Jazz Articles
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The Empress, John Ellis, Nnenna Freelon, Chicago Jazz Orchestra and more
by Benjamin Boddie
Today's Music--Right Now! Fantastic music by The Empress, Jon Bentley, John Ellis, Nnenna Freelon, Kevin Fort, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Dave Robbins, Rodney Whitaker, Laura Dreyer, Carloss Mena, Ben Patterson, David Caffey, Jackson Potter, Fred Hersch, Jeremy Pelt, Nels Cline, Bob James & Dave Koz, Caili O'Doherty, Lisa Hilton, Billy Hart, Yuval Cohen, Dave Hanson, Artemis, Nanami Haruta and more. Playlist The Empress “Bolivia" from Square One (Cellar Music Group) 00:00 Jon Bentley “Trane's Terrain" from Go Ahead! (Cellar ...
Continue ReadingDavid Robbins: Happy Faces
by Pierre Giroux
The release of Happy Faces by the Dave Robbins Big Band is a landmark event in Vancouver, B.C. jazz history. More than a mere archival recording, this revelatory issue celebrates the enduring legacy of a seminal figure who shaped the course of large ensemble jazz in Canada and beyond. Robbins, a trombonist, composer and visionary band leader, was a creative force whose contributions still resonate today. From the opening moments of the title track, “Happy Faces," ...
Continue ReadingStephen Gauci / Shinya Lin / Adam Lane / Kevin Shea: Live At Scholes Street Studio
by John Sharpe
NYC tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci has adopted the self-determination ethos with a vengeance. So prolific is he that his new recordings can seem like monthly updates. This set from December 2022 presents a working unit in a familiar haunt and under a familiar banner: Live At Scholes Street Studio. With so many releases having the same title, the individual albums are best differentiated by personnel. This time out the new face is pianist Shinya Lin who proves himself an empathetic ...
Continue ReadingYuki Yamamura, Rachel Therrien, Whispering Worlds, Rodney Whitaker
by Cheryl K.
During this week's two-hour program of Jazz and improvised music, you'll hear from pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff; bassists Shayna Dulberger, Yuki Yamamura, Rodney Whitaker and Rodney Jordan; the collective Artemis; trumpeter Rachel Therriem; the ensemble Whispering Worlds; and guitarists Russ Spiegel, Dave Stryker, and George Benson. Playlist Thad Jones “Whisper Not" from Mad Thad (Period) 5:25 Yelena Eckemoff “Village Tavern" from Scenes from the Dark Ages (L&H Productions) 5:18 Isabelle Olivier “The Boating Party" from Impressions (Rewound ...
Continue ReadingBilly Cobham's Time Machine at Blue Note Jazz Club
by Dan Bilawsky
Science has yet to crack the space-time continuum. Music, however, can manage to do the trick. Billy Cobham, proving that point during his six-night stand at New York's Blue Note, transported listeners to another era. The octogenarian drumming icon used this platform as an opportunity to revisit and update the sounds of the '70s (and beyond), and the results were explosive. Leading a stacked band featuring tenor saxophonist Brandon Wilkins, trumpeter Randy Brecker, trombonist Marshall Gilkes, keyboardist Oz Ezzeldin and ...
Continue ReadingVijay Iyer Trio At Philadelphia Clef Club Of Jazz And Performing Arts
by Carl Medsker
Vijay Iyer Trio Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts Philadelphia, PA March 15, 2025 The new instantiation of the Vijay Iyer Trio is another powerhouse. Fresh off two nights at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., the band took to the stage in the performance space of Philadephia's Clef Club on the Avenue Of The Arts to a near-capacity audience. This historic and cavernous venue was the scene of an immersive, energizing musical experience ...
Continue ReadingThe Changing Times of Cecil McBee
by Rob Rosenblum
It was 1971 and the jazz scene was struggling and jazz musicians were grabbing gigs wherever they could. Many were moving to Europe where they felt they had greater acceptance. It was at that time when Albany, New York area saxophonist Nick Brignola connected with the State University of New York and produced the first and only SUNY Jazz Festival. Because Albany is only 150 miles from New York City musicians eagerly came upstate where the pay was far from ...
Continue ReadingRex Richardson: Elegy
by Ken Hohman
Grief is often complex and multi-faceted. How we cope with it reflects as much about those we have lost as it does about ourselves. This is a reality that trumpet master Rex Richardson knows all too well, having lost his father in 2023. Elegy is Richardson's poignant tribute to his father, yet the eight songs offer a variety of personal tributes that explore the complexity of living through bereavement in unexpected ways with moods both somber and bright. ...
Continue ReadingDreamweavers: Woven In Time
by Neil Duggan
The group Dreamweavers is the vision of two guitarists, one who acts as the lead player and the other who predominantly acts as producer, also adding lap steel guitar and mandocello (the baritone member of the mandolin family) to the musical mix. Woven In Time is their first release and the result of their ongoing collaboration. Chris Allard, the lead guitarist, studied jazz and classical guitar at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, receiving an honours degree ...
Continue ReadingPaul Bley: Open, to Love
by Jack Kenny
Reviewing an album that is already heralded as a masterpiece, the highlight of the work of Paul Bley, is intimidating. The quality of the recording as issued on CD was already magnificent. Would it be enhanced on vinyl, revealing hidden depths? When Bley sat down at the piano in Oslo, he was already the creator of twenty albums. He had worked with Charles Mingus and Art Blakey, but it was leading a band at the Hillcrest Club in ...
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