Jazz Articles
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Brad Goode: Polytonal Big Band: The Snake Charmer
by Jack Bowers
"Polytonal," according to Webster's, denotes “the simultaneous use of two or more musical keys." Denver-based trumpeter and educator Brad Goode makes full use of that technique on The Snake Charmer, the debut recording by Goode's well-named Polytonal Big Band. When all has been written and played, two things are clear: first, Goode is a world-class big-band composer-arranger and master of his horn; and second, polytonality is simply a fresh approach to the music, one that in no way interferes with ...
Continue ReadingJazzmeia Horn at SFJAZZ
by Ronald Davis
A collection of photos from the Jazzmeia Horn concert at SFJAZZ in San Francisco on February 13, 2025 featuring Jazzmeia Horn, Marcus Shelby, pianist Matt Clark and Jemal Ramirez. ...
Continue ReadingRodrigo Amado: La Grande Crue
by John Sharpe
Inviting guests to supplement his core bands has proven a winning formula for Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado in the past, and the gambit bears fruit again on La Grande Crue. This time out, French pianist Eve Risser is the plus one, following in the footsteps of trombonist Jeb Bishop, trumpeter Peter Evans and pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach. She joins the outfit known as The Attic, completed by Amado's countryman bassist Gonçalo Almeida and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert. Amado's ...
Continue ReadingKenny Wheeler Legacy, Gautier Garrigue, Elise Vassallucci, Erik Jekabson & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
Here is a playlist mostly devoted to releases that explicitly or implicitly remind of us of the importance of Kenny Wheeler for today's jazz.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Erik Jekabson “Jane Wants to Tell You Something (Part 1/Part 2)" Breakthrough (Wide Hive) 0:16 Host talks 9:16 Kenny Wheeler Legacy “Some Doors Are Better Open" Some Days Are Better: The Lost Scores (Greenleaf) 11:40 Jason Keiser “Hotel Le ...
Continue ReadingKaren Borca, Paul Murphy: Entwined
by Hrayr Attarian
Bassoonist Karen Borca has impeccable credentials, both as an improviser and performer. She was one of the groundbreaking pianist Cecil Taylor's students, and a large part of her recorded output has been in collaborative settings with other Taylor disciples. Most notably, Borca has appeared on four superb discs by her late husband, and Taylor's side man, saxophonist Jimmy Lyons. Given her impressive résumé, it is surprising that she has not appeared as a leader until Entwined (Relative Pitch, 2024).
Continue ReadingNeil Young: Big Change Is Coming
by Doug Collette
Neil Young works in strange ways. That might well go without saying, but it deserves repeating if only because, with the release of a brand-new song with a novel lineup of musicians, the inscrutable singer/songwriter has once more tossed a sharp curveball. “big change is coming" (no caps intentional) may simultaneously delight and confound his loyal fanbase as well as the public at large (see his withdrawal from Spotify in 2022 and, a year later, an open letter ...
Continue ReadingGreg Lisher: From Camper Van To Circuitry Man
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines On Greg Lisher, a guitarist best known for alternative rock who has leaned hard into electronic music. Greg made his name playing with Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom, but during the pandemic, he sat down at a keyboard and started exploring new sonic territory. The result is Underwater Detection Method (Independent Project Records, 2024), a collection of instrumental pieces that blend synthesizers with live strings and drums. It's an album ...
Continue ReadingChick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade: Triology 3
by Mike Jurkovic
The gift that graciously and selflessly keeps on giving, Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, known far and wide by both young and old as Trilogy, comes to life once more on Triology 3. Cut short by that global pandemic the world still cannot shake, these gloriously effusive live performances are gathered from the trio's final tour (February-March 2020), precisely a year before the pianist's death in February 2021 from a rare cancer. He was 79.
Continue ReadingBlue Moods: Force & Grace
by David A. Orthmann
Blue Moods' Force & Grace is the third in a series of Posi-Tone releases in which music of under-recognized jazz composers is given a fair shake by bands comprised of some of the label's leading lights. This time around, the group features 12 compositions by Freddie Hubbard, a figure revered for his prowess as a trumpeter, to the neglect of his talent as a writer. The material receives straightforward no-frills treatments, making it easier to savor Hubbard's penchant for writing ...
Continue ReadingDennis Mitcheltree and Johannes Wallmann: Holding Space
by Troy Dostert
Tenor saxophonist Dennis Mitcheltree and pianist Johannes Wallmann team up for a full program of enticing music on Holding Space. Encompassing a range of idioms and compositional parameters, the duo charts a lot of territory on the album's eighteen cuts, and it is terrain well worth exploring. Mitcheltree has been recording since the 1990s, with his debut release, Brooklyn (Dengor Music), released in 1996. He has a warm, ingratiating tone, amply demonstrated on the album's opener, “Annus Mirabilis," ...
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