Jazz Articles

Our daily articles are carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. You can find more articles by searching our website, see what's trending on our popular articles page or read articles ahead of their published dates on our Coming Soon page. Read our daily album reviews.

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Album Review

John LaPorta: Life Cycle

by David A. Orthmann
January 1, 2001

It is unfortunate that John LaPorta’s accomplishments as jazz educator, including three decades at the Berklee College of Music, may have overshadowed his expertise as a player, especially stints with Woody Herman’s big band, and the combos of Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus. Life Cycle, his ninth recording as a leader (or co-leader), is an assured statement by a musician with something significant to say beyond the confines of the classroom.

LaPorta composed all of the 11 cuts on the ...