita Jazz, a co-op sextet (or quintet plus vocalist) from Maryland whose presumed overseer is bassist Phil Ravita, as his is the only name that coincides with the name of the group as a whole. Ravita also wrote half of the studio date's 10 numbers, all of which are original compositions save for Deirdre Jennings's vocal renditon of the standard “On the Sunny Side of the Street." ...
Continue ReadingJerry Weldon: The Summit
by Jack Bowers
"Keep it swinging." That is the concise credo of veteran tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon who talks the talk and walks the walk on this galvanic concert date recorded in November 2024 at the New Brunswick (New Jersey) Performing Arts Center. The Summit is the name Weldon has bestowed on his able-bodied sextet, which he formed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-22. The ensemble is in splendid form here, sprinting breezily through a pair of ...
Continue ReadingTodd Herbert: Captain Hubs
by Jack Bowers
After listening closely to Captain Hubs, Illinois-bred, New York-based tenor saxophonist Todd Herbert's fourth album as leader of his own groups, one question immediately springs to mind: why is this man not scoring high in any polls? Herbert is quite clearly the equal of those who are. Winning polls, that is. Technically, he is a monster; creatively, about as adroit and ingenious as they come. But on the traditional year-end critics and readers' lists, Herbert's name is nowhere to be ...
Continue ReadingMark Sherman: Bop Contest
by Jack Bowers
Following four well-received albums on which he played piano, the versatile Mark Sherman has placed the keyboard in the capable hands of Donald Vega and returned to his main instrument, the vibraphone, for the eloquent and delightful Bop Contest, Sherman's twenty-second recording in a prestigious career that has spanned nearly half a century. Although Sherman has shared the studio with a who's who of renowned bassists, he had never released an album, until now, with the Hall ...
Continue ReadingTatum Langley: Tatum's Swingin' Session
by Jack Bowers
Change the face (and figure) on the cover of Tatum's Swingin' Session!!!, the Chicago-based Shout Section Big Band's fifth recording, and what is left is an almost exact replica of an album cover released by Capitol Records in 1961, depicting a swingin' session led by another rather well-known interpreter of popular song surnamed Sinatra...down to and including the three exclamation marks. It would be good to note that the resemblance endures on the album itself, but there ...
Continue ReadingTed Piltzecker: Peace Vibes
by Jack Bowers
With the world desperately in need of more Peace Vibes in these times of seemingly endless strife and division, vibraphonist Ted Piltzecker is happy to oblige, putting his Colorado-based “quartet" to work on the problem via a series of bright and handsome themes whose gracefulness and charm are designed to calm even the most savage beast. The word quartet is placed between quotation marks because Piltzecker leads a quintet on at least two tracks and perhaps others; ...
Continue ReadingJason Forsythe: It's About Time
by Jack Bowers
It's About Time likely refers to the fact that although Jason Forsythe has been a jazz composer of note for decades, this is the first-ever recording he has released as leader of his own ensemble, in this case a world-class sextet whose heavyweight front line is manned by trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and trombonist Steve Davis. While Forsythe wrote eight of the album's nine songs--every one of which houses much to admire and commend--the ...
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