Jazz Articles

Rodney Jordan: Conversations

by Richard J Salvucci
October 2, 2021

Yes, Hildegard von Bingen is a thing, and for many musicians, especially singers, a serious icon. Yes, you can tune a bass to A=432hz. Until the mid-nineteenth century, standard tuning on a bass was 430-435. Verdi apparently loved 432 because he said it resonated within the golden ratio, or a professional bassist informs “something like that." It goes back to the whole music of the spheres, but Baroque groups and early music ensembles will play other composers, including Beethoven in ...

Rodney Jordan and Christian Fabian: Conversations

by Jim Worsley
September 5, 2021

An endorsement from Ron Carter is worthy of attention. Two upright bassists playing duets for sure gets your attention, if only for such a rarity. Then there are the twelve songs that grasp your attention. Bassists Rodney Jordan and Christian Fabian join forces for Conversations that have much to say and are spoken eloquently with vocabularies that are both diverse and connected. Both payers are adept soloists that conversely know how to leave space for each other, comp when necessary, ...

Pamela Hines Trio: Thrive!

by Dan McClenaghan
November 14, 2014

Pianist Pamela Hines 2013 CD offering, 3.2.1 (Spice Rack Records), was an immersion in the standards, with a big nod to the iconic Bill Evans. It was, perhaps, a bit of a writing respite for Hines, who is a supremely talented tune-smith. She's back, song-writing talents intact, energized even, on this all originals set, Thrive!. Opening with “Emma's Room," Hines and her backing trio-- Dave Clark on bass and Les Harris holding down the drum chair--make a sound ...

Pamela Hines Trio: 3.2.1.

by Dan McClenaghan
January 28, 2013

Pianist Pamela Hines has been busy on the jazz scene for fifteen years, producing many excellent CDs featuring her quartets and quintets, as well as pairings with several top-notch vocalists. A first-rate composer of engaging and memorable tunes who put out one of the coolest Christmas albums, New Christmas (Spice Rack, 2008), she should be better known. 3.2.1, a superb, mostly trio affair, might just push her profile closer to where it belongs.Most of Hines' recordings, including New ...

Roberto Badoglio: Re-Evaluation-Time

by Glenn Astarita
April 17, 2010

Twenty-five year old Italian bassist Roberto Badoglio conveys strikingly impressive chops on this jazz-fusion based studio date, featuring venerable keyboardist Steve Hunt. In a loose sense, the bassist merges classic fusion with a modern uplift. Consequently, Badoglio has studied with present day bass heavyweights, Matthew Garrison and Dominique Di Piazza and attended Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Badoglio resides as the lead musical component, sans a six-string guitarist, while trading zesty exchanges with Hunt's radiant Fender Rhodes ...

Pamela Hines: This Heart Of Mine

by Raul d'Gama Rose
October 18, 2009

It's always tempting to say that any bright young musician who plays the ivory keys with a sound that's delightful and, sometimes, defined by silence has descended artistically from musicians like Paul Bley or Bill Evans. These kinds of generalizations can be overzealous; but despite the clear influence in the case of pianist Pamela Hines' This Heart Of Mine, her ability suggests more than simple imitation. Pamela Hines' melodic lines sing, seemingly drawn from a school of ...

Pamela Hines: New Christmas

by Dan McClenaghan
November 12, 2008

Following Pamela Hines' career proves that the Boston-based pianist/composer is very good at three things (at least): swinging in the piano trio format, playing behind female vocalists, and writing engaging jazz tunes in both of those endeavors.

Pamela Hines Trio: Return

by Michael P. Gladstone
April 5, 2008

Following in the footsteps of Drop 2 (Spice Rack Records, 2006), pianist Pamela Hines and her trio returns for an even better example of the jazz piano trio, augmented by guest saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. Her rhythm section of bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti remain intact.

Commentary on Hines' previous albums has underscored a similarity to Bill Evans, a sentiment not to be taken lightly. On tunes like Rodgers & Hart's “My Heart Stood Still" ...

Pamela Hines Trio: Return

by Dan McClenaghan
January 17, 2008

You could call Pamela Hines a mainstream pianist, but that word “mainstream" suggests a limiting category and might draw a rather static map and restrict your expectations. What's the old rule of semantics? The map is not the territory. Or how about: the category is not the sound.While Hines, on this (mostly) trio outing, fits into the mainstream category, she freshens up the approach and makes it sound as vital and boundary-stretching today as Bill Evans did throughout ...

April Hall with the Pamela Hines Trio: Hall Sings Hines

by Jerry D'Souza
December 13, 2005

Pamela Hines and April Hall continue their collaboration with a full album of tunes that Hines composed. The last time around, Hall was a guest vocalist on Twilight World. On the present effort, the tunes cross different streams and Hall gets in to them with compact ease. Her voice is supple and she uses phrasing to bring out the emotional strength of the lyrics.

Hines has a free-flowing gait as a pianist. Her ideas are relevant and they ...