Jazz Articles
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Kevin Brunkhorst: After the Fire
by Jack Bowers
Guitarist Kevin Brunkhorst, an alumnus of the University of North Texas and its celebrated One O'Clock Lab Band, has been teaching jazz in Canada for more than two decades, and his able sidemen on After the Fire are from the Nova Scotia area, where the album was recorded in October 2023. Brunkhorst moves seamlessly from acoustic to electric guitar while doubling as composer and arranger in a session that consists of seven of his original works. He ...
Continue ReadingChad McCullough: Transverse
by Jack Bowers
Would all those who can locate North Macedonia on a map please raise your hands. Not many, it seems. For the benefit of those whose hands remained motionless, it is a part of the Balkan Peninsula in southeast Europe whose boundaries overspread parts of half a dozen Balkan countries including Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo. So much for geography. What is relevant for the purpose of this review is that the country has an active jazz scene, one that ...
Continue ReadingJosé Gobbo Trio: Confluence
by Troy Dostert
Guitarist José Gobbo brought his background in Brazilian music and jazz to Iowa City in 2011, when he began a master's program at the University of Iowa. Since then, he has honed a compelling voice on his instrument, fusing the danceable rhythms of Brazilian folk forms with a more contemporary guitar sound. One of his central creative outlets involves his trio with bassist Max Beckman and drummer Jay Ferguson. The group released its promising debut album, Current (Self Produced), in ...
Continue ReadingChad McCullough: Transverse
by Dan McClenaghan
Chance encounters can be fortuitous and fruitful. Trumpeter Chad McCullough, on a visit to Macedonia to convene with family, found his way into a small cafe in Skopje, the capital of Independent North Macedonia, where he encountered a local trio: pianist Gordon Spasovski, bassist Kiril Tufekcievski and drummer Viktor Filipovski. McCullough had his horn with him. He was invited to sit in. A musical connection came about and eventually Transverse happened--the group's first “recording together on American soil" (a quote ...
Continue ReadingJames Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge
by Mark Corroto
Trumpeter James Davis' sextet is aptly named Beveled--a word that means transforming a sharp, square edge into something smoother, more refined. That concept of reshaping and softening defines both the ensemble's instrumentation and its sonic character. Davis sets the tone by trading his bright trumpet for the warmer, more introspective voice of the flugelhorn. He deepens this resonance by adding a second flugelhorn, played by Chad McCullough, alongside two bass clarinetists, Geof Bradfield and Michael Salter. The bass clarinet, known ...
Continue ReadingJames Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge
by Jack Bowers
Beveled, according to Webster's, translates roughly to “slanted" or “grooved." On Arc and Edge, flugelhornist James Davis' Chicago-based sextet clearly has its own slant on contemporary post-bop jazz wherein the groove ranges from typically improvised passages to cutting-edge motifs and classical chamber music, using a second flugelhorn, two bass clarinets and rhythm to flesh out the leader's sonically unique and harmonically sophisticated compositions. The second flugelhorn is that of Chad McCullough. Geof Bradfield and Michael Salter man ...
Continue ReadingAlyn Cosker: Onta
by Neil Duggan
Ayr is a coastal town situated in the southwest of Scotland. It is enjoyed by tourists for its scenic beach and as the location of the birthplace of the national poet Robert Burns. It also serves as the inspiration for Onta, the third album from drummer Alyn Cosker, who makes this his love letter to the town of his birth. Buddy Rich fan Cosker is often found with The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. In his solo career, he ...
Continue ReadingChris Varga: Breathe
by Jack Bowers
It is always refreshing to hear a talented vibraphonist seducing the mallets while leading a band, as is true on Breathe, Chris Varga's second recording, and the first in the U.S., following 2023's Vichara on South Korea's Mung Music label. Varga, who has been living and performing in Seoul for more than two decades, returned “home" to Chicago in 2024 and recruited four able-bodied sidemen to record eight of his largely hermetic yet lavishly bedecked compositions and arrangements.
Continue ReadingJarod Bufe: Brighter Days
by Dan McClenaghan
Making a living as jazz artist is a challenge. For every jazz megastar who can support his or herself with their music, dozens rely on day jobs and remain relative unknowns, even while making great music. Players like saxophonist Buck Hill, who did a forty-year stint working for the Post Office while releasing eleven excellent recordings--including his top ten album of the year material swan song, Relax (Severn, 2006) while working the day job that provided the bread and butter ...
Continue ReadingChris Varga: Breathe
by Dan McClenaghan
Setting up shop as a jazz artist in Seoul, South Korea, is probably not the recommended way of raising the profile in the United States. But vibraphonist Chris Varga, who worked the jazz scene in Chicago during the '90s, made that trans-Pacific move and set himself up as a busy and prolific player in Korea's vibrant jazz scene. Coming back stateside for an extended stay in 2024, Varga took advantage of the opportunity to put together a quintet ...
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