Articles by Paul Rauch
Kerry Politzer: Alternate Route
by Paul Rauch
Pianist Kerry Politzer had released eight albums before Alternate Route (Whirlwind, 2025), though to many jazz listeners they essentially flew under the radar. Politzer is a Portland, Oregon-based musician on the faculty at the esteemed jazz studies program at Portland State. With this, her ninth offering, more attention and accolades are bound to come her way. The album of ten original compositions not only lends a strong focus on her adept compositional and instrumental skills, it also welcomes in a ...
Continue ReadingBill Anschell: Benched
by Paul Rauch
Benched Bill Anschell 158 Pages ISBN: # 9798270830021 Blow Hard Music 2025 Bill Anschell is a Seattle-based pianist that has been the recipient of national acclaim for his work as a leader and sideman in jazz. He has released eleven albums as a leader or co-leader on the Origin Records label, and appeared on many more. From 1989-2002 he resided in Atlanta, where he took on a syndicated radio program, JazzSouth among ...
Continue ReadingPaul Rauch's Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2025
by Paul Rauch
It's that time of year again, when we attempt to nail down this year's top ten jazz albums. 2025 has had a lot to offer, with hundreds of deserving releases. The hope is that you look over a variety of lists from different writers, and make a list of your own--a roster of selections you might listen to, and subsequently support the artist's efforts in the marketplace. Here's a solid ten for you to consider. Belonging
Continue ReadingBest of the Best: Jazz From Detroit
by Paul Rauch
Best of the Best: Jazz From DetroitMagic Circle Productions LLC2025 The history of jazz music is told in hundreds of cities from coast to coast in America. From the cradle in New Orleans and the Mississippi River delta, the great migration of Black Americans northward spread the sounds that we know as the blues and jazz across the country. Millions headed to northern urban centers to escape the ravages of segregation and racial discrimination experienced ...
Continue ReadingDavid G White: While You Were Sleeping
by Paul Rauch
Guitarist David G. White has an independent streak in him that has endured from his early days on the scene in Boston and New York in the 1990s. Grounded, like most fusion-oriented players, in bebop language, White learned the nuances of jazz improvisation from his mentor Charlie Shoemake in Los Angeles. Now based in Oakland, his journey led him to Seattle and the band Big Neighborhood in the 2000s, a tenure that led to a pair of albums on the ...
Continue ReadingOscar Hernández & Alma Libre at Jazz Alley
by Paul Rauch
Oscar Hernández & Alma LibreJazz AlleySeattle WANovember 19, 2025 The appearance of legendary Latin jazz pianist Oscar Hernandez at Jazz Alley brought with it a special designation. His performances in Seattle have largely been as part of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the award-winning ensemble that Hernandez leads. His Alma Libre Quintet is aptly named, considering that the smaller ensemble indeed frees the soul of the pianist/composer to engage in full expression as a instrumentalist. ...
Continue ReadingAlex Chadsey: Invocation
by Paul Rauch
The fourth album from the trio Duende Libre is entitled Invocation, the act of summoning a deity or the supernatural. The band's name itself is rooted in flamenco culture, a term of great emotion that identifies a magical quality in an artist. The concept was famously theorized by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, identifying elements that quantify this conception--irrationality, earthiness, a heightened awareness of death, and a touch of the diabolical. It is both a gift and a burden, a ...
Continue ReadingRuss Macklem: Introducing: The Russ Macklem Detroit Quintet
by Paul Rauch
Trumpeter Russ Macklem is known in jazz circles as a strong presence on the fertile Detroit scene, but he is actually from Windsor, Ontario--a quick jaunt across the Detroit River from the Motor City. For this recording, he matches wits with some of the brightest young stars on the Detroit scene, in a live-in-the-studio session that is as honest and direct to the listener as a studio date can be. Macklem's playing is the first order of business, ...
Continue ReadingCharlie Porter: Cipher
by Paul Rauch
Trumpeter Charlie Porter's Cipher (PHP, 2025) carries with it a concept that provides clues to a treasure hunt and cash money--an interesting and different idea not broached here. Instead, the focus becomes the music contained within this, his eighth release as a leader. Porter, having spent time in both Portland and New York, has enjoyed fine musical friendships that manifest in this session. The trumpeter / composer has long been acclaimed for his large and lyrical sound that interfaces with ...
Continue ReadingLouis Jones III: Motions
by Paul Rauch
Drummer and composer Louis Jones III is an artist steeped deeply in the Detroit jazz tradition. A Motor City native, Jones is a prominent figure on the scene there, applying his talents across a variety of genres. That versatility is ever-present in his jazz playing but, to be clear about this, he is a jazz drummer first while being a gatherer of musical innovation from multiple sources. Motions is his most complete recording project and a formidable one ...
Continue Reading
