Jazz Articles

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Black Water

by David Adler
November 1, 2002

Officially, Black Water is the second album by alto saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthappa.

( The Preserver, a blazing follow-up to 1997's Yatra, remains in the can.) Commissioned by the American Composers Forum, this powerful suite deals in part with the difficulty of immigration, not only for those who make the journey but also their progeny - people like Mahanthappa and pianist Vijay Iyer, both first-generation Indian-Americans. The two have cemented their musical partnership by way of Iyer's own quartet ...

Vijay Iyer: Panoptic Modes

by Jim Santella
March 1, 2002

What a combination. Vijay Iyer's music contains the adventurousness and dramatic tension that you'd expect from avant-garde jazz; as well as a light, rhythmic swing, for those of us who live in the mainstream. His third album is accessible to one and all. They're his originals, and they're interpreted by a stellar quartet. By limiting the ensemble to four members, Iyer ensures that each voice can be understood by the listener. Traditional Indian scales, changing meters, and romantic elements from ...

Thor Madsen: Metal Dog

by David Adler
May 1, 2001

Danish guitarist Thor Madsen, a relatively new arrival on the New York jazz scene, makes a strong debut with Metal Dog. Leading a quartet through a charged set of original music, Madsen displays not only stunning guitar chops, but an intrepid and progressive musical imagination. He swings hard on “Metalhunden" and “Crazy Dog Out the Window," his quick eighth-note lines dancing with an unpredictability that brings David Gilmore to mind. The moodier pieces, such as “Little Q," “After the Munchies," ...

Thor Madsen: Metal Dog

by Jim Santella
April 1, 2001

Guitarist Thor Madsen retains an historical rhythmic swing throughout his session of modern mainstream originals. His quartet stretches the boundaries. Improvising with serious purpose, the foursome carries a Thelonious Monk influence along an extrapolated course. Quirky and energetic, Madsen's music includes the spirit of our bebop forefathers, while blazing a trail defining the future of jazz. Douglas Yates carries a fluid, brass-like tone and a scissor-like articulation that matches Madsen's movements note for note. When stretching out, both embody the ...

Liberty Ellman: Orthodoxy

by David Adler
November 1, 1999

Talk about talent deserving wider recognition. Guitarist Liberty Ellman has been placed in the M-BASE camp by some, but it’s not quite so easy to pin him down. His highly enjoyable debut, Orthodoxy, is an ultra-hip mix of abstract swing and spacey but intense groove—call it Greg Osby meets In a Silent Way by way of The Sorceror. The slow, odd-metered funk and seductive melody of “Psi Missing" is a standout.Some of the tunes are rather long and ...