Jazz Articles

The Ian Carey Quintet: Contextualizin'

by C. Michael Bailey
March 16, 2010

Trumpeter Ian Carey's Contextualizin' is a digital Masters seminar. First, of course, is the music: solid, acoustic, composed, progressive, explorative. Second, is the exegesis, Carey's realization that, ..."what I played would help shape how I played..." Not technically dazzling, Carey, like Miles Davis, chooses to focus on which notes he plays (and doesn't) and their relative order as opposed to the tempo or technical exercise contained in the notes' performance. This shift in perspective moves the act of playing music ...

Adam Shulman Quintet: Patterns Of Change

by Bruce Lindsay
July 22, 2009

Patterns Of Change is pianist Adam Shulman's second CD, and features the trio of musicians who appeared on his debut, On Second Thought (Kabocha Records, 2008)--tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens, bassist John Wiitala and drummer Jon Arkin. This release also sees the addition of trumpeter/flugelhornist Mike Olmos, bringing added depth and a wider palette of sounds to this assured collection of eight Shulman compositions. In Shulman's liner notes he discusses the inspiration for the album and its title: ...

Adam Shulman Quartet: On Second Thought

by Larry Taylor
March 10, 2008

With On Second Thought, the Adam Shulman Quartet breaks through with its first CD, a selection of thoughtful and eminently accessible originals by leader and pianist Shulman. It features eight melodic compositions, melding perfectly the group's talented musicians, which include Dayna Stephens on alto, John Wiitala on bass and Jon Arkin on drums.

Shulman has been active in the San Francisco jazz scene since he moved there some six years ago, playing regularly in the Bay ...