Jazz Articles
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Kevin Fort: Perspectives
by Edward Blanco
Pianist and composer Kevin Fort follows his extraordinary debut, Red Gold (CD Baby, 2014), with another tip of the hat to jazz standards and the modern tradition; Perspectives is a musical package nicely filled with new arrangements of six classics and four new originals, performed by a standard piano trio. For more than twenty years an in-demand player in Chicago's talent-rich jazz scene, Fort is also an educator, currently lecturing at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music.
read moreJoe Policastro Trio: Nothing Here Belongs
by Jerome Wilson
The Joe Policastro Trio is a working band that has been playing together in Chicago area clubs for almost ten years. This CD reflects that history in how the three musicians play off each others' twists and turns with a near-telepathic rapport. Guitarist Dave Miller darts and swoops with cool assurance while bassist Policastro and drummer Mikel Avery keep the rhythms sounding relaxed and natural even when abruptly switching tempos within songs. The set consists mostly of Policastro ...
read moreJoe Policastro Trio: Nothing Here Belongs
by Dan Bilawsky
Everything belongs here on Nothing Here Belongs, the first Joe Policastro Trio album to focus primarily on original material. The three previous outings from this Chicago-based outfit sold themselves with a pliable approach to covers. On West Side Story Suite (Self Produced, 2013) it was an expansive brush with Bernstein; with Pops! (Self Produced, 2016) the band tackled popular music, from Burt Bacharach to The Pixies; and through Screen Sounds (Jerujazz Records, 2017) the group visited songs of the silver ...
read moreAndrew Distel: It Only Takes Time
by Dan Bilawsky
When is the right time to release an album? That's a tough question, and a great one to open up for debate. But when you strip away all potential concerns both large and small, the answer stares you in the face: now is the right time. If the music is there, why wait? That's the honest truth, and that's the realization that finally came to vocalist-trumpeter Andrew Distel with regard to It Only Takes Time. Eleven years ...
read moreJoe Policastro Trio: Screen Sounds
by Dan Bilawsky
There are always new wrinkles to be found in the familiar. That's a philosophical stance that seems to serve the Joe Policastro Trio well. This Chicago-based outfit's debut album--West Side Story Suite (Self Produced, 2013)--served as a distillation and expansion on Bernstein's masterpiece, turning Broadway on its head; Pops! (Self Produced, 2016) referenced both the venue that served as the band's birthplace and the titular musical strain, presenting newly drafted takes on the music of The Pixies, Neil Young, Stevie ...
read moreAlyssa Allgood: Out Of The Blue
by Tyran Grillo
If Alyssa Allgood's debut EP Lady Bird made a splash, then Out of the Blue is a veritable deluge of inspired thinking. The Chicago vocalist's imprint is evident in every lick of this full-length follow-up. From the original lyrics and arrangements to her choice of musicians and production, Allgood uses everything in her toolkit throughout 10 redux tunes from the Blue Note catalog. Many of these tracks started out as instrumentals in their heyday, foregrounding the melodic and improvisational stylings ...
read moreAlyssa Allgood: Out Of The Blue
by Mark Sullivan
Chicago vocalist Alyssa Allgood devotes her first full length album to an unexpected source: the classic hard bop repertoire of Blue Note Records. The label is mainly known for instrumental jazz, and all of these selections were originally instrumental. This presents no problem for Allgood, who demonstrates equal facility scatting, singing wordless vocalise, and writing lyrics (which she does on four tracks). She has a crack band, too: organist Dan Chase, guitarist Tim Fitzgerald, saxophonist Chris Madsen and drummer Matt ...
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