Articles by Tony Ozuna
Then the Saints Came Marching In
by Tony Ozuna
"Satchmo! Pops! Mr. Louis! Mr. Armstrong!" Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash. Cameras ahead. All he could do was smile in reply, with his big grin, and keep on moving through the crowd. Behind him, his entourage followed along trepidly. The Louis Armstrong band, or in their own terms, the OJ Express: the Original Jazz Express. But when Louis was feeling down, he would refer to the group as the Old Jazz Express, because the jazz that they made ...
Continue ReadingTwo Presidents—Vaclav & Bill
by Tony Ozuna
On January 11, 1994, US President Bill Clinton was recorded live at the Reduta Jazz Club in Prague, playing sax with Czech jazz players. Czech Radio Broadcasting later released the recording of this concert on the CD titled Two Presidents' Jam Session, (Praha, 1994), with sponsorship by the Radegast brewery. Statements by Vaclav Havel in italics (below) are taken either from the recording or archives from the Vaclav Havel Library. The friendships with other musicians that Havel speaks ...
Continue ReadingTony Ozuna’s Best Albums 2022
by Tony Ozuna
In 2022, live jazz clubs were revived and the rapport of musicians and their audience took a higher level of mutual appreciation. Groups listed on this Best Albums finally got to tour their newest releases across borders. Jazz that evolves with the times and across continents are the criteria for these selected Best Albums of 2022. Makaya McCraven In These Times International Anthem Makaya McCraven refers to himself as the “beat scientist" for ...
Continue ReadingDoruzka Wyleżoł Ballard: Andromeda's Mystery
by Tony Ozuna
Drummer Jeff Ballard reoriented the Brad Mehldau Trio from 2005-2018, after replacing Jorge Rossy. Ballard brought a degree of rock and was perhaps the source of a more subversive selection of material, such as covering Soundgarden's “Black Hole Sun" and Radiohead's “Knives Out." Ballard is also key to the fiery Pat Metheny-Brad Mehldau Quartet, and one of his earliest trios, as leader, had Blue Note guitarist Lionel Loueke, from Benin. In this vein, Andromeda's Mystery serves as a complementary cross-cultural ...
Continue ReadingTomas Liska & Invisible World: Hope
by Tony Ozuna
Tomáš Liška & Invisible World have won the Best Jazz Album in the Czech Music Awards (the “Andel" Award or in English the “Angel" Award) for 2021. Released in December 2020, the album is presciently titled Hope, and appropriately so for our still uncertain times. Liška (born 1979) is a composer and accomplished acoustic, electric and piccolo bassist with jazz and world music groups; his Invisible World is a swaggering and refreshing mix of jazz meets chamber music, ...
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