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Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band: Life Songs
by Jack Bowers
Maryland-born trombonist Marshall Gilkes, who spends much of his time working in and around various jazz bases in North America, returns to his “second" home, Cologne, Germany, for Life Songs, his eighth album as leader and third with his former employer, Cologne's world-class WDR Big Band. Gilkes spent the years 2010-13 in the WDR trombone section, shortly before he and the ensemble released the widely praised albums Koln (Alternate Side, 2015) and Always Forward (Alternate Side, 2018). ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes / WDR Big Band: Always Forward
by Jack Bowers
This is the second album on which Maryland-born trombonist Marshall Gilkes (pronounced “Jilks") has collaborated with Germany's superlative WDR Big Band, a world-class ensemble with whom he has also served as a member of the trombone section. This time around, Gilkes not only gets to solo but to conduct, compose (eight numbers including the three-part “Denali Suite") and arrange (all of the album's ten selections). If that calls to mind a tour de force, give yourself a ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes & The WDR Big Band: Always Forward
by Dan Bilawsky
Ever onward for Marshall Gilkes. After snagging a Grammy nomination for Köln (Alternate Side Records, 2016)--a collaborative venture with the WDR Big Band (of which he was a member from early 2010 to the close of 2013) and one of the standout large ensemble releases of recent years--this sought-after trombonist-composer could have easily retreated to smaller scenarios and sideman work. But the very nature of his being as a musician--the urge to keep forging ahead--brought him back to the big ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes / WDR Big Band: Koln
by Jack Bowers
For four years, American-born trombonist Marshall Gilkes (pronounced “Jilks") was a member of one of Germany's premier jazz ensembles, the WDR Big Band, in Cologne (Koln). One month after leaving the band in 2013, Gilkes was invited back to preside over a farewell performance at the WDR Funkhaus Studio 4, the result of which is this sharp and stylish recording, named after the city in which Gilkes embraced new friends while broadening his musical horizons. Gilkes wasn't ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes & The WDR Big Band: Köln
by Dan Bilawsky
In jazz journalism, it's de rigueur for writers to trace the evolution of an artist when covering their work. But encountering the likes of Marshall Gilkes makes that difficult: The Juilliard-trained trombonist seemed to arrive on the New York scene as a fully-formed entity, projecting a warm and full-bodied tone quality and possessing astounding lip flexibility. No surprise then that he became a pivotal figure on the scene, working with everybody from composer-arranger-bandleader Maria Schneider to Colombian harp phenom Edmar ...
read moreRyan Keberle + Catharsis: Music Is Emotion
by Dan Bilawsky
Music can be defined, analyzed and categorized, but those formal processes do little to help demystify the effect it can have on people. That's because music's power isn't directly related to the science behind the sound; music truly makes its mark through emotional connectivity, and trombonist Ryan Keberle is keenly aware of this. In just over a decade, Keberle has become one of the most in-demand trombonists on the scene, and he's done so by using his ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes: Sound Stories
by Dave Wayne
One thing evident from the outset of Marshall Gilkes' Sound Stories: this is a band that impresses with the sheer force of its Herculean chops and unbridled, ceaseless energy. Juilliard-educated and currently residing in Cologne, Germany, Gilkes is one of the most impressive young jazz trombonists to emerge in the last few years. Given the crop of amazing young trombonists on the scene these days--Joe Fiedler, Robert Bachner, Samuel Blaser--that's really saying something. Gilkes' solos combine uncanny pinpoint control with ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes: Sound Stories
by Dan Bilawsky
Lyrical strains and muscular machinations are a counterintuitive combination, but trombonist Marshall Gilkes is living proof that they need not be mutually exclusive methods of musical dissemination. Gilkes has made a name for himself through his work with Colombian harp hero Edmar Castaneda, the Maria Schneider Orchestra and many others, but the full scope of his talents is better observed on his own albums.Gilkes first gained wide recognition with “Puddle Jumping," from his 2004 debut, Edenderry (Alternate Side). ...
read moreRyan Keberle: Heavy Dreaming
by Dan Bilawsky
Brass band-oriented projects seemed to be all the rage in 2009. Dave Douglas, leaning on the work of Lester Bowie and the heritage of the Crescent City, garnered great critical acclaim and artistic success with his Brass Ecstasy project. Saxophonist David Binney created a mysterious and intriguing blend between a guest brass section and his core quartet on Third Occasion (Mythology Record, 2009). Trombonist Ryan Keberle is now hot on their heels with Heavy Dreaming, featuring his Double Quartet--piano, drums, ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes: Lost Words
by Jerry D'Souza
Every good musician deserves favor, and trombonist Marshall Gilkes has found his with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Chico O'Farrill and Machito among others. His presence in such ensembles is easily justified by his ability to blend in as part of the band, and the fact that his technique is suited to many different grooves and styles. In between gigs, Gilkes found enough time to write all but one of the tunes that went ...
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