Jazz Articles
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Felix Henkelhausen, Ochs / Morris / Downs & German Jazz Prize Nominees
by Maurice Hogue
Listening to a tune by German bassist Felix Henkelhausen while traveling in the car led me to check out what he was up to; I discovered he's been nominated for a 2025 German Jazz Prize in the Album of the Year category for Deranged Particles. Soon I was exploring other nominees and that led to incorporating a few other nominees into this playlist. Besides Henkelhausen's quintet, you'll hear the international quartet Økse (International Album of the Year), clarinetist Federico Calcagno ...
Continue ReadingFreddie Hubbard: On Fire: Live At The Blue Morocco
by Dan McClenaghan
Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (1938 -2008) began his professional jazz journey in 1960 as a full-blooded hard bopper, recording his first album in that year for Blue Note Records, Open Sesame. Much of the ensuing decade saw him in several Blue Note outings under his own name and as a side man. He also recorded sets for Atlantic Records and Impulse!. His output ran at about two albums a year through the 1960s. The 1970s saw Hubbard rise from ...
Continue ReadingECM Records: Austerity as Aesthetic
by Doug Collette
ECM Records may boast the most readily-recognizable style of any record label extant, jazz-wise or otherwise. And the austere aesthetic of the label, as originated by founder Manfred Eicher in 1969, remains consistent (predictable?) to this day, not just in terms of the music but in the packaging too: slipcases enclosing jewel boxes belie inserts including photos of the artists and the attendant credits in designs as unadorned as the settings for the recordings (and the technical aspects thereof). All ...
Continue ReadingJoe Syrian: Secret Message
by Richard J Salvucci
A title like Secret Message does make a listener wonder what it might be. Is it deeply subversive, like the Zimmerman Telegram, or apocalyptic, like Fatima? Of course, as someone is reputed to have said, 'Sometimes, a cigar is just a smoke.' So it is possible to over-interpret a title, which may, in the final analysis, simply be a title. Joe Syrian is a Detroit-based drummer, a city that can claim Brian Blade, J. C. Heard, ...
Continue ReadingJazz Foremothers, Women Who Impact West Coast Latin Jazz by Salsa de la Bahia, Jeffrey Gimble, Ashley Jackson Usher In Jazz Appreciation Month
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast morphs gracefully from Women's History to Jazz Appreciation Month with new releases from Salsa de la Bahia, Jeffrey Gimble and Ashley Jackson, with birthday shoutouts to Dorothy Donegan, Alberta Hunter, Jean Fineberg, Vanessa Perica, Allan Harris, Evgenia Karlafti, Christine Jensen and Tessa Souter, among others. Happy listening and please support the artists you hear--see them live, buy their music so they can continue to comfort, distract, provoke and remind the world that A Woman's Place is in the ...
Continue ReadingFerdinando Romano: The Legends Of Otranto
by Neil Duggan
The Legends of Otranto is a suite in six movements inspired by the stories and legends surrounding Otranto, an ancient city in the Salento area of Italy, which is sometimes referred to as the heel of Italy's boot. All compositions were written and arranged by Florentine bassist Ferdinando Romano. The music is provided by an unusual cross-cultural quartet, bringing together Finnish accordionist Veli Kujala, Estonian pianist Kirke Karja and an Italian rhythm section consisting of Romano on double ...
Continue ReadingIan Shaw at FolkClub
by Antonio Baiano
A collection of photos from the Ian Shaw concert at FolkClub in Torino, Italy on April 5th, 2025 featuring Alessandro DI Liberto, Alessandro Maiorino and Enzo Zirilli. ...
Continue ReadingBranford Marsalis: Belonging
by Thierry De Clemensat
It appears to be that time of year when all musicians with ties to New Orleans unveil their latest albums. This time, we are graced with a release from one of the most illustrious members of the Marsalis family. This remarkably elegant album represents Branford Marsalis and his quartet's vision of Belonging, the seminal record Keith Jarrett recorded in 1974 (ECM). This highly sophisticated reinterpretation borders on an outright rewriting of the original, with the crème de la crème of ...
Continue ReadingTim Berne - Tom Rainey - Gregg Belisle-Chi: Yikes Too
by Glenn Astarita
Tim Berne's Yikes Too marks a significant expansion of the saxophonist's artistic vision, unfolding across two discs that showcase both his compositional architecture and improvisational dexterity. Berne joins forces with drummer Tom Rainey and guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi--a Bill Frisell protégé--to form a new trio that navigates intellectual complexity and gut-level musical communication with equal fluency. The studio sessions at Firehouse 12 yield ten compositions where Berne's characteristic dark alto tone weaves through mathematical labyrinths of sound. Standouts “Oddly ...
Continue ReadingTed Rosenthal Trio: High Standards
by Dan Bilawsky
Ted Rosenthal has remarkably high standards. How else to explain his vast achievement(s) over the past four decades? This ace pianist and composer has done it all--topped the pack at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, worked with the crème de la crème (i.e., baritone saxophone icon Gerry Mulligan, alto saxophone legend Phil Woods, multi-hyphenate Bob Brookmeyer, etc.), crafted over a dozen superb leader dates, penned a critically-acclaimed jazz opera (Dear Erich), fulfilled commissions for notable dance troupes, performed ...
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