Jazz Articles

Ben and Frank Perowsky with Sam Yahel: Bop on Pop

by Terrell Kent Holmes
June 25, 2003

Bop On Pop is a trio session that explores the bebop and hard bop roots of jazz from the ‘40s and ‘50s. The disc features Ben Perowsky on drums; Frank Perowsky, his father, on tenor saxophone and clarinet; and Sam Yahel on organ. The chosen songs are mainly standards associated with a few of the "founding fathers": Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Horace Silver - as well as a grateful nod to "pre-bopper" Fats Waller. The trio performed most of these ...

Mike Clark: Summertime

by Riel Lazarus
May 5, 2003

It's safe to say that drummer Mike Clark is most commonly associated with funk. Since his days as a member of Herbie Hancock's legendary Headhunters, Clark has been considered one of the foremost trapsmen of the genre. But funk is only a small part of what this veteran artist is capable of, and Summertime may finally spell the end to this unfortunate pigeonholing. As evidenced by his appearance last month at the Blue Note, Clark is every ...

Mike Clark: Summertime

by Jim Santella
March 3, 2003

Pianist Billy Childs and drummer Mike Clark make a great rhythm team. Their modern mainstream journey through new originals and familiar favorites swings with a surging intensity that’s stirred gently – not shaken. It’s your daddy’s music in a new picture frame.

”Summertime,” a personal favorite, is treated to a harmonic makeover. Using darkness and mystery, a quintet with Clark, Childs, Chris Potter, Jack Walrath and James Genus presents this gem as it’s never been shown before. ...

Ben Perowsky: Bop On Pop

by Mark Corroto
September 12, 2002

Frank Perowsky says to his son “Ben, how about a nice game of catch.” If you think of football as brother against brother knocking heads, then baseball is a game of fathers and sons. On Bop On Pop we get a nice game of catch, as Ben, Frank and Sam Yahel toss the old standards around.

Drummer Ben Perowsky grew up playing jazz in New York with his father, a veteran of the bands of Woody Herman, ...

Ben Perowsky, Frank Perowsky, Sam Yehel: Bop on Pop

by Dan McClenaghan
September 11, 2002

Drummer Ben Perowsky has decided to do one with Dad; Dad being reedman /arranger Frank Perowsky--the Pop in Bop on Pop Perowsky the younger is a New York-based drummer who has worked with everyone from Walter Becker (Steely Dan) to John Cale (Velvet Underground) to jazz keyboardist Uri Caine and trumpeter/bandleader Dave Douglas. Pop/Frank is a veteran of the big band scene--Lee Castle and Woody Herman--and has performed with Peggy Lee, Billy Ecstine, Sarah Vaughn...and on and on.

Ben Perowsky: Ben Perowsky Trio

by Glenn Astarita
September 1, 1999

The drummer for the strikingly original band “Lost Tribe” and frequently called upon session man steps out as a leader fronting a trio consisting of distinguished New York City-based musicians on the “live” Ben Perowsky Trio. Perowsky is a monster behind the kit and along with the talented reedman Chris Speed and excellent bassist Scott Colley, the Trio rip and roar through a few standards and originals. Some highlights are --- a down home bluesy version of Pink Floyd’s mega-hit, ...

Ben Perowsky Trio: Ben Perowsky Trio

by David Adler
September 1, 1999

Drummer Ben Perowsky is a consummate sideman (Mike Stern, Pat Martino, Dave Douglas, Walter Becker, The Lounge Lizards...) and a fixture of New York’s Knitting Factory scene. His first release as a leader is upon us, and it’s a killer. Along with Scott Colley on double bass and Chris Speed on tenor sax and clarinet, Perowsky serves up some cutting-edge music that sits squarely within the straight-ahead jazz tradition yet points the way toward jazz’s future.The album — ...

Ben Perowsky: Ben Perowsky Trio

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 1999

Ben Perowsky’s first recording as leader doesn’t present a standard piano/bass/drums trio but offers in its stead drums (Perowsky), bass (Colley) and saxophone/clarinet (Speed). I presume that Perowsky was seeking the greatest possible freedom of expression within a small–group format; I would presume further that he came close to achieving that ambition. If Perowsky got what he wanted, what has he given the listener? To oversimplify the case, an often pleasant but substantially unexciting session by three well–schooled musicians who ...