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9
Album Review

Nils Petter Molvaer & Moritz von Oswald: 1/1

Read "1/1" reviewed by John Kelman


With the breakup of his trio responsible for the superb Baboon Moon (Sula, 2011), it's been a fair question to wonder: what's next for Nils Petter Molvær? One possible answer is certainly 1/1, the Norwegian trumpeter's debut with German multi- instrumentalist and influential techno producer Moritz von Oswald and his nephew, Laurens. The trio's debut performance at Kristiansand, Norway's 2013 Punkt Festival, while strong, was largely misleading; the show certainly occupied some of 1/1's more ethereal territory, but Molvær and ...

22
Extended Analysis

Überjam Deux

Read "Überjam Deux" reviewed by John Kelman


It's been a decade since Up All Night (Verve, 2003), John Scofield's second and, at the time it seemed, final album with his Überjam band, a group of younger players who, following his earlier forays into the territory—1998's first meeting with Medeski, Martin & Wood, A Go Go (Verve), and the larger-casted Bump (2000)—placed the guitarist smack dab on the jam band map with a combination of viscerally accessible grooves and oodles of solo space to focus on his more ...

4
Album Review

Gianni Bardaro / Pierluigi Villani: Unfolding Routes

Read "Unfolding Routes" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


The monochromatic cover of Unfolding Routes depicts an iconic--and stark--image of a deserted highway leading to an infinite horizon. It's perspective: an integral component of art. This collaboration of two outstanding Italian musicians is no dimensional illusion but, rather, an intelligent and involving artistic journey.Bardaro, Italian-born but now residing in Copenhagen, is a highly gifted alto saxophonist. He possesses both a beautifully haunting, poetic voice ("Unfolding Hearts") as well as fine technical chops, leveraging both heavily throughout. Choosing ...

6
Album Review

Madeleine Peyroux: The Blue Room

Read "The Blue Room" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


The nucleus of Madeleine Peyruoux's The Blue Room is Ray Charles' Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music (ABC, 1962). It was an idea percolating in the brain of long-time Peyroux producer Larry Klein, who was considering a re-examination of the Charles classic and evolved into something more than a simple homage, something with the same intention as Charles had fifty years ago. Collaborating with Peyroux, Klein decided on other songs the two favored, adding to the Charles Country canon ...

6
Album Review

Tommaso Starace: Simply Marvellous

Read "Simply Marvellous" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


Saxophonist Tommaso Starace is not a man to keep his influences hidden, nor does he simply take inspiration from the saxophone greats. The tunes on Plays The Music Of Elliott Erwitt (Frame, 2006) were inspired by a series of pictures from one great photographer; another, Robert Capa, inspired the title track of Blood And Champagne (Music Center Real, 2011). The gorgeous Simply Marvellous celebrates the life and work of another of Starace's favorites, the much-admired and loved pianist Michel Petrucciani ...

15
Album Review

Bojan Z: Soul Shelter

Read "Soul Shelter" reviewed by Ian Patterson


In twenty years as leader, pianist/composer Bojan Z has been judicious with the frequency and quality of his releases. Soul Shelter is his ninth CD in that time, and his first solo outing since Solobsession (Label Bleu, 2001). A new release by the pianist is always an event, and the wait, as always, has been worth it. The music on Soul Shelter covers wide stylistic territory and marks another significant milestone in Z's captivating career to date. Ten ...

127
Album Review

Charlie Haden / Hank Jones: Come Sunday

Read "Come Sunday" reviewed by Mark F. Turner


Come Sunday continues the dialog between two jazz masters--bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Hank Jones--that began with 1995's Steal Away (Verve). The topic of discussion concerns hymns, spirituals, and beloved tunes which are, without a doubt, personal and familiar to both musicians. Jones (the elder sibling of jazz luminaries Elvin Jones and Thad Jones) was the son of a devout Baptist deacon while Haden grew up performing in his family's radio show, which included country and American folk music.

203
Extended Analysis

James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads

Read "James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


James Carter Organ Trio At the Crossroads Emarcy Records 2011 Jazz has many faces. Some are searching and expansive, like those of alto saxophonists Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, seeking the outer edges of the music. Some are reverent and deferential, like the Modern Jazz Quartet and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, trying to lend respectability to the music borne in the whore houses of New Orleans' Storyville district. But like every family, ...

144
Album Review

James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads

Read "At The Crossroads" reviewed by Troy Collins


A ubiquitous presence in the mid-1990s, saxophonist James Carter faded from the limelight when Atlantic Records disbanded its jazz department in 2000. Undeterred, Carter forged ahead, eventually signing with EmArcy Records in 2008, turning misfortune into opportunity. In addition to releasing Carter's engaging Present Tense the same year, the label also issued his long-awaited premiere of composer Roberto Sierra's “Concerto for Saxophones," featured on Caribbean Rhapsody (2011).Picking up where Atlantic left off, EmArcy continues to encourage Carter's stylistic ...

110
Album Review

James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads

Read "At The Crossroads" reviewed by Mark F. Turner


No one brings more swagger and flavor with their playing than multi-reedman James Carter. A zealous nod to the blues, gospel, and jazz, he looks back to the music's rich history and presses onward in At the Crossroads with his organ trio including organist Gerard Gibbs and drummer Leonard King Jr., who have performed together for nearly ten years Carter has been sometimes criticized as being too loud and showy but he's a unequivocal virtuoso, with encyclopedic ...


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