Jazz Articles
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Nichols for Your Thoughts
by Patrick Burnette
Normal service resumes with a podcast devoted to tributes celebrating the still-obscure pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. Nichols spent his truncated career in the shadow of Thelonious Monk (a big guy who cast a big shadow). He released roughly four albums in his lifetime and spent much of his career scuffling in Dixieland bands, but those initiated into his cult realize he was a truly gifted and unique composer. These tributes encompass a fairly straight ahead quintet date, a more ...
Continue ReadingRonny Wiesauer: Figures and Shapes
by Geno Thackara
Amidst his occasional outings with combinations of other players, Ronny Wiesauer keeps drifting back to a personal niche that is reliably comfortable and comforting. When settled in alone with a guitar, he spins pastoral meditations with the easy-flowing smoothness of a daydream--this is contemplative territory sometimes reminiscent of Ralph Towner or Pat Metheny, though without making those nods terribly obvious. Jazzy modes pop up in spots like the light jaunty “Strolling," but the more frequent tinges come from his classical ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii: Endlessly Challenging
by Doug Collette
One of contemporary jazz music's most prolific artists, pianist/composer/bandleader Satoko Fujii refuses to repeat herself except with a purpose. While she is never reticent to embark on novel adventures in composing, playing, arranging and recording, she is likewise hardly averse to revisiting previous collaborations in search of fresh inspiration in the context of the familiar. Devotees of the prolific Japanese artist may find the deepest satisfaction in her efforts with small combos such as the Tokyo Trio--more opportunity to hear ...
Continue ReadingNew Music From Arbenz, Olivier, Shorter & More
by Bob Osborne
This time around a fascinating selection of recent releases including a sublime performance from the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald from a previously unreleased live recording. Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Florian Arbenz, Michael Arbenz, Ron Carter “Old Shaman" from The Alpine Session (Self Produced) 00:27 Isabelle Olivier “Impressions" from Impressions (Rewound Echoes) 10:36 Eric Shorter “Our Brother of Bethany" from Shorter Bendian Shields (577 Records) 15:16 Ivo Perelman, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark “Sulfur" from Oxygen (Mahalaka Music) 24:31 Posi-tone Swingtet ...
Continue ReadingCecile McLorin Salvant at Carnegie Hall
by Paul Reynolds
Cecile McLorin Salvant Carnegie Hall “With Every Breath I Take" New York City March 27, 2025 “I'm nervous, so these are already a little clammy," announced Cecile McLorin Salvant as she removed her magenta gloves--part of a characteristically soigné outfit--early in her Carnegie Hall concert on Thursday. Jitters are understandable when playing the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, the biggest space at arguably the world's most famous venue. ...
Continue ReadingThe History of Jazz Drums: An Archival Treasure Rediscovered
by Hank Hehmsoth
In the vast landscape of jazz history, few archives offer the depth and insight found in The History of Jazz Drums--an extraordinary 8-part radio series recorded in 1989. Featuring compelling conversations between Mel Lewis (1929-1990), a master drummer whose swing propelled The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and Loren Schoenberg, senior scholar at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, this series captures the evolution of jazz drumming with remarkable depth and authenticity. Although initially broadcast as an 8-part series, ...
Continue ReadingFrançois Couturier / Dominique Pifarély and Bob Bralove / Patti Weiss: Intimacy Writ Large
by Doug Collette
The intimacy of a given musical setting does not necessarily translate to accessibility. And duo performances can be among the most thought-provoking of any instrumental combination, revealing not only the fundamental difficulty of not just playing music with skill, but doing so via interaction with other musicians. Besides that particular enlightenment, these coincidental releases further illuminate the formidable task of transposing the respective textural capabilities of the acoustic piano and the violin: ever-so-careful etchings emanate from the former as often ...
Continue ReadingMike Boone Friends and Family: Confirmation
by Richard J Salvucci
Sometimes, a random listener intervenes to comment on music a reviewer is working on. “Who are those guys?" with a tone that means, “I should know this right?" Well, if you happen to be from Philadelphia, shame on you. This was some kind of party, maybe a party in a church, or as bassist Mike Boone comments, “a church in a party." Especially if you walk in on “Hymn," the idea that someone happened on a hip Sunday service is ...
Continue ReadingQuinn Sternberg: Pleasant Returns
by Neil Duggan
This is album number five from bassist Quinn Sternberg. It follows on from Walking On Eggshells (Mind Beach Records, 2023). A resident of Asheville, North Carolina, as of this writing, Sternberg returned to New Orleans for the recording. He had previously worked in the city for nearly a decade and notes that “Having not seen or played with my bandmates in close to a year, I wanted to do something that captured the joy of reconnecting with old friends through ...
Continue ReadingJake Hertzog: The Ozark Concerto
by Jack Bowers
Jake Hertzog's ambitious Ozark Concerto showcases his lithe electric guitar in a well-intended but only moderately successful seven-movement opus, accompanied for the most part by the 23-member Arkansas-based Ozark Jazz Philharmonic (whose existence may seem improbable but is nonetheless true). The concerto premiered in April 2024 at the UARK Jazz Festival on the Fayetteville campus of the University of Arkansas. Hertzog wrote the concerto and arranged much of it, with the OJP's director, Susumu Watanabe, providing several ...
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