Jazz Articles
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Derek Gripper and Ballaké Sissoko: Strings in Perfect Harmony
by Steven Roby
Derek Gripper's music is where tradition meets transformation. Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Gripper has spent his career transcending the boundaries of classical guitar by breathing new life into African string traditions. His latest project, a stunning collaboration with Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko, exemplifies the kind of creative daring that defies categorization. During a recent episode of Backstage Bay Area, Gripper shared the story behind this remarkable partnership and his musical journey. With the sun streaming into his ...
Continue ReadingChet Baker: A Conversation in 1977
by Rob Rosenblum
This interview took place in 1975 when Baker was making frequent trips to the Albany, New York area. At the time of this interview Baker, was playing with saxophonist Nick Brignola at Shaker's Steak House in Troy, N.Y. Back in the early 1950's, a young trumpet player whose personal appearance and demeanor was more that of an alley-way hood than of a suit and tie jazz musician, burst on the scene with a sound so gentle and lyrical ...
Continue ReadingDuduka Da Fonseca Trio: Rio Fantasia
by Dan Bilawsky
After 15 years in operation, the Duduka Da Fonseca Trio remains one of the most vital Brazilian combos in the business. Since forming this Rio de Janeiro-based unit with pianist David Feldman and bassist Guto Wirtti back in 2009, the celebrated leader/drummer/composer has created an impressive body of work highlighting a triangular symbiosis like no other. With Plays Toninho Horta (Zoho Music, 2011) and Plays Dom Salvador (Sunnyside Records, 2018), Da Fonseca paid tribute to two giants of the genre ...
Continue ReadingNate Najar and Daniela Soledade with the Jimmy Masters Trio at the Sandler Center
by Mark Robbins
Since the introduction of Brazilian music to the United States in 1962 by Charlie Byrd, artists such as Antônio Carlos Jobim, Jõao Gilberto, Gal Costa, Astrud Gilberto, Gilberto Gil, Claudia Acuña, to name a few, have continued to have a great influence on the American audience. Add to that roster guitarist Nate Naja and vocalist (also guitarist and flutist) Daniela Soledade, a welcome addition to an illustrious list of musicians. Najar started as a classical guitarist but soon ...
Continue ReadingAnna Webber: simpletrio2000
by John Sharpe
Although the name of saxophonist and flautist Anna Webber's trio with pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer John Hollenbeck might suggest something easy to understand, there is nothing straightforward about their output. Notwithstanding the title, Simpletrio2000 constitutes the band's third release (or fourth if you include the first installment of the double discIdiom (Pi, 2021)), that arrives some ten years after the outfit's eponymous debut. Like much of Webber's work, the 11 cuts here are intricately plotted, even with only three ...
Continue ReadingStephen Davis Unit, Shannon Barnett & Isaiah Collier
by Maurice Hogue
With this show falling during the holidays, the host decided to kick back a little and programmed three hours of random selections from mostly 2024 releases, plus three new ones: Northern Ireland drummer Stephen Davis' The Gleaming World, and keyboardist Marina Albero's A Nomad Of Sound , and one featuring trombonist Shannon Barnett who returned from Germany to her native Australia to record with student ensembles from Monash University in Melbourne. Playlist Emile Parisien Quartet “Tiktik" from Let ...
Continue ReadingNew Year, New Releases From Benjie Porecki, Brulez Les Meubles, Remembering Jay Clayton, Marlena Shaw, Angela Bofill & More
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast includes includes new releases from Benjie Porecki and Brulez Les Meubles, with birthday shoutouts to Myra Melford, Naama Gheber, James Shipp, Susannah McCorkle, Carol Sudhalter, plus a remembrance of several artists who left us in 2024--Jay Clayton, Marlena Shaw, Angela Bofill and Sergio Mendes. Happy listening and please support the artists you hear. See them live, purchase their music so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke, inspire and remind the world that A Woman's Place Is In ...
Continue ReadingSam Blakeslee Large Group at BLU Jazz+
by John Chacona
Sam Blakeslee Large Group BLU Jazz+ Akron, OH December 20, 2024 In December, flowers bloomed in northeast Ohio, but climate change had nothing to do with it. The sudden blossoming was the work of Sam Blakeslee who returned to his home state to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, 18 of whom joined him on the stage of Akron's BLU Jazz+ for a performance of his “Flowers for Rubber City" suite. The ...
Continue ReadingArthur Blythe Quartet: Live From Studio Rivbea, July 6, 1976
by John Sharpe
Saxophonist Arthur Blythe arrived in New York City in 1974 with a gorgeous tone and a fully formed conception. Having featured in the ensembles of pianist Horace Tapscott in his native LA, he first caught the ear in the Big Apple after his recruitment into the bands of drummer Chico Hamilton and pianist/composer Gil Evans. This gem from Sam Rivers' Studio Rivbea archive constitutes his debut as a leader, recorded some seven months before the previous contender for that title, ...
Continue ReadingTwo First Visits From ezz-thetics
by John Eyles
So far, ezz-thetics' label First Visit (motto: First Visit archive offers previously unreleased recordings of historic and musical importance) has lived up to expectations with historic recordings from Cecil Taylor (two albums), Anthony Braxton, Albert Ayler (two) and Steve Lacy making the juices of classic jazz fans flow. Interspersed with such treasures have been recordings like Live Amsterdam 2006 which was recorded by pianist Ran Blake and electric guitarist Dave Knife Fabris at the Bimhaus in Amsterdam in ...
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