Jazz Articles

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Samo Salamon: 2Alto

by Jakob Baekgaard
April 9, 2014

2014 has already been a productive year for Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon. Earlier this year, Salamon released the ambitious Orchestrology where he recorded with strings and now comes an album with focus on the sound of alto saxophones. 2Alto finds the guitarist in the familiar company of drummer Roberto Dani, who also played on Orchestrology. The new faces this time are the alto saxophonists Loren Stillman and John O'Gallagher. Salamon wrote new music, specifically with these master ...

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Samo Salamon & The Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra: Free Strings: Orchestrology

by Hrayr Attarian
April 9, 2014

Slovenian guitarist Samo Šalamon has to be one of the most versatile and restlessly explorative musicians active today. His 2013 collaboration with The Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, Free Strings: Orchestrology sheds light on his superb compositional skills as he leads the ensemble in interpreting thirteen of his originals. An overall cinematic atmosphere permeates the record with each individual track containing a cohesive narrative that ranges from the expansive to the intimate. The dramatic “Dutilleux" opens with the ...

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Jakob Thorkild Trio: Art Sleaze

by Eyal Hareuveni
April 9, 2014

In the crowded scene of Scandinavian high energy, punk jazz outfits the new trio of Danish guitarist Jakob Thorkild and is an exception due to its bold vision, and experienced, and resourceful personnel. Thorkild himself is a member of another trio from such genre that focuses on in-your-face, intense output, Motherfucker, and his duo Bodaboda which recently collaborated with sax titan Peter Brötzmann. His trio feature excellent improvisers-- Nils Bo Davidson on the electric bass and P.O. Jørgens on the ...

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by Ian Patterson
April 9, 2014

Nine years after the Pat Metheny Group crowned its mammoth The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005) tour before 100,000 people at the Montreal Jazz Festival, it seems increasingly unlikely that Metheny will reconvene his main vehicle, not now with a vibrant new group pushing him compositionally and slaying audiences. Or does it? In a 2012 interview with All About Jazz , drummer Antonio Sanchez--who has worked closely with Metheny for a dozen years--said of the PMG: “everybody is craving another go ...

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Gary Smulyan with Dominic Chianese at Jazz At Kitano

by Dan Bilawsky
April 8, 2014

Gary Smulyan with Dominic Chianese Jazz At Kitano New York, NY April 5, 2014 Shortly before this show began, on a beautiful Saturday evening that truly marked the start of spring, a small crew of musicians and concert-goers, including this writer, were seated around the bar at Jazz At Kitano. The mood in the room was one of relaxation, with a low hum of conversation and laughter hanging in the air. The intelligently irrepressible ...

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Zach Brock: Purple Sounds

by John Kelman
April 8, 2014

Virtuosity isn't defined by notes-per-minute; true virtuosity is instrumental mastery surrendering to the demands of the song. Sometimes that can mean shredding with furious intensity, yes; but the real deal also respects music that demands less, rather than more. Violinist Zach Brock is, indeed, the real deal, and Purple Sounds, his second release for Holland's Criss Cross label, finds Brock and his stellar quartet playing exactly what's needed: nothing less; but equally, nothing more. Beyond two Brock originals, ...

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Arve Henriksen: Chron | Cosmic Creation

by John Kelman
April 8, 2014

Despite the suggested evidence of 2008's Cartography (ECM) and 2013's follow-up, Places of Worship (Rune Grammofon), trumpeter Arve Henriksen's career has not only been about the intrinsic--and deeply personal--lyricism that defined those recordings, as well as the three Rune Grammofon recordings that preceded them--2007's Strjon, 2004's Chiaroscuro and 2001's Sakuteiki, those three recordings collected in the beautiful limited-edition vinyl box Solidification (Rune Grammofon, 2012). It should not be neglected that Henriksen remains a founding member of seminal noise improv group ...

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Brad Whiteley: Pathless Land

by Dan Bilawsky
April 8, 2014

Pathless Land doesn't live up to its title. The name of this album suggests music that's dense and sonically impassable, but that's the antithesis of what actually awaits; instead of unnavigable constructs, pianist/organist Brad Whiteley delivers music that's easy and enjoyable to traverse. Whiteley's built his reputation as an accompanist and music director, working with artists as diverse as witty pop songstress Regina Spektor, Broadway singer Jeri Sager, and opera-to-cabaret cross-over vocalist Sylvia McNair. On the surface, ...

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David Bach: Otherworld

by Geannine Reid
April 8, 2014

Like the famous composer from whom Bach shares his last name, the Washington, D.C.--Baltimore--Michigan based pianist David Bach has a deep love for the piano and melodic music is the theme on his CD, Otherworld. “My parents never had to ask me to practice," says Bach of his formative encounters with the piano. “I just sat there and learned the stuff, and people started responding to what was happening. That was all the inspiration I needed to keep going." As ...

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Richard Oppenheim: Greenhorn in a Red State

by Hrayr Attarian
April 8, 2014

Saxophonist Richard Oppenheim's Greenhorn in a Red State is a delightful album with a tight, simmering groove and filled with musically unique twist and turns. Inspired by his relocation to San Antonio from New York and the relative culture shock this entailed the seven originals are witty, nostalgic and restless. The front line of Oppenheim's alto and his wife flautist Katchie Cartwright's piccolo gives the melodies a singular agility and elasticity. Cartwright's breezy resonant tone glides over Oppenheim's ...