Articles by Jack Kenny
Charles Lloyd: Figure In Blue
by Jack Kenny
Jazz listeners with long memories will remember that Charles Lloyd was not always as revered as he is today. In the 1960s, his association with the “Summer of Love" and San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury scene led some to question his seriousness, seeing him as flirting with commercialism. Six decades on, that perception has aged away. Lloyd's work in 2025 is almost comparable to Beethoven's late quartets--music of depth, reflection, and spiritual weight. He has passed beyond being a national treasure; he ...
Continue ReadingMcCoy Tyner Quartet: New York Reunion
by Jack Kenny
McCoy Tyner's New York Reunion is a fine example of late-period recording, presenting the jazz masters in a quartet setting that draws deeply on tradition while brimming with contemporary energy. Originally released in 1991 on Chesky Records, the album features Tyner at the piano alongside three equally distinguished collaborators: Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), Ron Carter (bass) and Al Foster (drums). The title itself hints at a reconvening of New York's post-bop elite, each artist bringing decades of innovation to the ...
Continue ReadingPharoah Sanders: Love Is Here The Complete Paris 1975 ORTF Recordings
by Jack Kenny
The saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was often described as an enigma of jazz, once famously characterized as “a mad wind screeching through the root-cellars of Hell." That “mad wind" is absent on Love Is Here: The Complete Paris 1975 ORTF Recordings, but the enigma remains. This pivotal album captures Sanders stretching out, away from his Impulse! Records contract, exploring a sound that moves beyond late-stage John Coltrane and places a greater emphasis on tone, melody, and lyrical expression. Recorded ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith: Angel Falls
by Jack Kenny
Wadada Leo Smith describes his music not as “jazz" but as “creative music." He rejects the term “improvisation" in favor of “creation." These specific word choices reflect his unique approach, which is deeply rooted in his early experiences with blues and R&B. Smith uses the full range of his instrument and plays at his own pace, with a profound understanding of the power of silence and space. For him, space is as important as the notes themselves, allowing ...
Continue ReadingRich Peare: Blues For Peter
by Jack Kenny
There is a special kind of pleasure in sitting in a jazz club, listening to talented musicians use their skills to explore some of the finest melodies of the last sixty years. In their debut album, Blues for Peter, Rich Peare (classical guitar) and Don Messina (double bass) offer just that experience. The album features eight improvised tracks--seven standards and one blues--plucked on a nylon-stringed classical guitar and a gut-stringed double bass. Messina's connection to jazz is deep-rooted. ...
Continue ReadingCraig Taborn / Nels Cline / Marcus Gilmore: Trio Of Bloom
by Jack Kenny
The concept of a musical “supergroup" is hardly new. It could be argued that Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's assembly at Massey Hall in 1953 was an early example. This legendary bebop concert, despite the undeniable talent on stage, famously showcased clashing egos, particularly with a less-than-healthy Bud Powell. Charles Mingus even had to re-record his bass lines to ensure his contribution was heard in the final mix. Even earlier, Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven unequivocally ...
Continue ReadingAnton Mikhailov: Today Yesterday
by Jack Kenny
Anton Mikhailov's life, like his music, reflects the complex and often tumultuous journey of an artist in Eastern Europe. Born in the conflict- ridden Horlivka, Donetsk region of Ukraine, his path led him from the Murmansk College of Art to Moscow and eventually to his current home in Tbilisi, Georgia. This nomadic existence and the emotional weight of his travels are the central themes of his album Today Yesterday. According to Mikhailov, the album is deeply autobiographical. The compositions serve ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Coleman: George Coleman with Strings
by Jack Kenny
The allure of recording with strings has captivated many jazz icons, from Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie to, most famously, Charlie Parker. For some, it is a pursuit of a different kind of respectability, an envying nod to the classical world. For George Coleman, a revered NEA Jazz Master, it was a chance to expand his artistry. As he explained in an interview with Rob Shepherd (2024): “I try not to be close-minded but instead try to expand my interest ...
Continue ReadingAruán Ortiz: Créole Renaissance
by Jack Kenny
Cuban Cubism is central to Aruán Ortiz's musical identity--but in this album, his vision extends far beyond. While the 1930s Negritude movement was a literary endeavor, Ortiz seeks to embody that movement not through words but through music. His compositions channel their spirit with abstraction, tension, and a deep sense of diasporic reflection. Ortiz, born in Santiago de Cuba--the island's second-largest city--is shaped by its distinctive sonic culture. His influences stretch widely, encompassing American and European 20th-century composers ...
Continue ReadingJon Irabagon / PlainsPeak: Someone to Someone
by Jack Kenny
Jon Irabagon is a musician whose complexity is both exhilarating and daunting. His restless energy, deep self-reflection, remarkable achievements and sharp intellect combine to create a figure who constantly provokes questions--about music, originality and the very nature of artistic expression. In 2011, Irabagon undertook a bold experiment: With Mostly Other People Do The Killing, he recorded Blue (Hot Cup, 2014), a note-for-note recreation of Miles Davis's iconic Kind of Blue (Columbia Records, 1959). This endeavor recalls Gus Van ...
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