Articles by Peter Aaron
Inside the "Box of Thrills": A Brief History of Musette
by Peter Aaron
Watch any old movie that's set in Paris and the soundtrack is sure to be musette, the charming, accordion-fueled music so identified with the city's romantic aura. But before it became clichéd Hollywood shorthand for a location change, it was the social music of Paris' unsavory criminal underclass. Much like American jazz, blues and country, musette was born of a world of rough and shifty ne'er-do-wells, a volatile tableau of killers, prostitutes, pimps and gangsters. And the musicians themselves were ...
read moreGraham Collier: Workpoints
by Peter Aaron
While leading figures like George Shearing, John McLaughlin, Evan Parker and Derek Bailey have long been revered, many pundits still greet the topic of early British jazz with a smirk and a wink--no doubt due to the high profiles of hokey Dixieland revivalists like Chris Barber and Acker Bilk. But thanks to a spate of new ear-opening reissues like Proper's four-CD Jazz in Britain: 1919-1950, Honest Jons' London is the Place for Me series, the recent Tubby Hayes releases on ...
read moreChristophe Studer/Lucien Dubuis: Madame Chili
by Peter Aaron
Multi-reedist Lucien Dubuis and keyboardist Christophe Studer have been active forces on the jazz scene in their native Switzerland since the late '90s. Of the two young players, both in their early thirties, Dubuis is perhaps the better known, having worked with top Swiss improvisers Hans Koch and Martin Schutz and, most recently, New York guitar god Marc Ribot. But Studer's reputation as a man to watch is also mounting, thanks to his tenure as pianist with the vaunted Swiss ...
read morePreservation Hall Preserved Despite Katrina
by Peter Aaron
Although the tremendous loss of human life is by far the most tragic aspect of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, jazz lovers can't help but also be concerned about the potential effects of the storm on some of New Orleans' music landmarks.Details about the situations with these historic sites in most parts remain unclear, but it seems that the city's famed French Quarter narrowly escaped the worst of the damage.Perhaps New Orleans' most revered jazz location, Preservation ...
read moreCharlie Kniceley Quartet: Blinga
by Peter Aaron
Fusion fans will probably disagree, but in most jazz settings, the electric bass fits about as well as a pickle in a jar of peanut butter. The rich timbre of the acoustic upright is hard to beat and frequently its electrified cousin is the weapon of choice for poppin' and snappin' technicians who revel in showing off their mastery of the Barney Miller theme or, worse, those annoying little segues after the commercials on Seinfeld. But in the hands of ...
read moreBrian Patneaude Quartet: Distance
by Peter Aaron
In almost no time at all, 31-year-old saxophonist Brian Patneaude has become the first-call king of Albany, NY's buzzing jazz scene. Variations, his quartet's excellent 2003 debut, instantly established him as one of the mainstream's hottest new tenors; he also retains a chair in the renowned Empire Jazz Orchestra, plays salsa and merengue with Alex Torres and his Latin Orchestra and blues with the Tom Healey Band, and makes experimental sounds with the DJ-plus-live instruments project Nouveau Chill. On top ...
read moreAlex Cline/Kaoru/Miya Masaoka/G.E. Stinson: Cloud Plate
by Peter Aaron
While Wilco guitarist Nels Cline may now be a household name to the indie rock world, his twin brother, drummer Alex Cline, like Nels, has been a respected player on the LA new music scene since the late '70s. But as long as Alex maintains the same high standard of innovation that's all over this terrific release--as well as in the work he's done with luminaries like Vinny Golia and Julius Hemphill, in his own Alex Cline Ensemble, and with ...
read moreLenny Solomon: Transparency
by Peter Aaron
Transparency, Toronto violinist Lenny Solomon's first disc as a leader since 1995's The Gershwin Sessions, finds him helming the sextet of bassist Pat Collins, pianist Phil Dwyer, cellist Wendy Solomon, and the frequently paired Geoff Young and Barry Romberg on guitar and drums, respectively. The champagne-sparkle production of this standards-heavy set fits its title like a silver glove--an attribute that should win Solomon much commercial airplay, if not abroad then at least in his homeland. But while ...
read moreLouis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz
by Peter Aaron
Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz Joshua Berrett Yale University Press 2004 ISBN 0-300-10384-0 Louis Armstrong has been rightly hailed as the most important figure in early jazz for almost as long as Paul Whiteman, once its biggest star, has been denied his due. Under the racially apologist pens of many recent music historians, Whiteman is routinely cast as the Pat Boone of jazz, the man ...
read moreBrad Mehldau: Live in Tokyo
by Peter Aaron
Detractors of pianist Brad Mehldau say his notoriety is merely a case of arriving at the right the time, of simply being the most visible Bill Evans disciple to come along in thirty-five years. They sometimes add that despite Evans' obvious influence, Mehldau's style owes more to his own European classical background than the late genius's brand of tear-stained Tin Pan Alley melancholia. Not that Mehldau doesn't have an ear for a good, sad pop tune. Since ...
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