Jazz Articles
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Albert Vila: Reality Is Nuance
by Richard J Salvucci
Notwithstanding a sojourn at the Manhattan School of Music, Albert Vila is better known in European jazz circles than in the U.S.A.. A native of jny:Barcelona, Vila does his touring in Europe but the appeal of his playing is much broader. If there ever was a jazz guitarist “deserving of wider recognition" in US circles, it is Vila. Despite his profoundly Iberian touch (listening to him is a bit like listening to the renowned classical guitarist Narciso Yepes) his current ...
read moreMike De Souza: Chrysalis
by Neil Duggan
For many musicians, the silver-lining of enforced isolation during the pandemic was the time to write and refine new compositions. The event enabled guitarist Mike De Souza to explore concepts for the six tracks that make up his second album, Chrysalis. This follows on from his debut, Slow Burn (Self-produced, 2019). Added impetus came from forming a new quintet, adding two new members to his existing trio. The music on the album is a rock/jazz hybrid that melds ...
read moreAlbert Vila: Reality Is Nuance
by La-Faithia White
Reality Is Nuance features nine tracks from jazz guitarist Albert Vila and his trio. The trio is completed by bassist Doug Weiss, who has performed with jazz legends such as singers Joe Williams and Lizz Wright, and drummer Rudy Royston, who has performed with the late great Les McCann, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and The Mingus Big Band to name just a few. Vila is from Barcelona, Spain where he began his musical studies. He has traveled around the world gaining ...
read moreMiles Davis Quintet: In Concert At The Olympia, Paris 1957
by Ian Patterson
Another live Miles Davis recording. Well, once the studio outtakes have dried up, this is the only seam left to mine. Happily, with advances in sound technology, old radio broadcasts are increasingly being dusted down and treated to a little digital TLC. Since 1983, Fresh Sounds Records has been a leading light in reissues and archival releases (see Fresh Sound Records and the Legacy of Recorded Jazz), in addition to producing many hundreds of contemporary artists. This one from Jordi ...
read moreKarl-Henrik Ousbäck: Confluence
by C. Andrew Hovan
Drummers do not always get the respect they deserve and yet, in a jazz context, their contributions are an integral part in the overall success of the music. Aside from genre leaders such as Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, and Art Blakey, relatively few drummer-led sessions have entered into the upper echelon of recorded jazz history. However, those who cast a wider net will probably remember that drummers Art Taylor, Bill English, Grady Tate, Joe Chambers, and Roy Brooks ...
read moreKarl Berger, Max Johnson, Billy Mintz: Sketches
by Mike Jurkovic
An exquisitely palatable sense of dance permeates the gregarious music bassist Max Johnson brings to the fore on Sketches, the second of two heady 2022 releases. Whereas the first, Orbit of Sound (Unbroken Sounds), teams him up with the rule-elusive sax and flute of Anna Weber and drummer Michael Sarin, Sketches presents a slightly more straight ahead approach with pianist and vibraphonist Karl Berger and drummer Billy Mintz. But straight ahead is not quite fair, or descriptive enough ...
read moreJeong Lim Yang: Zodiac Suite: Reassured
by Dan McClenaghan
This is bold music. It bursts with freewheeling, chip-on-the-shoulder modernism. It is Korean-born bassist Jeong Lim Yang's take on pianist-composer Mary Lou Williams' Zodiac Suite (Asch Records, 1945). Yang tags her revisitation of the classic piece Zodiac Suite: Reassured. But a revisitation of Williams' original trio rendition—to prime the ears for the experience of hearing this new version—says there was an awful lot of boldness and a big modern lean going on back in the mid-twentieth century. Williams ...
read moreLarry Bluth Trio: Never More Here
by Kyle Simpler
Many musicians work diligently to build a career for themselves. Although dedicated to music, these players also try to build a fanbase, book concerts, and score record deals. However, there are an equal number of performers who are driven more by creating music than making it in the music business. Unfortunately, many artists who fall into this second category often fail to get the recognition they deserve. Pianist Larry Bluth could easily fit into this category of talented musicians that ...
read moreKind Folk: Head Towards The Center
by Jerome Wilson
Kind Folk is a quartet consisting of trumpeter John Raymond, alto saxophonist Alex LoRe, bassist Noam Wiesenberg and drummer Colin Stranahan. They recorded their first album in 2018, then went their separate ways for various reasons. They finally reconnected in June 2021 and came up with the simmering blend of jazz, rock and folk sensibilities that makes up this album. Generally, there is a subdued but close-knit feel to this music. Tracks such as “Mantrois" and “Around, Forever" ...
read moreYuval Amihai: My 90s Summer
by Dan Bilawsky
This fourth album from Yuval Amihai takes inspiration from the halcyon days of a summer long past, recalling formative experiences of a youth spent in the desert city of Beer Sheva in Israel. But it also draws heavily on the guitarist's globetrotting as an adult, looking toward years spent in France and a new life in New York. A work supported by those broad interests and influences spanning decades, My 90s Summer is nevertheless a remarkably focused date showcasing a ...
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