Jazz Articles
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Niia: V
by Scott Gudell
Niia, the Italian / American singer who has been performing since the mid-2010s, has journeyed through various musical incarnations. From subtle to shocking, she seems to have an insatiable lust for changing musical partners. She had an early dedication to classic jazz vocals, darted over to PJ Harvey-inspired angst; she embraced the smooth purring undulations of Sade as well as the alluring whispers from that elusive girl from Ipanema and more. At one point, Niia pointedly stated that “contradiction is the truth," ...
Continue ReadingJaki Byard: Blues For Smoke
by Fran Kursztejn
If Jaki Byard is most commonly categorized as a proud progenitor of the 'new jazz,' as his seminal work with Eric Dolphy on Outward Bound and Charles Mingus on Black Saint and the Sinner Lady would suggest, then a record like Blues for Smoke may throw listeners for a loop. Byard's notoriously difficult to pin down--a student both of Chopin and Fats Waller, romanticism and ragtime, always billed as a 'respectable,' austere and forward-thinking performer. All true enough, ...
Continue ReadingChick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade: Triology 3
by Mike Jurkovic
The gift that graciously and selflessly keeps on giving, Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, known far and wide by both young and old as Trilogy, comes to life once more on Triology 3. Cut short by that global pandemic the world still cannot shake, these gloriously effusive live performances are gathered from the trio's final tour (February-March 2020), precisely a year before the pianist's death in February 2021 from a rare cancer. He was 79.
Continue ReadingEliane Elias: Time And Again
by Edward Blanco
Internationally-renowned Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist Eliane Elias presents her third recording on the Candid label--and the 32nd release of her long and distinguished career--on the innovative and creative Time and Again, a collection of eight new original sambas, which feature her piano, keyboards and singing in both English and Portuguese. As Mark Wexler, head of Candid Records states, “With each recording, Elaine proves she has no boundaries and showcases her mastery of song, musicianship and vocalese. She is an ...
Continue ReadingLee Ritenour & Dave Grusin: Brasil
by Edward Blanco
Friends and musical partners since the '70s, guitarist Lee Ritenour and pianist Dave Grusin continue their collaboration on Brasil, thanks to Ritenour's Brazilian wife Carmen, who was influential in recommending the project, and to the many outstanding Brazilian players who grace the album. Though the repertoire contains two Ritenour originals and one from Grusin, the producers draw on such Brazilian composers as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Celso Fonseca and Ivan Lins for the majority of the songs, which were ...
Continue ReadingThe Jimmy Giuffre 3: Music for People, Birds, Butterflies & Mosquitoes
by Joshua Weiner
Has any musician who is not a pianist explored the trio as a basis for musical invention as thoroughly as Jimmy Giuffre? There have been many versions of the Jimmy Giuffre 3, from the initial 1950s unit with Jim Hall on guitar and either Ralph Peña on bass or Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, through the truly remarkable band featuring Steve Swallow on bass and Paul Bley on piano (ECM's reissue of two Verve LPs on the 1961 set is ...
Continue ReadingChick Corea: Sardinia
by Mike Jurkovic
Coming amid a flurry of Chick Corea titles set for release in 2023--Candid Records' 10-LP set, Chick Corea Electric Band: The Complete Studio Recordings 1986-1991; the previously unreleased, Corea curated, 2-CD live Electric Band The Future Is Now and ECM's re-release of the pianist's first session for the label as a leader with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, A.R.C. (1971)--it could be easy to overlook the exquisite music heard on Sardinia. But let's not. For there is something ...
Continue ReadingEliane Elias: Quietude
by Edward Blanco
Brazilian-born pianist/vocalist and multi-Grammy-winning artist Eliane Elias returns to her musical roots on Quietude, her 31st album as leader and a follow up to her Grammy Award-winning album Mirror, Mirror (Candid Records, 2021), a duet with the late Chick Corea and Chucho Valdes. Recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in New York, on this album Elias shares eleven of her own personal favorite bossa nova songs showcasing her sultry Portuguese vocals and relegating her talents on the piano to a ...
Continue ReadingEliane Elias: Mirror Mirror
by Jim Worsley
The Chick Corea composition “Mirror Mirror" made its debut on a record led by Joe Henderso. Compelled by the tune's conversational and interactive elements, the astute tenor saxophonist made it the title track. Mirror Mirror (MPS, 1980) featured the rhythm section of Ron Carter and Billy Higgins. Henderson's quartet was, not surprisingly, rounded out by Corea. Gleaned from Snow White—"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"— Corea's vision is indeed of beauty. Beautiful melodic sensibilities mirrored ...
Continue ReadingEliane Elias: Mirror Mirror
by Edward Blanco
Pianist and composer Eliane Elias reveals a wonderful reflection of piano madness on the dazzling Mirror Mirror, capturing the mastery of two piano legends and the fabulous key work of a third legend in the making. One can simply not go wrong listening to the late great Chick Corea and Cuban-born master Chucho Valdes providing amazing call and respond to Elias's own keyboard play. The result is compelling, tasteful, light jazz performed with elegance and grace. An album ...
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