Articles by Michael Holman

Burton Greene/Roy Campbell Quartet: Isms Out

by Michael Holman
May 5, 2005

Free jazz pioneer pianist Burton Greene and trumpeter Roy Campbell front this deeply satisfying CIMP release. The disc has an eclectic feel, striking a nearly ideal balance between free improvisation and more structured jazz, while also drawing on some notable world music influences. Venerable drummer Lou Grassi and bassist Adam Lane round out the quartet and provide some enjoyable solos as well as solid support for the leaders. The album is primarily Greene's project, as he provides most of the ...

James Finn: Faith in a Seed

by Michael Holman
May 5, 2005

Somewhat of a late bloomer as a leader, James Finn seems to be making up for lost time. After the release last year of his debut, Opening the Gates (Cadence Jazz), Finn promptly returned to the studio with his trio featuring bassist Dominic Duval and drummer Warren Smith to make this record--and Plaza de Toros, with the same group, which is already slated for release next month. Arranged as a suite, Faith in a Seed is “a musical ...

David Weiss: The Mirror

by Michael Holman
March 29, 2005

Stills from the film Stalker, by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, decorate the cover of the second album from trumpeter David Weiss; and the film also lends its title to the first and most compelling track on the disc. Perhaps wisely, Weiss refrains from the otherwise obvious choice of using it for the album title as well--probably the idea of seeing all those CD spines with “David Weiss - Stalker on them didn't seem so appealing--choosing instead the title of another ...

The Jazz Expressions: On the Road

by Michael Holman
March 28, 2005

The Jazz Expressions, long the backing band for singer Jimmy Scott, check in with their third “solo release of straight-ahead instrumental jazz. Ten original compositions, helpfully labelled by style ("ballad," “swing," etc.), hold few surprises but show off the supple group dynamic developed over years of touring together and provide fodder for polished, literate improvisations from each member of the quartet. An exhaustive list of the band's past tour destinations provides food for thought--the listener can ponder the significance for ...

Burton Greene/Roy Campbell Quartet: Isms Out

by Michael Holman
March 18, 2005

Free jazz pioneer pianist Burton Greene and trumpeter Roy Campbell front this deeply satisfying CIMP release. The disc has an eclectic feel, striking a nearly ideal balance between free improvisation and more structured jazz, while also drawing on some notable world music influences. Venerable drummer Lou Grassi and bassist Adam Lane round out the quartet and provide some enjoyable solos as well as solid support for the leaders. The album is primarily Greene's project, as he provides most of the ...

James Finn: Faith in a Seed

by Michael Holman
March 18, 2005

Somewhat of a late bloomer as a leader, James Finn seems to be making up for lost time. After the release last year of his debut, Opening the Gates, on Cadence Records, Finn promptly returned to the studio with his trio, featuring Dominic Duval on bass and Warren Smith on drums, to make this record--and Plaza de Toros, with the same group, is already slated for release next month.

Arranged as a suite, Faith in a Seed is ...

Miles Davis v. Wynton Marsalis: Jack Johnson in Jazz

by Michael Holman
March 8, 2005

A director fascinated by the outsized life of the African-American boxer Jack Johnson sets out to make a documentary to tell the man's story. Given the centrality of race to Johnson's story and Johnson's own musical interests, a jazz soundtrack seems most appropriate, so he enlists the foremost jazz trumpeter of the day to provide a score. This certainly will sound familiar to those who've caught Ken Burns' latest PBS documentary, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall ...