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Petros Klampanis: Tora Collective
by John Chacona
Some ideas work better on paper than on record. Take the attempts to fuse jazz and Greek popular music. There is, to be sure, a certain logic to the notion. Both traditions share an emphasis on virtuosic improvisation and a foundation in dance rhythms. Rebetika, the mournful songs of heartache, alienation and drug use brought to Greece in the population exchanges of a century ago, is, with some reason, called “the Greek blues."
read moreFranco Ambrosetti: Nora
by Dan McClenaghan
Franco Ambrosetti's album is called simply Nora. Short and sweet, four letters, two syllables. But it could easily have been called “Franco Ambrosetti with Strings," as the Swiss flugelhornist & trumpeter follows the orchestral path of alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and his groundbreaking Charlie Parker With Strings (Verve, 1950), trumpeter Chet Baker's Chet Baker with Strings (Columbia, 1953) or trumpeter Clifford Brown's Clifford Brown with String (Verve, 1955). Those early forays into orchestral jazz set the template of ...
read morePasquale Stafano: Sparks
by Mike Jurkovic
Funny how it seems to be that we're forever catching up to jazz no matter how astute or socially notified we believe ourselves to be. Case in point is Sparks, pianist Pasquale Stafano's stylistic and creative balancing act. Released in the pre-omicron haze of September 2021, Sparks delivers more and more as one surrenders and pays closer and closer attention to its warm textures, rising dramas, and festive dances. Actively articulate, Stafano's eight striking, shape-shifting compositions reveal an ...
read morePasquale Stafano: Sparks
by Ian Patterson
Italian pianist Pasquale Stafano is perhaps best known for the Nuevo Tango Ensemble which he co-founded in 1999 with bandoneonist Gianni Iorio, with whom he has also released a couple of fine duo albums, namely the tango-inspired Nocturno (Enja Records, 2017) and Mediterranean Tales (Enja Records, 2020). The centenary of Astor Piazzolla's birth might have seemed like an opportune moment for another tango project, but instead Stafano has launched a new trio, with double bassist Giorgio Vendola and drummer & ...
read moreJacques Schwarz-Bart: Sone Ka-la 2: Odyssey
by Dan McClenaghan
The French-Jewish-Guadeloupean saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart--a background and name like that has world music written all over it--presented his Sone Ka-La (Emarcy) in 2007, after stints with D'Angelo's Voodoo touring band, Roy Hargrove's Crisol and Rh Factor, Erykah Badu, Meshell Ndegeocello, all influences that helped him craft a hybridization of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and melodies inspired by Gwoka traditions of his native island of Guadeloupe. Gwoka is a music born on the western Atlantic Island in response, in part, to the miseries ...
read moreGuy Mintus Trio: A Gershwin Playground
by Troy Dostert
"Go big or go home" might as well be Guy Mintus' mantra. The Israeli pianist has a forceful presence on his instrument, and he seemingly brings every ounce of talent and creativity he possesses to every record he releases. His debut trio album, A Home In Between (Self-Produced, 2017), was a terrific amalgam of styles, showcasing Mintus' distinctive blend of bop, classical and global folk idioms. On A Gershwin Playground, he brings his fearsome technique and chameleon-like stylistic approach to ...
read moreGianni Iorio & Pasquale Stafano: Mediterranean Tales
by Ian Patterson
When it comes to the bandoneon it's impossible not to think of Astor Piazzolla, the great virtuoso and father of nuevo tango, whose influence and legacy is still very much felt. Since the late 1990s bandoneonist Gianni Iorio and pianist Pasquale Stafano's Nuevo Tango Ensemble has found inspiration in Piazzola's jazz- inflected tango, releasing a handful of handsome recordings. Their excellent duo outing, Nocturno (Enja Records, 2017), likewise mined Piazzola's songbook, along with those of those of Carlos Gardel, Oswaldo ...
read moreMatthias Bublath: Eight Cylinder Bigband
by Edward Blanco
German pianist and Hammond B3 organist Matthias Bublath realizes a long-held passion of recording his own big-band and so, after eleven albums to date, Eight Cylinder Bigband finally comes to the fore in splashy audacious fashion, encompassing a musical spectrum which ranges from blues, gospel and soul/funk to Afro-Caribbean flavors documented on twelve swinging compositions. The music is designed around the Hammond organ, Bublath's preferred instrument, but leaves quite a lot of space to feature solos from various players.
read moreSkyjack: The Hunter
by Friedrich Kunzmann
This South African / Swiss combo might seem like an unlikely pairing on paper, but turns out to be more than fruitful on record. The Hunter represents the sophomore effort by the collaboration between Swiss winds Marc Stucki and Andreas Tschopp and the South African rhythm section made up of Shane Cooper and Kesivan Naidoo on bass and drums. Kyle Shepherd, who is internationally renowned as being among South Africa's leading progressive jazz artists, skillfully handles the keys, shuffling between ...
read morePetros Klampanis: Irrationalities
by Mark Corroto
You'd expect a strong pulse on Irrationalities by bassist Petros Klampanis. What comes as a beautiful surprise is the diversified approach he utilizes in his compositions and performance. Not that we don't hear a variety of approaches on he previous outings. Both Chroma (Minos-EMI, 2017) and Minor Dispute (Inner Circle Music, 2015) concentrated on a chamber sound with string ensembles. Here Klampanis pares down his expression to the a simple trio. A piano trio maybe actually be the ultimate ...
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