Jazz Articles
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Freysteinn Gíslason: Að einhverju / To somewhere
by Glenn Astarita
Emerging from Iceland's volcanic landscape--a land where glaciers and geysers conspire to create heavenly magic--Freysteinn arrives with their third sonic missive, Að einhverju/To somewhere. This is not your grandmother's jazz album; it is a musical expedition that pirouettes between traditional Icelandic folk whispers, rock and a progressive jazz swagger. Along with the melodic complexities of prominent guitarist Hilmar Jensson, the band crafts a soundscape that's equal parts cerebral and visceral. The title track “Að einhverju/To Somewhere" unfurls like ...
Continue ReadingTony Lindsay At Keys Jazz Bistro 2024
by Walter Atkins
Tony LindsayKeys Jazz Bistro San Francisco, California November 27, 2024 Prolific San Francisco Bay Area vocalist Tony Lindsay (Santana, The Soul Soldiers, MAZE) and his powerhouse group provided a last-minute holiday treat at Keys Jazz Bistro with a relaxed evening of cool sounds the day before the hectic Thanksgiving weekend. Located on Broadway in San Francisco's famous North Beach neighborhood, it is one of the relatively new music clubs in the City. The building ...
Continue ReadingScott Colley, Edward Simon, Brian Blade: Three Visitors
by Mike Jurkovic
There are the many moments to hold and savor on Three Visitors, the second trio offering from pianist Edward Simon, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade. Like their 2017 eponymous debut Steel House (Artist Share), Three Visitors is artful, understated, elegant and so soul deep. A late night disk to rest with and to reflect upon days in the distance and days ahead. Simon (SFJazz Collective), Colley (Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock) and Blade are '90s post-boppers who have enjoyed each other's ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron, Richard X Bennett, Barry Harris & Louis Hayes
by Joe Dimino
Step into the 883rd episode of Neon Jazz, where the echoes of legends and the pulse of the future intersect. We open with the incomparable Kenny Barron, a living jazz icon still blazing trails, featuring music from his 2024 masterpiece, Beyond This Place. From there, we journey back to the roots with James Moody, the legend who set the stage for Kenny's rise. Next, we spotlight the remarkable Richard X Bennett, whose 2024 album and film, Scavenger, chronicles his triumphant ...
Continue ReadingBen Markley: Live at Nocturne
by Pierre Giroux
Ben Markley's Live At Nocturne encapsulates a rare alchemy that emerges from nightly performances in an intimate collaborative setting. Over two uninterrupted months, Markley and his cohorts guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, alto saxophonist Will Swindler, bassists Domi Edson (tracks 1-5), Matt Smiley (tracks 6-7) and drummer Andy Wheeler, transformed Denver's Nocturne into a crucible for creativity that celebrates the improvisational spirit of jazz and the rewards of sustained musical interaction. Markley's seven original compositions serve as the ...
Continue ReadingMark Corroto's Best Jazz Albums Of 2024
by Mark Corroto
Ahh, the “Best Of" lists, when I get the privilege to tell you “what is what." For me, the releases below are not the best discs of 2024 but the ones I kept coming back to most often this past year. I certainly missed a few, as I will discover reading other AAJ contributor's best-of lists. Then there are the discs that came out just before this goes live. I've recently discovered music by Jeff Parker ETA IVtet: The Way ...
Continue ReadingThe Nano Brothers: Ascend Flowers
by Glenn Astarita
The Nano Brothers' Ascend Flowers is a bold journey into free improvisation. The duo behind this daring experiment--pianist Jürgen Friedrich and saxophonist-educator Johannes Ludwig--defy expectations with their spontaneous yet meticulously crafted compositions. As the press release notes, “Everything is improvised even if it doesn't sound like it." The Nano Brothers, unburdened by preconceived notions or stylistic constraints, navigate their sonic landscape with telepathic understanding. Their music is not merely improvised but composed--a testament to their deep musical symbiosis. ...
Continue ReadingSome Overlooked 2024 Releases
by Jerome Wilson
Here are reviews of some of the many worthwhile jazz albums that came out in the latter half of 2024. Leslie Pintchik Prayer For What Remains Pintch Hard Records 2024 The latest album by pianist Leslie Pintchik has a gentle, swinging calm to it. She maintains a lively rapport with bassist Scott Hardy and drummer Michael Sarin} as they work through the gentle push of “Later Than We Thought" ...
Continue ReadingLawrence Peryer's Jazz & Beyond for 2024
by Lawrence Peryer
I very much enjoy the moment we are in for improvisatory and creative music. So many traditions are coming into contact and interacting with each other: jazz cats, indigenous practitioners, electronic music experimenters, modern composers and many others. The breakdown and blurring of genre divides and dogma is something I revel in. “Collision Music," to quote the great Bill Laswell. At the risk of missing some gems I have loved throughout the year, let's call this “some of ...
Continue ReadingIngebrigt Håker Flaten (Exit) Knarr: Breezy
by Rob Garratt
When news of Jaimie Branch's passing broke in 2022, there was an understandably huge outpouring of tributes from different corners of the jazz community. While an eternal punk rocker at heart, Branch was also a distinctly millennial musician, and a fitting figurehead for the recent wave of borderless improvised music that came out of Chicago's International Anthem label that she called home. For all the deliberately ragged edges, Branch's vision was clear, her delivery fierce, and her inclusive message inarguable. ...
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