Articles by Russ Musto

Ben Riley's Monk Legacy

by Russ Musto
November 19, 2017

This interview was first published at All About Jazz on November 7, 2006. Ben Riley is one of the most richly experienced drummers in jazz today. The Georgia-born drummer came up in Harlem during the second wave of bebop in the fifties, playing with Randy Weston and others. He was at Minton's with saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and anchored the saxophonist's two-tenor quintet with Johnny Griffin, but his true claim to fame came during his years with iconoclast ...

I Walked With Giants

by Russ Musto
June 13, 2010

I Walked with GiantsJimmy Heath/Joseph McLarenSoftcover; 344 pagesISBN: 1439901988Temple University Press2010 The title alone of Jimmy Heath's marvelous memoir speaks volumes about the man. The NEA Jazz Master is himself an acknowledged giant among his peers and his choice to name the book as he did is an indication of both his great humility and self-effacing humor (in this case regarding his height). Heath is a clever ...

Miles of Miles: Nefertiti, In a Silent Way & Bitches Brew

by Russ Musto
May 15, 2010

Miles DavisNefertitiSony-Legacy2009 Miles DavisIn a Silent WaySony-Legacy2009 Miles DavisBitches BrewSony-Legacy2009 Taken together, Nefertiti, In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, recorded over a period of slightly more than two years from June of 1967 to August of 1969, present a reasonably representational overview of the (r)evolution ...

Larry Willis: Reaching and Teaching

by Russ Musto
May 1, 2010

In a career spanning five decades, Larry Willis has amassed one the most impressive resumes in jazz, including tenures with Jackie McLean, Hugh Masekela, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Stan Getz, Carla Bley, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Cobb's So What Sextet and Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, testifying to the high esteem in which he is held by his peers. Yet despite a substantial discography including scores of sideman appearances and over twenty dates as a leader, the gifted pianist/composer ...

On The Flip Side of Sound

by Russ Musto
April 17, 2010

On The Flipside of Sound Valery Ponomarev Softcover; 316 pages ISBN: 1438970463 ArtistHouse 2010

Valery Ponomarev's autobiographical tome tells the fascinating tale of the life of a working jazz musician from a uniquely personal perspective. The Moscow-born trumpeter, who became the first native of his country to achieve jazz fame in the United States when he joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, narrates his life story with wit and ...

Edmar Castaneda: Entre Cuerdas

by Russ Musto
April 11, 2010

Although jazz aficionados have become accustomed to the regular expansion of the music's vocabulary coming from the Caribbean and South America, virtually nothing in the history of the increasingly diverse genre known as “Latin jazz" has prepared audiences for the uniquely innovative sound of Edmar Castaneda. A native of Colombia, Castaneda plays “el arpa llanera," the folk harp commonly heard in his country's indigenous music, but there is nothing common about his virtuosic command or the music he performs. Possessing ...

John Ellis & Double-Wide: Puppet Mischief

by Russ Musto
March 6, 2010

This second outing by John Ellis & Double Wide, the versatile saxophonist/bass clarinetist's extraordinary New Orleans-based band, one ups the “serious fun" mentality by inviting a pair of guests--harmonica master Gregoire Maret and multifaceted trombonist Alan Ferber--to augment the unusual quartet of sousaphonist Matt Perrine, drummer Jason Marsalis and newcomer Brian Coogan (replacing Gary Versace) on organ. The result is an even more flavorful gumbo that spices up the homegrown roots of the Crescent City with the savory sounds of ...

Orrin Evans: Faith In Action

by Russ Musto
March 5, 2010

Ever evolving, keyboardist Orrin Evans continues to develop his personal voice and innovative vision of the jazz piano trio tradition, both in terms of repertory and dynamics. On Faith In Action, the versatile player joins forces with his regular rhythm-section mate from trumpeter Sean Jones' group, bassist Luques Curtis, and fellow TARBABY collaborator, drummer Nasheet Waits. The program is divided equally between compositions by the leader's former employer, saxophonist Bobby Watson, and works from his own Philadelphia household--three originals penned ...

Henry Threadgill: This Brings Us To, Vol. 1

by Russ Musto
February 8, 2010

Henry Threadgill's This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 marks the return of the iconoclastic saxophonist/flautist's Zooid ensemble, his primary public performance vehicle for the past decade. The quintet, although having undergone some significant changes since its previous disc, with bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi and multi-instrumentalist Elliot Humberto Kavee replacing cellist/trombonist Dana Leong and drummer Dafnis Prieto, the group remains a cohesive unit with a unified sound, in no small part due to the continued presence of longtime band members, guitarist ...

Joanne Brackeen: Phenomenal Capacity

by Russ Musto
January 20, 2010

One of the most heralded pianists of her era, JoAnne Brackeen came to New York in 1965 after cutting her chops jamming with the likes of Teddy Edwards, Harold Land, Charles Lloyd and Dexter Gordon during the waning days of the Central Avenue scene in her native California. After a few dues-paying years here, she landed the piano chair with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, touring with the great drummer from 1969-72, following up the experience with tenures in the bands ...