Jazz Articles

Tomo: I'll Always Know

by Edward Blanco
June 14, 2007

West Coast composer Reed Kotler describes himself as a project-oriented songwriter with one burning ambition, to have his music heard! This led to the creation of his own label (Tori Records) to facilitate various groups in performing his music. Kotler even came up with the idea of forming a quintet to record his charts and gave it the “Tomo name which means “friends in Japanese.

Tomo is no typical quintet--with the likes of piano virtuoso Bill Cunliffe leading ...

Bill Cunliffe: Imaginacion

by Dan McClenaghan
August 1, 2005

Grammy-nominated pianist Bill Cunliffe loves a good melody. He's recorded a couple of sets of Reed Kotler's beautifully lyrical tunes, most recently Tomo (Torii, '05). With his latest offering, Imaginacion, the pianist/arranger wraps some melodies--his own and a few classics--in a strong Latin vibe.The expanded lineup, featuring two trombones, two trumpets, and a reed player, plus piano and bass, along with three percussionists, offers more harmonic possiblities, and Cunliffe has a genius in this arena, crafting lush washes ...

Bill Cunliffe: Tomo

by Germein Linares
June 21, 2005

Tomo is the second album on Torri honoring composer Reed Kotler, following last year's release of It's About Love by pianist/arranger Bill Cunliffe. Though little known outside San Francisco, Kotler is a modern composer who seems to have struck an appreciative chord with the Los Angeles-based Cunliffe.As with It's About Love, the music on Tomo is gentle and relaxing. Offering a handsome set of twelve tunes, the group of saxophonist Bob Sheppard, guitarist Larry Koonse, pianist Bill Cunliffe, ...

Bill Cunliffe: Tomo

by Dan McClenaghan
March 15, 2005

Pianist Bill Cunliffe, winner of the 1989 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, seems to be making something of a career out of recording Reed Kotler tunes. He did that with Bobby Shew, Gary Foster and Friends Play the Music of Reed Kotler in 2002; Bill Cunliffe and Gary Foster: It's About Love: The Music of Reed Kotler in 2003; and now he offers up Tomo: The Music of Reed Kotler. Five musicians are named on the disc's cover, ...

Bill Cunliffe: Tomo

by Michael P. Gladstone
March 10, 2005

It's always a pleasure to hear a release from the Torii catalogue. The five musicians presented here often play together in each other's company and also appear on other Torii albums, including 2002's Bobby Shew, Gary Foster and Friends Play the Music of Reed Kotler, and two albums from the next year, It's About Love: The Music of Reed Kotler and Bill Cunliffe's How My Heart Sings: The Music of Earl Zindars.“Tomo" is a Japanese word for friend ...

Bill Cunliffe/Gary Foster: It's About Love

by Dan McClenaghan
March 6, 2004

The genius of this teaming of pianist Bill Cunliffe and saxophonist Gary Foster on It's About Love is their ability to play jazz that evokes images of dapper men decked out in gleaming tuxedos, elegant bejewled ladies draped in sparkling evening gowns, all sipping from long-stemmed glasses of bubbly champagne. Classy sounding stuff. And Bill Cunliffe is on a roll. Last year's How My Heart Sings (Torii Records), a sextet recording featuring the songs of the overlooked tunesmith Earl Zindars, ...

Bill Cunliffe/Gary Foster: It's About Love

by Michael P. Gladstone
February 23, 2004

This album is a second volume presenting the music of composer Reed Kotler, following Bobby Shew-Gary Foster and Friends Play the Music of Reed Kotler (2002). It's About Love resumes with 13 songs as played by Gary Foster, Bill Cunliffe, Jeff D'Angelo and Tim Pleasant. Foster is one of Los Angeles' best kept secrets. I've heard him over the past 25 years on many Concord records and on smaller labels but rarely leading his own group. Cunliffe has been receiving ...

Bill Cunliffe Sextet: How My Heart Sings

by Michael P. Gladstone
December 24, 2003

On this record subtitled “The Music of Earl Zindars," Bill Cunliffe pays tribute to the composer who wrote the jazz standard “How My Heart Sings," which began life as the exclusive property of Bill Evans in 1956. Throughout a lengthy friendship and business relationship, Evans championed a number of Zindars' songs, such as “Elsa," on his many recordings. There are probably scores of musicians who have also recorded the title song, including vocalist Kim Parker, daughter of Bird, about 20 ...

Bill Cunliffe Sextet: How My Heart Sings

by Dan McClenaghan
November 3, 2003

The name Earl Zindars might not ring a bell, unless you're a fan of the late pianist Bill Evans, who was a Zindars fan. Evans ' for those of you who check out songwriting credits ' recorded several Zindars tunes in his career, including a classic version of “How My Heart Sings," the title track of the Bill Cunliffe Sextet's latest CD.Pianist Cunliffe has grabbed a Grammy nomination for his orchestral arrangements; and you hear why here. His ...

Bobby Shew, Gary Foster and Friends: Play The Music Of Reed Kotler

by Jim Santella
May 1, 2002

It's a refreshing, straight-ahead quintet that interprets these songs by San Francisco Bay area composer Reed Kotler. All five members of the quintet solo throughout this 2-CD set; but it's the distinctive, front line work of Bobby Shew and Gary Foster that thrills. Shew provided the musical arrangements. As his schedule reveals, the trumpeter is noted for his work all over the world as a brass clinician. Here, on this album, Shew's big bold tone and exciting technique provide adventure. ...