Jazz Articles
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Fernando Huergo: Relentless
by Jack Bowers
Argentine-born bassist and composer Fernando Huergo's heavy-duty Massachusetts-based big band delivers the goods on Relentless, a taut and vibrant review of oppression, discrimination, environmental challenges and other social issues, interwoven with Huergo's lively tribute to the saxophonist Ornette Coleman and a charismatic and thought-provoking survey ("La Vida Sigue") on life after the Covid-19 pandemic, with all compositions and arrangements by the leader. This is well-designed, no-holds-barred big-band jazz, delivered with verve and enthusiasm by eighteen well-prepared musicians ...
Continue ReadingNubya Garcia, Slam Stewart, Andrew Hill & Monk
by David Brown
Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. This week on the Jazz Continuum: A birthday tribute to the “singing" bassist Slam Stewart; A 1957 look at Philly trumpeter Lee Morgan at age 19 performing with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, recording Blue Trane with John Coltrane and recording The Cooker as a leader; Monk works performed by Miles ...
Continue ReadingBrenda Earle Stokes: On Music, Motherhood, and Being Here For Everything
by Andrea Wolper
This past May, New York-based pianist, singer, composer, and teacher-entrepreneur Brenda Earle Stokes released her fifth album, Motherhood, reviewed on All About Jazz as “an honest and open-hearted look at the scope of selflessness and self-discovery involved with maternal matters." A fully-realized thematic album, Motherhood's ten songs take us through the intricate emotional and experiential landscape of becoming, and then being, a mother and working musician. Recorded in New York City in October, 2023, the album features Stokes ...
Continue ReadingBen Patterson: Groove Junkies
by Jack Bowers
When it comes to big-band recordings, commitment and enthusiasm can go a long way toward assuring success. Those benchmarks are fully displayed on Groove Junkies, the third album by trombonist Ben Patterson's Washington, DC-based Jazz Orchestra. While Patterson's compositions and arrangements are not exactly straight ahead--there's an ample measure of funk, back beats and electronic effects to reinforce the customary brass/winds/rhythm--they are never less than animated or intriguing. The groove is invariably up-tempo--there's nary a ballad on ...
Continue ReadingSvaneborg Kardyb: Superkilen
by Chris May
Denmark's Svaneborg Kardyb, comprising keyboardist Nikotaj Svaneborg and drummer Jonas Kardyb, are in direct line of descent from Brooklyn's Benevento Russo Duo, composed of keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo, the second generation jam band who lit up the mid 2000s with psychedelic groove and whose Best Reason To Buy The Sun (Ropeadope, 2005) was the movement's highwater mark. The Danish duo has its own personality. It is more jazzy, less psychedelic and more digitally enabled ...
Continue ReadingBria Skonberg, Tomeka Reid, and Dafnis Prieto
by Jerome Wilson
This show features recent releases by Bria Skonberg, Tomeka Reid, and Dafnis Prieto plus older music by Rob Mazurek, Jeff Hamilton, and Frank Kimbrough. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Danny Jonokuchi Big Band “South Philly" from A Decade (Bandstand) 00:58 Steve Heckman Quintet “Hi-Fly" from Search for Peace (Jazzed Media) 7:07 Host Speaks 14:32 Chris Pasin “Tomorrow is ...
Continue ReadingNew Music from Nubya Garcia, Daniel Carter, Roy Hargrove and More
by Hobart Taylor
New Music from Nubya Garcia, Daniel Carter, Roy Hargrove and more.Playlist Nubya Garcia “Clarity" from Odyssey (Concord) 0:00 m: Tomin “Love “ from A Willed and Conscious Balance (International Anthem) 6:11 Host Speaks 11:46 Alice Zawadzki “Suéltate Las Cintas" from Za Górami (ECM) 13:23 Jason Anick Jason Yeager" Ephemory" from Sanctuary (Sunnyside) 19:45 m: Eunhye Jeong “KM 53 (Quintet)" from End of Time KM 53 Project Volume 2 (577) 25:26 Host Speaks 42:58 Daniel Carter Leo Genovese William ...
Continue ReadingJoëlle Léandre: Lifetime Rebel
by Mark Corroto
Joëlle Léandre is the definition of a force of nature. She is unstoppable, unforgettable, and full of boundless energy. It is the nature of her force that recordings like Lifetime Rebel attempt to capture. These four CDs--plus an interview and solo performance DVD--capture a moment, but just a moment of her inexhaustible spirit, before she moves on. Recorded in 2023, Léandre was honored with a lifetime achievement award during New York's Vision Festival. The performances captured are by diverse and ...
Continue ReadingMike Stern, Rahsaan Barber, Javon Jackson, Delfeayo Marsalis and more
by Benjamin Boddie
Today's Music--Right Now! Fantastic music by Mike Stern, Rahsaan Barber, Ginetta's Vendetta, Javon Jackson, Delfeayo Marsalis, Ed Neumeister, Thom Rotella, Bevan Manson, Alvin Queen, Hyeseon Hong, Warren Wolf, Jeff Rupert, Bruno Hubert, Caity Gyorgy, Ken Peplowski, Eric Person, Emmet Cohen, Alexis Cole, Bria Skonberg, Michael Pagan, Orrin Evans and more. Playlist Mike Stern “Connections" from Echoes And Other Songs (Mack Avenue Records) 00:00 Rahsaan Barber “Sun Dance" from Six Words (Jazz Music City) 08:05 Ginetta's Vendetta “It Could ...
Continue ReadingBlues With A Feeling: Luther Dickinson & JD Simo; Charlie Hunter & Jubu Smith; Mick Fleetwood & Jake Shimabukuro
by Doug Collette
The blues is more about feel than form, but even so, the genre has its readily-recognizable structures. The A-A-B lyric format, shuffles in varying tempos and the 12-bar configuration are all stock-in-trade frameworks. Still, the essential simplicity of the blues lends itself to innumerable variations and so it is with these contemporary collaborative works of Luther Dickinson and JD Simo, Charlie Hunter and Jubu Smith, Mick Fleetwood and Jake Shimabukuro. Each alliance conjures its own distinctive ingenuity, fleshed out with ...
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