Jazz Articles
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Freedom Art Quartet: First Dance
by Carl Medsker
Raucous, brash and freewheeling, First Dance by The Freedom Art Quartet is rooted in the past yet fresh and contemporary. The album should sound familiar to those who have ventured outside the mainstream and spent time with Ornette Coleman and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Those forces are strong in the band, but labeling them retro avant-garde would be unfair and simplistic. There are echoes of New Orleans second lines, a heavy dose of the blues, post-bop elements, a nod ...
Continue ReadingDaniel Garbin: Rising
by Kyle Simpler
Art serves as a mirror to the world, and music is certainly no exception. Good musicians not only share their talent with listeners but also share their influences and experiences as well. With his debut album Rising, guitarist Daniel Garbin emerges as a compelling new voice in contemporary jazz, one shaped not just by musical influences but by mathematics, world travel and the rhythm of daily life. This album is a testament to Garbin's decades-long journey through genres, instruments and ...
Continue ReadingScott Kinsey: Badia / Boogie Woogie Waltz
by Mike Jacobs
Though an edit of this track is included on electric keyboardist extraordinaire Scott Kinsey's Luniwaz Live (Whirlwind Recordings, 2024), this full, unedited version drives home in no uncertain terms just how qualified Kinsey and company are to take on--and further--the Zawinul legacy. Featuring incendiary performances by Kinsey, bassist Hadrien Feraud, drummer Gergo Borlai and saxophonist Patrick Bartley Jr. ...
Continue ReadingKory Reeder and John Cage albums on Another Timbre set pulses running
by John Eyles
The two albums below have plenty in common with one another. Both feature compositions by Americans played by Apartment House, a UK-based ensemble who are featured on Another Timbre often enough to be considered the label's house band. The eight Cage compositions heard here were all composed between 1943 and 1951, earlier than Cage's 1952 silent composition 4' 33" which made him notorious across the world. For admirers of Cage's later works such as his number pieces, the selections here ...
Continue ReadingShuffle Demons: Are You Really Real
by La-Faithia White
The Shuffle Demons are a Canadian jazz fusion band from Toronto. The band features a powerhouse ensemble of saxophonists Kelly Jefferson, Richard Underhill and Matt Lagan, anchored by the deep pocket of acoustic bassist Mike Downes and drummer Stich Wynston. The title track “X Marks The Spot" opens with an intriguing dialogue between bass and drums exploding into rapid-fire saxophone lines. Jefferson and Lagan exchange double-line runs, blending harmonies and layering multiphonics in a thrilling display of saxophone ...
Continue ReadingEarth, Wind & Fire Play the Greek Theatre
by Ronald Davis
A collection of photos from the Earth, Wind & Fire concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June, 27, 2025. ...
Continue ReadingKim Perlak: Guitar, Percussion, And The Space Between
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines on guitarist and composer Kim Perlak. Kim chairs the guitar department at Berklee College of Music, where she's spent over a decade expanding from classical performance into composition and improvisation. Her new album, Spaces (Sacred Black Records), is a collaboration with percussionist Francisco Mela. The record captures four nature-inspired suites that obliterate the lines between written music and spontaneous creation. The project shows how Kim moved from performing exclusively new classical works ...
Continue ReadingJoe Henry's Code of the Road
by Leo Sidran
For Joe Henry, truth in songwriting doesn't come from confession or fact. It comes from presence, from listening, from surrender, from giving shape to the ineffable. As he puts it: “Total presence--that is the code of my road." Henry's road has taken him across both the literal and metaphorical map of American music. Born in North Carolina, raised in Georgia and Ohio, and coming of age in Michigan, he grew up suspended between North and South, white and ...
Continue ReadingThe Jazz Innovator: Jerald Miller
by B.D. Lenz
It's understood that talent alone is rarely enough to be successful in the music business. Among other things, it requires drive, relentless hard work, resilience, and a certain level of business acumen. But, in the last few decades, it's become increasingly important to be tech-savvy as well. To highlight the difference, could you imagine Miles Davis posting a selfie on Instagram or John Coltrane uploading a reaction video to YouTube? Now, consider how many artists in recent times have built ...
Continue ReadingGonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter, Larry Grenadier & Eric Harland: First Meeting: Live at Dizzy’s Club
by Mike Jurkovic
Let us not beat around the bush or obfuscate the obvious: First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club is as sweet a listen anyone can wish for or expect as simpatico luminaries--pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland--take to Dizzy's stage. And command it, but not with a heavy hand or selfish aspirations. A dazzling portent, First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club opens all the doors and windows facing Columbus Circle and lets a most ...
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