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Andrew Rathbun: The Speed Of Time
by Dan McClenaghan
Not one to avoid concepts and ambitious outings, Andrew Rathbun's to-date masterpiece, The Atwood Suites (Origin Records, 2018), explored the poetry of his countrywoman, writer Margaret Atwood. In 2023, he tackles time. Time is a funny thing. Its perceived speed is malleable. It tends toward an increasing velocity as one moves into middle age and beyond. It can crawl at a snail's pace (during a root canal treatment, for example) and it can race ahead with wild abandon--that ...
read moreBurak Bedikyan: Introspection
by Hrayr Attarian
Pianist Burak Bedikyan's sixth release on Steeplechase, the absorbing Introspection, took shape around a short, commissioned piece. The organizers of Turkey's oldest jazz festival, the Akbank, asked for the composition for its thirtieth anniversary in 2021. As Bedikyan started work on this, he improvised extensively on his home piano and recorded these experiments. The result is moving and contemplative music which is melancholic yet hopeful, simultaneously ethereal and earthy. The angular “Call for Peace" opens with sparse chimes ...
read moreDavid Janeway: Distant Voices
by Dan McClenaghan
In 2017 pianist David Janeway offered his Secret Passages, a trio outing featuring bassist Frank Tate and drummer Chuck Zeuren. He proves, in 2021, that he can change partners without losing an ounce of swing or even a shot glass of verve. It is Cameron Brown on bass this time out, with Billy Hart sitting in the drum chair. Both are serious, elevate-the-music guys, while Janeway continues with his sprightly cerebralism and crystalline-touch way of making music. Distant ...
read moreAllegra Levy: Lose My Number
by Jerome Wilson
Allegra Levy is a young singer who has made a reputation for herself through her witty songwriting and performing. She has sung a lot of her own songs on previous releases but on this one, she changes things slightly by writing her own lyrics to the music of trumpet player John McNeil. McNeil was Levy's mentor at the New England Conservatory and she complements his slightly off-balance tunes with lyrics that range from the dark and sardonic to ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Contemptment
by Mark Corroto
If you followed saxophonist Noah Preminger's early career you might have read an interview where he revealed his fascination with boxing. The fact that he trained in the sweet science for nearly a decade while making music is evident in the pugilistic blues heard on self-released albums Pivot: Live At The 55 Bar (2015) and Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground (2016). On those two recordings and Genuinity (Criss Cross, 2018), he had a perfect sparring partner in ...
read moreAndy Fusco: Remembrance
by David A. Orthmann
Since 2016 SteepleChase Records has released five discs by alto saxophonist Andy Fusco. This impressive, often stunning body of work goes a long way in raising the profile of a man who had seldom been given the opportunity to record under his own name. While Fusco leads the sessions, he's the antithesis of a star or domineering force. Aside from his prowess on the horn, he possesses an unusual talent for putting together bands of uniquely talented individuals and choosing ...
read moreJohn Hart: Act Three
by Edward Blanco
Guitarist John Hart has long had an affinity for working with groups that feature the organ as a primary instrument. Having worked with Jimmy Smith and logged a 16-year tenure with organist Jack McDuff, the guitarist now presents Act Three, yet another project with another organ master, this time New York-based keyboardist Gary Versace on the Hammond B3 organ. Versace is one of the most in-demand musicians on the jazz scene today. Rounding out Hart's new band ...
read moreAndy Fusco: Vortex
by David A. Orthmann
Vortex, Andy Fusco's fourth release on the SteepleChase imprint in as many years, is cause for celebration. Until recently, recordings by the veteran alto saxophonist as a leader have been few and far between. The date reunites Fusco with tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, who composed four of the selections and arranged nine of the ten tracks. The Fusco/Weiskopf association began decades ago in the sax section of the Buddy Rich Big Band and eventually resulted in a number of noteworthy ...
read moreAndrew Rathbun: Character Study
by Jerome Wilson
The political and social landscape of the last couple of years has inspired music that expresses anger, sorrow, solidarity and other strong feelings. For saxophonist Andrew Rathbun, the times have brought up reflections on what “character" means and what is the place of integrity, honesty and conviction in the modern world. Some of this was addressed in his recent large ensemble recording, Atwood Suites, (Origin, 2018) and it's also the focus of this quintet disc. Without pointing fingers ...
read moreJay Anderson: Deepscape
by Jerome Wilson
Bassist Jay Anderson has been a sideman for many musicians including Michael Brecker, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler and Maria Schneider, but he hasn't led a recording session since the 90s.' He makes up for lost time here with a varied set of music that sometimes follows standard jazz orthodoxy and sometimes goes its own fascinating way. Two of his treatments are particularly surprising. He turns Morton Feldman's solemn “Rothko Chapel" into haunting exotica. His bowed bass and Billy ...
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