Jazz Articles
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Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project: A Thousand Pebbles
by Jerome Wilson
Ben Rosenblum's Nebula Project is a group which incorporates sounds from all over the world. Gospel, Brazilian rhythms, European folk dances, and other kinds of music all mix freely with jazz in this exciting and unpredictable set. The horn players, trumpeter Wayne Tucker and reed players Jasper Dutz and Xavier Del Castillo, all do excellent work in realizing the leader's freewheeling concepts. “Bulgares" has Tucker's trumpet and Dutz's bass clarinet darting out in a whirling Bulgarian rhythm over ...
Continue ReadingBen Rosenblum Nebula Project: A Thousand Pebbles
by Jack Bowers
This is music for the open-minded. On A Thousand Pebbles, his fourth album as leader, New York-based pianist & accordionist Ben Rosenblum's seven-member Nebula Project traverses a number of musical landscapes, from Bulgaria to Brazil, Ireland to Israel, and realms beyond, offering a pleasurable smorgasbord of contemporary jazz that is always engaging and never shopworn. Rosenblum the composer wrote all of the album's eleven numbers save one, Antonio Carlos Jobim & Chico Baurque's melodious “Song of the ...
Continue ReadingBen Rosenblum Nebula Project: Kites and Strings
by Jerome Wilson
Ben Rosenblum uses a lot of different instrumental elements on this release. For starters, he himself plays both piano and accordion, and his sextet also features trumpet, reeds and guitar. In addition, vibraphone and trombone show up on some tracks. That creates a blend of various textures and sounds which bring variety to this program of bright jazz compositions. Rosenblum's accordion flows together nicely with the sounds of Wayne Tucker's trumpet, and Jasper Dutz's bass clarinet on the ...
Continue ReadingBen Rosenblum Nebula Project: Kites and Strings
by Jack Bowers
Expectations are necessarily guarded when preparing to appraise a recording by the Nebula Project whose leader plays accordion. Be that as it may, any such uneasiness is quickly erased by Ben Rosenblum and his doughty ensemble whose music is decidedly colorful, melodic and accessible—which is not meant to undervalue diversity, another of its discernible points. Rosenblum, who wrote seven of the album's ten numbers, draws on influences as varied as klezmer jazz, Bulgarian folk music and even Johannes Brahms to ...
Continue ReadingJonathan Parker: Interloper
by Dan Bilawsky
Saxophonist Jonathan Parker has covered quite a lot of ground since graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2008: Shortly thereafter, he relocated to Shanghai, China, carving out a performing life for himself there. Then, he was accepted into the Kennedy Center-sponsored Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program in 2010. Parker moved to New York City in the fall of that year, where he quickly gained some attention with the release of The Jonathan Parker Group (Self Produced, 2010)--his debut ...
Continue ReadingRoy Assaf Trio: Second Row Behind The Painter
by Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Roy Assaf decided to try a different studio tactic when he set out to make this record. Instead of simply having his trio take multiple passes at tracks on a single predetermined playlist, he decided to have the group simulate a stay at a club. They recorded multiple sets, accumulating almost five hours worth of recorded music. When all was said and done, he sifted through it all to come up with the best material for this album. It's ...
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