Articles by Virginia A. Schaefer

Charlie Kohlhase's Explorer's Club: Adventures

by Virginia A. Schaefer
October 26, 2009

Adventures is the high-energy first release of Explorer's Club, led by accomplished saxophonist and composer Charlie Kohlhase. The septet includes a guitarist, bassist, two drummers, two saxophonists, and trombonist. Kohlhase puts together their expertise to produce an impressive range of instrumental combinations, timbres, and textures in the outside-but-accessible style for which he's known.

The Pierre Hurel Trio at the Regattabar, Cambridge, MA

by Virginia A. Schaefer
May 10, 2009

The Pierre Hurel Trio Regattabar Cambridge, Massachusetts April 15, 2009

For his first Regattabar show in a year, pianist and composer Pierre Hurel introduced his new trio and premiered a number of new compositions. Twenty-five years ago, Hurel arrived from France to study jazz at Berklee College, and he stayed on to teach at Berklee and build a career. Outside Boston, his performance venues include the Knickerbocker in New York and festivals in Europe. ...

Jamie Baum Septet at Wellesley College, MA

by Virginia A. Schaefer
October 31, 2008

The Jamie Baum Septet Houghton Memorial Chapel, Wellesley College Wellesley, Massachusetts September 19, 2008

Flutist-composer Jamie Baum and her septet presented a striking contrast to the imposing Gothic Revival Chapel at Wellesley College, the setting for the ensemble's Friday night performance. The concert was one stop in a tour celebrating Baum's recent release, Solace (Sunnyside), on which the septet is augmented by a few additional musicians. All of the evening's selections were Baum compositions, ...

Kerry Politzer: You Took Me

by Virginia A. Schaefer
February 19, 2008

Following her three releases as a jazz pianist who composes much of her material, Kerry Politzer steps out as a singer-songwriter with You Took Me In. As well as performing all the vocals, she plays piano with the band, which consists entirely of jazz musicians. Although the turn from jazz piano to pop-oriented song may seem surprising, Politzer has actually been active as a singer-songwriter for several years, and has received awards in songwriting competitions. On the ...

Leslie Pintchik: Quartets

by Virginia A. Schaefer
January 9, 2008

Both quartets on Quartets include pianist Leslie Pintchik, bassist Scott Hardy and drummer Mark Dodge. One quartet extends its percussion section with Satoshi Takeishi, who played drums and percussion on Pintchik's first release, So Glad to Be Here (Ambient Records, 2004). The other quartet features Steve Wilson on alto or soprano saxophone. A strength of this disc is its three standards, inventively arranged by Pintchik and Hardy. “Happy Days Are Here Again" moves at a stately pace, starting ...

Satoko Fujii: Bell The Cat!, Illusion Suite, Minerva, Zephyros, and Angelona

by Virginia A. Schaefer
November 18, 2006

This article looks at five recent albums by pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. Bell The Cat! and Illusion Suite were recorded by the Satoko Fujii Trio. Minerva, Zephyros and Angelona were recorded by the Satoko Fujii Quartet. Fujii's trio plays avant-garde jazz that uses Eastern European or Balkan scales, and complex meters. Bassist Mark Dresser plays a notable role in shaping and propelling the trio's performance. In the quartet, rock-influenced grooves and assertive sound are shaped and ...

Satoko Fujii: Blueprint, Before The Dawn, Sketches, Live In Japan 2004, Fragment

by Virginia A. Schaefer
November 18, 2006

The prolific pianist, composer and bandleader Satoko Fujii performs and records with a variety of musical configurations. Discs by her two, well established, small groups--the Satoko Fujii Trio and Satoko Fujii Quartet--are reviewed in Part One of this article. Fujii also leads two jazz orchestras, both of which include Natsuki Tamura playing trumpet and contributing compositions. The Satoko Fujii Orchestra, consisting largely of musicians of non-Japanese origin, performs Blueprint, rich in big band-style arranging as well as ...

Tchicai/Kohlhase/Fewell Trio at Brookline Tai-Chi, Brookline, MA

by Virginia A. Schaefer
May 7, 2006

Tchicai/Kohlhase/Fewell TrioBrookline Tai-ChiBrookline, MAApril 14, 2006 The John Tchicai/Charlie Kohlhase/Garrison Fewell Trio performed on April 14 at Brookline Tai-Chi, host to an adventurous jazz series (other recent shows have included the Fully Celebrated Orchestra). The venue is an airy, vaulted studio with live acoustics that carried pleasantly the sound of the trio's reeds and guitar. On a concentrated regional tour, the three musicians had just arrived from Montreal to play that evening's concert.

JazzArtSigns Concert at Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston

by Virginia A. Schaefer
April 2, 2006

JazzArtSigns Wheelock Family Theatre Boston, MA March 9, 2006

A JazzArtSigns performance encompasses music, visual art, and words, and it's designed to be artistically as well as physically accessible to everyone in the audience. An exhilarating JazzArtSigns concert drew a sell-out crowd to the Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston on March 9, 2006. The event commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversaries of both of its presenting organizations, the Wheelock Family Theatre and VSA Arts of ...

Syncopated Rhythms: African American Art from the George and Joyce Wein Collection, Boston University

by Virginia A. Schaefer
December 18, 2005

On view at the Boston University Art Gallery, Syncopated Rhythms features works by African American artists, selected from the collection of jazz impresario George Wein and his late wife Joyce Wein. The artworks were created between the early twentieth century and today, but most are dated in the 1940s through 1970s. Artists represented include Romare Bearden, Allan Rohan Crite, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Faith Ringgold, Joseph and Beauford Delaney, Wifredo Lam, Elizabeth Catlett, and many others. An exhibition ...