Jazz Articles
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Norman David: Intention
by Victor L. Schermer
Saxophonist/composer/arranger/band leader Norman David grew up and matured as a musician in Montreal and moved to Boston to study with the late, revered, and multifaceted Herb Pomeroy at the famed Berklee College of Music. While there, in 1980, David founded a large jazz ensemble just a few members short of a full big band called the “Eleventet." It melded the improvisational qualities of a small ensemble with the rich sound and interactional possibilities of a big band. He found it ...
Continue ReadingSpinifex: Undrilling the Hole
by Lawrence Peryer
The Amsterdam-based sextet Spinifex borrowed their name from a hardy Australian grass known for thriving in harsh conditions. For nearly two decades, they have forged original music from seemingly incompatible elements--mathematical structures, punk aggression, free jazz fire. Their ninth album, Undrilling the Hole, presents seven new compositions from alto saxophonist Tobias Klein that showcase the band's singular musical vocabulary. Mathematics shapes Klein's compositions, but not in obvious ways. “Nothing fancy," Klein explains. “The basic proportions=-twos and threes, sometimes ...
Continue ReadingAALY TRIO: Sustain
by Mark Corroto
The previous recording by the AALY Trio, comprised of saxophonist (and flutist) Mats Gustafsson, double bassist Peter Janson and drummer Kjell Nordeson, was recorded 25 years prior (Double Or Nothing, Okka Disk, 2002). The reunion of this Swedish outfit is cause for celebration. If we rewind the clock a bit, Gustafsson and Janson began playing together in the early 1980s. They formed this trio in 1986 and named it after an Art Ensemble Of Chicago composition, “Lebert Aaly: ...
Continue ReadingChristmas Hedgehogs and Foxes
by Patrick Burnette
Every musician, it seems, does a holiday album sooner or later, and visions of residuals dance in their heads. But given the flood of releases each year, it's hard to stand out, and the canon of Christmas favorites is already pretty crowded. How to make your mark? You could try to do one or two distinctive things well. Or, you could try a little bit of everything. Listen as Mike and Pat dissect three brand new holiday offerings and a ...
Continue ReadingAfro-Cuban Jazz Show
by David Brown
This week, we have been checking out some sounds from Cuba, Afro-Cuban Jazz and other Latin Jazz works from the 1950s to today.Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" from Live at the It Club-Complete (Columbia) 01:30 Julio Gutierrez “Theme On Cha Cha Cha" from The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions (Panart Records) 03:15 Nino Rivera “Guanguanco--Comparsa" from The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions (Panart Records) 07:47 Buena Vista Social Club “Chan Chan" from Buena Vista Social Club (World Circuit) 15:16 Rubén ...
Continue ReadingNew Releases From Naylor, Funnell, Stryker, Eaton And More
by Bob Osborne
This time we have a mixed bag of new releases features a variety of line-ups and includes some newly discovered live music from Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, and Henry Grimes. In this playlist there is jazz in the conventional sense alongside some fascinating new approaches to the music.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Patrick Naylor “Big J" from Organza feat. David Beebee and Eric Ford (Beeboss Records) 00:29 Jim Funnell's Word Out “Tree Of Light" from New Dream ...
Continue ReadingAmber Iman At 92NY
by Paul Reynolds
Amber Iman 92NY Rebel With A Cause: The Artistry and Activism of Nina Simone New York City December 9, 2024 Nina Simone blazed a trail as an often-political jazz singer at a time when women entertainers--especially Black ones--were discouraged from highlighting racial injustice and other unpleasant truths in their work. And like almost every Black performer of the era, Simone was repeatedly defrauded and misunderstood, often by white impresarios. But surely Simone's ...
Continue ReadingSilkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens: American Railroad: A Musical Journey of Reclamation
by Katchie Cartwright
Rhiannon Giddens is not afraid of big projects. American Railroad, the album, is part of a larger work, subtitled A Musical Journey of Reclamation, which Giddens initiated with the widely acclaimed Silkroad Ensemble, a diverse international collective of performers, improvisers and composers created by Yo Yo Ma. American Railroad digs into the building of America's transcontinental railway system, focusing on voices that have been missing from public narratives: voices of the laborers on whose backs the hard work fell, of ...
Continue ReadingRichard J Salvucci's Best Jazz Albums Of 2024
by Richard J Salvucci
Bandleader Glenn Miller would introduce a part of his 1930s radio broadcast with the phrase “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." If you review enough classic vinyl rereleases, you get plenty of something old. The new here is obvious and a joy to hear. Only problem is that it will be 2025 before making it through all the new from 2024. Bear with me, please. Natalie TenenbaumDuets/Solos La Reserve
Continue ReadingMateusz Smoczyński: Adam's Apple
by Ian Patterson
Polish violinist Mateusz Smoczyński has long slipped effortlessly between the worlds of jazz and classical music, flitting between his own small jazz combos and contemporary string ensembles. Albums such as Confetti Man (Azica records, 2014) with The Turtle Island Quartet, Penderecki (Universal Music Poland, 2019) with Atom String Quartet, and the duo albums Speaking Sound (ACT Music, 2020) with Joachim Kühn and Keep On Turnin' (Seifert Records, 2020) with Stephan Braun have marked Smoczyński out as one of the most ...
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