Jazz Articles
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John Scofield/Dave Holland: Memories Of Home
by Doug Collette
It should come as no surprise that guitarist John Scofield and bassist Dave Holland sound so simpatico on Memories Of Home. The two veteran musicians have traveled in similar and familiar circles over the course(s) of their decades-long careers. As the duo selectively recalls touchpoints of their history with their choices of material here, they implicitly map out a future for themselves that extends behind this LP.
Continue ReadingKeith Jarrett: The Köln Concert
by Jack Kenny
Keith Jarrett thrives on feeling embattled; he often finds that conflict stimulates his creativity. Anyone who has attended his live performances can palpably feel this tension. However, the difficulties surrounding the 1975 Köln Concert have passed into legend, creating a scenario where exhaustion, insomnia, and equipment failure conspired to alter music history. When Keith Jarrett arrived at the Cologne Opera House, he was confronted with a crisis. Instead of the requested Bosendorfer concert grand, he was presented with ...
Continue ReadingJohn Scofield & Dave Holland: Memories Of Home
by Ian Patterson
"Jazz is best when it's completely carefree. The only problem is when you care about the music more than anything in the world--how do you get carefree?" John Scofield raised the conundrum in a a 2023 interview, though you suspect he has been working out the riddle his entire career. Ditto bassist Dave Holland. On Memories Of Home, the revered guitarist and double bassist strike the perfect balance between care and carefree on a set of texturally rich compositions that ...
Continue ReadingJohn Scofield Dave Holland: Memories Of Home
by Jack Kenny
This album is fundamentally about rapport, deep listening, and a shared musical history that traces back to Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and the quartet with Joe Lovano and Al Foster. John Scofield's distinctive guitar style seamlessly integrates post-bop, fusion, funk, and roots-based influences. His dry, idiosyncratic tone and subtle inflections have helped redefine modern jazz guitar, bridging generations through his work with Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Bill Frisell, and Joe Lovano. Dave Holland, shaped ...
Continue ReadingJohn Scofield & Dave Holland: Memories Of Home
by Frank Housh
John Scofield and Dave Holland have about a century of combined experience making jazz. They have played with everybody and created deep bodies of work that span bebop to today. “Memories of Home" sounds like an intimate reflection on two musical lives. Scofield and Holland each spent time with Miles Davis' band. They played together with Herbie Hancock and others, but Memories of Home is their first duo album. Scofield said, “I honestly don't recall when or how ...
Continue ReadingWolfgang Muthspiel: Tokyo
by Doug Collette
Even a mere cursory perusal of Wolfgang Muthspiel's discography reveals how his playing has evolved over the years, populating a body of work that is roundly eclectic, but nonetheless focused. That very summary might well also apply to this third outing with the aforementioned high-profile rhythm section of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade (ECM, 2023) because on Tokyo, the Austrian guitarist sounds as liberated as in this combo context as on Angular Blues (ECM Records, 2020) and Dance ...
Continue ReadingAnouar Brahem: After the Last Sky
by Scott Gudell
Although ECM Records has released straight-ahead jazz, free form and more, many of their recordings sweep over listeners with mysterious, ethereal and hypnotic sounds creating alluring siren calls. When those sessions are taking place with an ECM release on the horizon, it is easy to imagine the artists are thinking about 'where's the mystery?'--which is what Anouar Brahem seemed to focus on this time around. Brahem, a revered Tunisian-born master of the oud (the fretless stringed instrument with ...
Continue ReadingAt The Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings
by Joshua Weiner
Pianist Keith Jarrett is the only artist with his own subheading on the main menu of ECM Records' new US website. That attests to his fruitful association, beginning in 1971 and continuing to the present day, with the independent German label known for its dedication to artistic freedom and beautiful sound. Though a series of strokes has sadly silenced Jarrett since 2018, ECM continues to enrich his discography with both new releases (a series of 2016 European concert recordings, including ...
Continue ReadingJohn Taylor: Tramonto
by Neil Duggan
British pianist John Taylor (1942-2015) possessed a remarkable talent for eluding the global recognition his skills warranted. A former house pianist at London's Ronnie Scott's club, Taylor probably achieved his widest acclaim through Azimuth, the group he formed with vocalist Norma Winstone (his wife) and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. His trio recordings with drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Palle Danielsson further cemented his reputation. Tramonto captures Taylor in another trio setting, this time collaborating with American musicians bassist Marc ...
Continue ReadingDino Saluzzi: El Viejo Caminante
by Doug Collette
El Viejo Caminante is a natural and logical extension of Dino Saluzzi's Albores (ECM, 2020). On that solo album, the bandleader used his instrument (the bandoneon--an accordion-like instrument with origins in Germany) to mesmerize and during this companion piece/sequel, Saluzzi's interplay with his two bandmates is comparably hypnotizing. As such, the album belies the translation of its title “The Old Wanderer." Understated as is the flow of energy on cuts such as “La Ciudad De Los Aires Buenos," ...
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