Jazz Articles

Charlie Parker: Now's The Time

by Karl Ackermann
November 30, 2018

In the pantheon of jazz saxophonists, Charlie Parker has been among the most transformational of artists, despite not living nearly long enough to fulfill his potential. Parker's lifetime, as a principal architect of bebop, and a self-destructive force, has been documented ad nauseam but his music continues to significantly influence new generations. Since Parker's death in 1955, an unprecedented two-hundred albums of his music have been released, very few containing newly discovered material; it's a testament to his enduring legacy. ...

Marcus Miller: A Night in Monte Carlo

by Chuck Koton
February 19, 2011

It's been more than four years since James Brown, the “hardest working man in show business," departed this Earth for an ethereal stage, time enough to anoint a successor. Bassist Marcus Miller deserves consideration--a tribute that would, no doubt, put a smile on the face of the Godfather of Soul. After all, a typical year for the virtuosic bassist includes months of global touring (he just returned from a tour that took him to five continents, featuring his unforgettable '80s ...

Bireli Lagrene Trio: Gypsy Trio

by Victor L. Schermer
October 25, 2010

While his playing reflects diverse influences, guitarist Biréli Lagrène clearly comes out of the gypsy tradition of Django Reinhardt, whose 100th birthday is being celebrated in 2010. Gypsy Trio captures the feeling of Reinhardt's musical era, with some tunes, rhythms, and the atmosphere of a lively Paris nightclub between the two world wars--energetic and fun, but equally contemplative on lovely ballads, including Lagrène's “Sir F.D," and The Beatles' “Something." Lagrène plays with strong feeling, sometimes reminiscent of Charlie Byrd's acoustic ...

Jean-Michel Pilc: True Story

by Raul d'Gama Rose
October 3, 2010

There are few pianists in any realm of music as expressive, and with such extraordinary touch and dynamics, as Jean-Michel Pilc. He is also so enormously inventive that he might be perhaps one of very, very few pianists to inhabit the same rarefied atmosphere as Bill Evans. And that is only half the story. To Pilc, the piano is not another instrument; it is an extension of the human voice. It whispers sensuously and provocatively, babbling on with excited chatter ...

Ahmad Jamal: A Quiet Time

by Ian Patterson
July 23, 2010

Ahmad JamalA Quiet TimeDreyfus Records2010 Always reluctant to go into the studio unless he has material he is thoroughly satisfied with, pianist Ahmad Jamal's A Quiet Time could be considered as a follow-up to It's Magic (Dreyfus Records, 2008), given the relatively short period between the two releases. Stylistically, it is similar, with Jamal leading a habitual trio augmented with percussion through a set of (mostly) originals, a couple of which have ...

Jean-Michel Pilc: True Story

by Karl Ackermann
July 7, 2010

Jean-Michel Pilc has yet to achieve a US prominence that compares to his fellow French jazz pianists, the late Michel Petrucciani and Algerian-born Martial Solal. While both of the latter musicians are frequently cited for their lightning-fast delivery, Pilc shares their agility as well as a finely honed ear for lyricism. But ultimately, Pilc is a different kind of player, interpreter and personality. He counters his own expressive side with a particular state of off-kilter playing that doesn't necessarily allow ...

Jean-Michel Pilc: True Story

by Joel Roberts
May 12, 2010

Paris-born pianist Jean-Michel Pilc continues his impressive series of Dreyfus Jazz releases with True Story, his first album since 2006's New Dreams and the debut effort for his exciting new trio featuring respected veteran drummer Billy Hart and talented Russian-born bassist Boris Kozlov. The 49-year-old Pilc, a resident of New York for the past 15 years, is a self-taught musician whose varied experience includes playing with masters like Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker and Dave Liebman, among many others, as well ...

Ahmad Jamal: A Quiet Time

by Graham L. Flanagan
May 12, 2010

As one of the most highly influential jazz musicians on earth, pianist Ahmad Jamal enhances that sparkling reputation with his outstanding new studio effort A Quiet Time. The disc features two of the strong supporting players from his previous release, It's Magic (Dreyfus, 2008): James Cammack (bass) and Manolo Badrena (percussion), with Kenny Washington replacing Idris Muhammad on drums. While the title may imply a relaxed, ballad-heavy session, Jamal takes plenty of opportunities to swing at medium ...

Ahmad Jamal: A Quiet Time

by Greg Camphire
March 19, 2010

Ahmad Jamal A Quiet Time Dreyfus Records 2010

Pianist Ahmad Jamal continues his career-long winning streak with A Quiet Time. The album expands on a stream of superb, post-mid 1990s releases made with largely the same working band: the Verve label's three-part The Essence series (1996-98), followed by Dreyfus' In Search of Momentum (2003), After Fajr (2005) and the excellent It's Magic (2008), among others. Jamal has achieved living legend status by ...

Ari Hoenig: Bert's Playground

by Elliott Simon
March 14, 2009

The varied contexts in which drummers play make their own sessions as leaders either spottily uneven or dynamically diverse. For Bert's Playground, drummer Ari Hoenig has gathered a troop of six musicians that includes two bassists, guitarists and saxophonists that he mixes and matches to illuminate the fun to be had. After receiving a gentle push from Hoenig and bassist Matt Penman, guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter swing hard on Trane's “Moment's Notice." Guitarist ...