Jazz Articles
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Jeff Kunkel: Meu Coracao Brasileiro

by Dan Bilawsky
Brazil never lets go once it's wrapped its arms around a musician. Pianist Jeff Kunkel discovered this firsthand. In 2007, Kunkel, the Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Montclair State University's Cali School of Music in New Jersey, took a sabbatical and took off to see Brazil for himself. The experience was life-changing, and he's since returned there several times to musically mingle with his newfound friends. Meu Coracao Brasileiro is the result of Kunkel's experiences with the ...
read moreScott Feiner: Pandeiro Jazz

by Ernest Barteldes
Just when you thought that there was very little left to be introduced to the world of jazz, here comes a New York City-born musician with a pandeiro (the Brazilian cousin of the tambourine) in his hand to prove otherwise. There is nothing really new about the pandeiro--you can hear it on virtually every samba recording ever made, and Sergio Mendes often uses it in his live sets when performing tunes like Mas Que Nada. But this ...
read moreScott Feiner: Pandeiro Jazz

by Dan McClenaghan
If you're not a fan of Brazilian music, chances are you're not already familiar with the pandeiro, a small hand-held frame drum that's similar in appearance to the tamborine. This unpretentious percussion instrument lends a uniquely airy texture and soft-tufted pop to the small jazz ensemble mix on Scott Feiner's Pandeiro Jazz.Feiner started out as a guitarist on the New York City jazz scene, but on a trip to Brazil he encountered--and was captivated by--the sound of the ...
read moreHaroldo Mauro Jr.: Bossa Na Pressao

by Dan McClenaghan
It seems obligatory on a bossa nova outing to include some Jobim tunes. Brazilian pianist Haroldo Mauro takes care of that duty on the opener of his debut CD, Bossa Na Pressao, with the classic Caminhos Cruzados." It's a standard bossa nova, but in the way that the late Bill Evans' take on Witchcraft," from Portraits in Jazz (Riverside, '59), was an American Songbook standard--with a richly developed harmonic freshness, subtle yet inventive improvisaton, and vibrantly original trio interplay.
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