Articles by Peter J. Hoetjes
The Ten Best Jazz Christmas Albums Of All Time
by Peter J. Hoetjes
As temperatures drop and days grow short, Winter is once again upon us. For those looking to listen to the sounds of the season without resorting to December's relentless slew of glossy, generic cash-grabs, jazz can be a breath of fresh, wintry air. You won't find (many) singers on this list, since most people already know and have records by Frank, Dean, Ella, Karen, and more. Instead, I've put together jazz's greatest Christmas albums from the golden age to today. ...
Continue ReadingHarold Land: Westward Bound!
by Peter J. Hoetjes
One can't help but wonder how large the stage may have been for tenor saxophonist Harold Land had he not tethered himself to the west coast for the majority of his career. In 1954 Land moved from Santa Monica to Los Angeles and quickly earned himself a place in the immensely popular Clifford Brown/Max Roach band, beginning with the aptly named Jam Session (EmArcy, 1954). Called back to Los Angeles in 1956 by the responsibilities of being a ...
Continue ReadingRik Cornelissen: Sounds of Interstellar Space
by Peter J. Hoetjes
Less than five hundred people reside in Aartswoud, a tiny village situated in the northern half of The Netherlands, some sixty kilometers from the city of Amsterdam. Its horizon, interrupted only by scattered far-off buildings, occasional wiry trees, and the sleek, aluminum windmills replacing the wooden variety romanticized by the country's seventeenth century painters, hovers improbably over miles of flat, irrigated farmland. The narrow vein of Schoolstrat provides what little commercial development the town has to offer, and is home ...
Continue ReadingArseny Ryklov: Forgotten Melody
by Peter J. Hoetjes
Released on the St. Petersburg-based Rainy Days label, Arseny Ryklov's Forgotten Melody is categorized, by the pianist himself, as “contemporary jazz." While undoubtedly true, this is an interesting classification, given his background. “There are two styles that made the biggest impact on me," Ryklov states, “ECM and classical music, particularly impressionists and Russian composers." While this trio album does contain a few moments clearly inspired by dreamy impressionism, particularly during its second half, the overt classical influences heard here are ...
Continue ReadingMauricio Morales: Luna
by Peter J. Hoetjes
When viewed retrospectively, a musician's first release is often more telling of where they have been than of where they are going. There is always time to allow talent to develop; to discover inter-genre interests and to network and collaborate with like-minded artists. But there is a certain immediacy to a debut recording. An artist taking one shot to pour all that they have and all that they feel into one cathartic outburst of creativity. With Luna, bassist Mauricio Morales' ...
Continue ReadingArt Pepper: Unreleased Art Pepper Volume Eleven: Atlanta
by Peter J. Hoetjes
Laurie Pepper expands upon the legend of her late husband, Art Pepper, with the release of Atlanta. The eleventh edition in her Widow's Taste series of uncovered treasures finds the alto saxophonist at an unspecified jazz club in Atlanta, Georgia, during the spring of 1980. Firmly planted in his comeback era, Pepper found comfort and familiarity in the use of two very different pianists. Although he preferred George Cables, whom he tagged with the moniker “Mr. Beautiful," he was occasionally ...
Continue ReadingLisa Hilton: More Than Another Day
by Peter J. Hoetjes
Pianist and composer Lisa Hilton's More Than Another Day is yet another effort reacting to the gloom which hung over the music industry in 2020. That does not mean the album is necessarily bleak. A brief survey of the cover photography will tell a very different story. Donning a wide-brimmed hat, blonde hair splayed out over a black summer dress, carrying a bouquet of white roses in one hand and a weathered, vintage suitcase in the other, Hilton seems to ...
Continue ReadingPeter J. Hoetjes' Best Releases of 2020
by Peter J. Hoetjes
It's been an unusual year for the music industry within any genre. The first few months of 2020 were fairly typical, followed by months of uncertainty prompted by fear and misinformation. As the year closes however, jazz musicians are hopefully able to glimpse the sun rising on the distant horizon. If 2019 was a year dominated by unearthed or re-released recordings from decades past, its successor was the hardscrabble year, one where those whose business sense and adaptability ...
Continue ReadingGabriel Latchin Trio: I'll Be Home For Christmas
by Peter J. Hoetjes
In 2020, when a respected musician decides to record a Christmas album, they invite perhaps the most basic question of all. Why? “I love Christmas," answers pianist Gabriel Latchin. “You kind of grow up and you know Christmas becomes less important, but I mean who doesn't like Christmas tunes?" One of the many changes brought forth by the widespread digitization of music is that a century's worth of Christmas songs are now available at ...
Continue ReadingJames Carney: Pure Heart
by Peter J. Hoetjes
When a large ensemble like the one heard on Pure Heart contains such dynamic personalities as Ravi Coltrane, Oscar Noreiga and Dezron Douglas, it's a sure bet that a bandleader is going to have their hands full directing them through his compositions. However, with just five songs to the album, pianist James Carney is able to allow these musicians room to maneuver. What's more, he does so without falling prey to the corrosive lethargy of routine formula. Coltrane ...
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