Jazz Articles
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Melvin Rhyne: Tomorrow Yesterday Today
by C. Andrew Hovan
A disciple of some of the earliest jazz organ practitioners, such as Jackie Davis, Milt Buckner, and Wild Bill Davis, jazz veteran Melvin Rhyne's major claim to fame has been the five years he spent with the renowned Wes Montgomery in the early '60s. Yet this is really only a fraction of the story for the 67-year-old organist. Much like the proverbial hibernating bear, Rhyne kept a low profile throughout the '70s and '80s and he even told writer Pete ...
Continue ReadingRalph Bowen: Keep the Change
by C. Andrew Hovan
I can still remember the impression that Ralph Bowen made on a young jazz enthusiast trying to break into radio and be part of the hip jazz crowd. I had decided to get involved with the programming end of a local non-profit arts support organization and on a letter perfect July evening our committee had lined up a double bill that included Kevin Eubanks and the mid '80s collective Out Of The Blue. An hour or so before OTB was ...
Continue ReadingMelvin Rhyne: Classmasters
by C. Andrew Hovan
While it's an easy task to designate any number of Hammond B-3 organ players who have quickly fallen under the spell of innovator Jimmy Smith, it's not as simple to inventory the few individuals who've avoided Smith's overpowering influence to develop a sound and manner of their own. Melvin Rhyne is one who managed to carve a niche for himself during the '60s with a much lighter and less bombastic approach, around during the heydays as a member of Wes ...
Continue ReadingRalph Bowen: Five
by C. Andrew Hovan
Although he's better known in educational circles due to his solid commitment to jazz pedagogy as a member of the faculty at Rutgers University, Ralph Bowen has been a vital member of the jazz community since debuting with the group Out of the Blue back in the mid '80s. His adaptability to a diversity of musical situations has made him a valuable sideman over the years, although the opportunities for Bowen to call the shots as a leader have not ...
Continue ReadingMisha Tsiganov: Painter Of Dreams
by Edward Blanco
A mainstay musician in the vibrant and exciting jazz scene of New York City, Russian-born pianist Misha Tsiganov presents his fifth Criss Cross album, Painter of Dreams, which features six original compositions and two familiar reimagined standards, with every piece but one running from between eight to eleven-minutes in length. The pianist expands his musical boundaries, implements new elements, augments the horn section and, with regard to his own playing, states that he was moved to include an “entirely acoustic ...
Continue ReadingMisha Tsiganov: Painter Of Dreams
by Neil Duggan
Like a fine wine, Russian-born and New York-based pianist Misha Tsiganov, seems to improve with age. His music continues to evolve and his creativity hits a high spot with Painter Of Dreams. He has appeared on countless albums over the years and has played with such musicians as Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Watson and Michael Brecker. His ability to shift tempos and mix meters in his compositions has always been notable. Recent work with the Romanian Radio Big Band has also ...
Continue ReadingAntonio Faraò: Tributes
by Neil Duggan
There is an old saying that you should judge a person by the company that they keep. If that is true of musicians, then Italian pianist Antonio Faraò is highly regarded. For his sixth trio outing, he is joined by bassist John Patitucci, who achieved worldwide acclaim for his work with Chick Corea's Elektric Band and Akoustic Band. He has also appeared on albums with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker. To complete the dream trio, Faraò adds drummer ...
Continue ReadingReeds and Deeds: Cookin'
by C. Andrew Hovan
Chances are that if you're reading these notes right now you're more than a bit familiar with the talents of tenor saxophonists Eric Alexander and Grant Stewart and might even have picked up Wailin' (Criss 1258), their first effort together leading a quintet billed as Reeds and Deeds. As such, it would probably be redundant to go into detailed biographical sketches of each of these men. Suffice it to say that Alexander just might be one of the most recorded ...
Continue ReadingJoel Weiskopf: New Beginning
by C. Andrew Hovan
For better or worse, it seems that any artistic endeavor that involves the true expression of raw human experience and emotion is destined to have appeal to only a small and select audience. This dilemma becomes even more daunting for the artist in today's technology-laden society where electronic communication has taken the place of face-to-face conversation. Where the musician or painter seeks to express himself by exposing passion in its natural form, so many in today's society function at a ...
Continue ReadingTim Warfield: One For Shirley
by C. Andrew Hovan
Jimmy Smith and Larry Young have continually set the benchmark for creative endeavors involving jazz and the Hammond B-3 organ, Smith being acknowledged for bringing the technical virtuosity of be-bop to the instrument and Young for expanding the vernacular based on the forward-thinking implications of John Coltrane. Somewhere in between these two, a colorful range of styles proliferated throughout the '50s and '60s, from the cocktail jazz of Milt Buckner to the soulful grooves of “Big" John Patton. But it ...
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