Articles by William Grim

Tim Collins: Castles and Hilltops

by William Grim
November 10, 2011

This is an excellent album by one of the finest vibraphonists on the scene today. Tim Collins combines the harmonic adventurousness of Gary Burton with a swinging style reminiscent of Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson. Castles and Hilltops consists largely of original compositions that run a wide gamut of styles and expressive content. “Army Brat," a straight-ahead swinger, is reminiscent of the Modern Jazz Quartet, when Milt Jackson's vibes would seemingly explode in contrast to John Lewis' ...

Helge Sunde Norske Store Orkester: Denada

by William Grim
November 10, 2006

Denada, an album of big band compositions by the talented Norwegian trombonist/composer Helge Sunde, is amazingly complex and original music that brings to mind the work of Maria Schneider. In fact, had I encountered this album in a blindfold test, I would have said immediately that it was a new album by Schneider.

Sunde's music examines themes seldom explored by jazz. On the opening piece, “IO," for instance, the pontillistic opening salvos gradually give way to a swinging ...

Anita Wardell: Noted

by William Grim
September 10, 2006

The best straight-ahead jazz singer on the scene today is Anita Wardell, the winner of the prestigious BBC Jazz Award last month, and Noted is one of the most impressive displays of vocal jazz and vocalese in many years. Backed up by her usual working trio of pianist Robin Aspland, bassist Jeremy Brown and drummer Steve Brown (along with guest saxophonist Alex Garnett), Wardell delivers knockout performances of well-known jazz classics and less familiar works that she has updated using ...

Mike Melvoin Trio: You Know

by William Grim
August 27, 2006

"Adult songs for and about adults." That is Mike Melvoin's description of this trio album, and all of the prose poems that could be written about the technical brilliance of the performances contained therein would miss the essential truth of those six words. This is music of the highest quality with a seriousness of purpose that dares to suggest that there is more to American culture than the Neanderthal yelpings of hip-hop, the dumbed-down blatherings of teen pop, and the ...

Victor Prieto: Persistencia

by William Grim
May 3, 2006

Spanish-born jazz accordionist Victor Prieto is the most exciting such player to come on the scene since Eddie Monteiro. Melding Argentine and Brazilian influences with a bop sensibility, Prieto gives the lie to all of the nasty things that have been said over the years about the much-maligned squeezebox.

Backed by Rachel Z drummer Allison Miller and the extraordinarily gifted bassist Carlo DeRosa, Prieto presents a varied and virtuosic set of performances on Persistencia. The variety of tunes ...

Beat Kaestli: Happy, Sad and Satisfied

by William Grim
January 24, 2006

Happy, Sad and Satisfied is the very nice second album by Swiss-born and New York-based singer Beat Kaestli, who boasts a pleasant tenor voice, impeccable diction and pitch, and a real rhythmic flair.

His arrangements are also very impressive. “Summertime" is presented starkly, with with only congas and Fender Rhodes accompaniment. Starting very slowly, Kaestli and company unexpectedly go into double time at the end. An up-tempo “You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" features a harmonically ...

Sarah DeLeo: The Nearness of You

by William Grim
October 3, 2005

Sarah DeLeo, a young New York-based singer, conjures up images of Peggy Lee and the elegant supper club years of the 1950s and 1960s. I was particularly impressed with the tune selection and arrangements on her debut, The Nearness of You. She begins the album with a bossa nova version of “If I Had You" that works wonderfully and gives a fresh lease on life to a song that doesn't get much play any more. It was also nice to ...

Ismael Reinhardt: Gypsy Swing

by William Grim
August 14, 2005

Gypsy Swing is a thoroughly delightful album that features the violin and guitar virtuosity of Ismael Reinhardt, a relative of the legendary Django Reinhardt. Building on the legacy of Django and Stephane Grappelli's Le Quintette du Hot Club de France, Ismael Reinhardt takes the basic structure of gypsy jazz (or jazz manouche) and embellishes it with a bop harmonic vocabulary.

The chestnuts of gypsy jazz are here--"Autumn Leaves," “It Had to Be You," and “Sweet Georgia Brown," among ...

Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet: Beneath Your Surface

by William Grim
July 30, 2005

Austrian-born but New York-based Elisabeth Lohninger is a first rate singer and talented composer. Backed by a superb rhythm section, Lohninger delivers impressive performances on Beneath Your Surface. Singing in English, French, and German, Lohninger displays an extraordinary stylistic fluency and versatility.

Lohninger herself composed most of the songs. I was particularly impressed with “I Remember," a beautiful ballad about the fleeting nature of love which features a highly chromatic melody with difficult intervals and a lot of ...

Danny Barrett: Indian Summer

by William Grim
May 24, 2005

If there was justice in the world, Danny Barrett would be a household name and Mick Jagger would be a short-order cook at a fish-and-chips joint in Manchester. Such is not the case, so we must be content with the recorded glory of Barrett's voice.

Danny Barrett is a true crooner in the best sense of that word. There's more than a little Billy Eckstine and Arthur Prysock in his voice, and it is so refreshing to hear ...