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Django Festival Allstars: Evolution
by Jack Bowers
On Evolution, their fifth recording together, the Django Festival Allstars salute the 25th anniversary of the Django Reinhardt NY Jazz Festival, founded in 2000 by Pat Phillips and her late husband, Ettore Stratta, and held every year since then at New York City's celebrated Birdland Jazz Club. While the name “all-star" is sometimes overused, that is not the case here. This really is an all-star quintet, perfectly suited and ideally prepared to refresh and update the “Gypsy jazz" of Reinhardt ...
Continue Reading...Django Festival Allstars: Evolution
by Pierre Giroux
There is a comforting certainty in knowing that some traditions, when treated with respect, do not fade over time but become more luminous. Evolution, by Django Festival Allstars, remains firmly rooted in its lineage. It is an album that looks forward while honouring its origins, reaffirming that Manouche jazz. When played with conviction and humility, it remains one of the most vital in modern acoustic music. Rather than chasing trends, this ensemble refines a language passed down through generations, shaping ...
Continue Reading...Shuteen Erdenebaatar, Nils Kugelmann: Under The Same Stars
by Neil Duggan
Mongolian-born pianist Shuteen Erdenebaatar and German multi-instrumentalist Nils Kugelmann both garnered considerable praise for their debut albums, which focused on group formats. Under The Same Stars finds them united in an intimate duo debut. The duo has been performing together for many years. In addition to upright bass, Kugelmann plays contra-alto clarinet. The combination of clarinet and piano creates an intriguing and highly effective soundscape. Drawing from jazz, cinematic and classical influences, their music features memorable melodies that ...
Continue Reading...Jihye Lee Orchestra: Infinite Connections
by Jack Bowers
Some eighty-odd years ago a handful of trailblazers led by saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie changed the vocabulary of jazz, introducing bebop as a successor to trad jazz and swing and radically transforming the music's landscape and perspective. Their terminology remained pretty much intact for a number of years, with partisans choosing a path between the diverse genres, until at last the very definition of jazz began to move in new directions with newcomers such as cool jazz, ...
Continue Reading...Jihye Lee Orchestra: Infinite Connections
by Troy Dostert
One of the most ambitious composers working exclusively in the large-ensemble format, Jihye Lee is now offering her third release, coming on the heels of the well-received April (Self-released, 2017) and Daring Mind (Motéma Music, 2021). Lee is a fearless artist with a seemingly limitless imagination, with a multiplicity of themes and rhythms swirling through her complex, densely-layered compositions. And as always, she once again has a terrific group of colleagues to help bring her rich, multi-hued vision to life. ...
Continue Reading...Geri Allen & Kurt Rosenwinkel: A Lovesome Thing
by Pierre Giroux
At Philharmonie de Paris on September 5, 2012, pianist Geri Allen and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel delivered the mesmerizing performance preserved on this album. Geri Allen is known for her innovative perspective on the piano. Kurt Rosenwinkel has a distinctive approach to the guitar. They seamlessly blend their craft to approach a thoughtful selection of standards and original compositions. Billy Strayhorn's “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" opens. With its lush harmonies and soulful melodies, the piece serves ...
Continue Reading...Geri Allen & Kurt Rosenwinkel: A Lovesome Thing
by Neil Duggan
Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel had a duo date as part of the Jazz à la Villette festival in Paris in 2012. They flew in on the night from separate cities to play for a packed audience. They had only played together a couple of times and this concert was the first and only time they played in a duo together. There was no rehearsal. Perhaps surprisingly, this was an evening when the stars aligned and the night was a ...
Continue Reading...Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel: A Lovesome Thing
by Dave Linn
This year the jazz gods have bestowed an early Christmas present upon us. A Lovesome Thing (truncated from the Billy Strayhorn composition which opens the album), is a seven-song, fifty-three-minute album which documents a remarkable live duo performance from Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel. It will likely be found on many Top Ten lists this year. By 2012, Geri Allen was a pianist in demand by the elite of jazz. Artists such as Ornette Coleman, Tony Williams, Charlie ...
Continue Reading...Shuteen Erdenebaatar: Rising Sun
by Mike Jurkovic
It is most invigorating and affirming to stand witness to new talent. New givers of themselves despite the cold, gale-force headwinds that rise up against most, if not all, artistic endeavors. Fortunately, Rising Sun, the more than mature and compelling Motema Music debut of pianist/composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar and her award-winning quartet, is one of those statements. Let loose with three henchmen just as inquisitive and intent on making their stand: Erdenebaatar's second voice and foil Anton Mangold on-saxophones, ...
Continue Reading...Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet: Rising Sun
by Troy Dostert
Rarely does one find a debut recording as confident and accomplished as pianist Shuteen Erdenebaatar's Rising Sun. With eight well-crafted compositions, and superb support from her young colleagues, all of whom have similarly bright futures ahead of them, Erdenebaatar successfully stakes her claim as one of the rising stars in post-bop jazz. Although she hails from Mongolia, Erdenebaatar has already won a pretty good haul of European jazz awards. This release will no doubt earn her some additional ...
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