Articles by Troy Dostert
Jim Witzel Quartet: Very Early (Remembering Bill Evans)
by Troy Dostert
While tributes to pianist Bill Evans have certainly not been in short supply over the years, he has unsurprisingly been given far more attention by pianists than from other instrumentalists. Efforts from guitarists have been particularly rare. There are some noteworthy exceptions: John McLaughlin took a stab at it in 1993 with Time Remembered (Verve) alongside three other guitarists, for example, and John Abercrombie worked with pianist Andy LaVerne on Timeline (Steeplechase, 2003) in an homage to Undercurrent (Blue Note, ...
Continue ReadingNed Rothenberg: Looms & Legends
by Troy Dostert
Solo recordings, at least when they feature instruments other than piano or guitar, can be a challenge even for the most committed jazz listeners. The excitement generated by the dialogue of multiple instrumentalists is, of course, missing, and even the most talented artists can have trouble sustaining one's interest for an entire album. Such releases can be rather rewarding, however, when the musician in question has either astonishing technique or compelling emotional substance--or both, as is evident on multi-instrumentalist Ned ...
Continue ReadingJuanjo López: Above, Beyond, Within
by Troy Dostert
In our troubling national moment of intensified nativism and ethnic fearmongering, it can be edifying to encounter the stories of people whose lives are directly affected by the current climate. One of them is Juanjo López, a guitarist now well-established in the Chicago scene but who came years ago to the United States with his family from Mexico. His story, reflected in his second release, Above, Beyond, Within, is about much more than geographic relocation, however. There is a strong ...
Continue ReadingRodrigo Amado / Chris Corsano: The Healing
by Troy Dostert
Among recent partnerships in free improvisation, the saxophone/drum tandem of Rodrigo Amado and Chris Corsano has been one of the most dynamic and incendiary. They have joined forces in one form or another since the early 2010s; the recording which first put them on the map was their effort with Joe McPhee and Kent Kessler, the widely-celebrated This Is Our Language (Not Two Records). They continued this fruitful project with equally stirring results on A History of Nothing (Trost, 2018) ...
Continue ReadingJake Baldwin: Vanishing Point
by Troy Dostert
Trumpeter Jake Baldwin has been an important presence in the Minneapolis jazz scene since the early 2010s, known especially for a stylistic breadth that can cover the gamut from conventional post-bop fare to rock-inflected fusion. On Vanishing Point, his fourth release for Shifting Paradigm Records, he digs deeper into the latter mode, making good use of a strong band to support a set of infectious, edgy, melody-driven excursions. The album crackles with energy from the outset, as the ...
Continue ReadingAmina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind
by Troy Dostert
One of the under-heralded legends of the jazz avant-garde, keyboardist Amina Claudine Myers is finally getting her due. An early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the mid-1960s, her efforts were sometimes overshadowed by outsized colleagues such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, or Henry Threadgill. But recent years have provided an opportunity to reassess her standing in the jazz canon. In 2024, Myers was a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and ...
Continue ReadingJosé Gobbo Trio: Confluence
by Troy Dostert
Guitarist José Gobbo brought his background in Brazilian music and jazz to Iowa City in 2011, when he began a master's program at the University of Iowa. Since then, he has honed a compelling voice on his instrument, fusing the danceable rhythms of Brazilian folk forms with a more contemporary guitar sound. One of his central creative outlets involves his trio with bassist Max Beckman and drummer Jay Ferguson. The group released its promising debut album, Current (Self Produced), in ...
Continue ReadingGermana Stella La Sorsa and Tom Ollendorff: After Hours
by Troy Dostert
For an EP that clocks in at a mere 25 or so minutes, there is a lot to enjoy on After Hours, vocalist Germana Stella La Sorsa's duo album with guitarist Tom Ollendorff. La Sorsa has been making a name for herself since her earliest days as a singer in Italy, while her visibility in the London jazz scene has been rising since her previous two releases, Vapour (33 Jazz, 2021) and Primary Colours (33 Jazz, 2024). The intimate setting ...
Continue ReadingKevin Miller and Jukka-Pekka Kervinen: Primordial
by Troy Dostert
For jazz musicians and listeners alike, the Covid years were challenging, significantly limiting possibilities for both studio recordings and live performances. One of the often-used solutions to this dilemma was virtual encounters--either in real-time or, on occasion, asynchronously, as musicians sent files to each other and layered their own contributions accordingly. Although no longer operating under the restrictions of the pandemic, guitarist Kevin Miller and multi-instrumentalist Jukka-Pekka Kervinen have nonetheless chosen the latter approach for Primordial. Despite the artists having ...
Continue ReadingDan Weiss Quartet: Unclassified Affections
by Troy Dostert
When he is not keeping company as a sideman with some of the most innovative musicians of 21st century creative jazz--a list which includes folks like pianist Matt Mitchell, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, guitarist Miles Okazaki and bassist Trevor Dunn--drummer Dan Weiss has steadily been building his own impressive set of recordings as a leader. Recently, he has tended to prefer trio configurations, such as those on his own Cygnus label: 2022's Dedication (with bassist Thomas Morgan and pianist Jacob Sacks) ...
Continue Reading
