Jazz Articles
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Greg Reitan: The Bounding Line
by Pierre Giroux
The Bounding Line is a testament to the power of artistic immersion and long-standing musical camaraderie. Accompanied by his trusted trio members, bassist Jack Daro and drummer Dean Koba who have shared a musical bond spanning over thirty years, Greg Reitan reflects on his personal and musical journey. The ideas for Reitan's original compositions presented here emerged during his 2019 residency at Aaron Copland House in Cortland Manor, New York. The other handful of numbers have been chosen from rarely-heard ...
Continue ReadingThembi Dunjana, Nubya Garcia, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Aaron Parks
by Ludovico Granvassu
Around the world in a playlist, featuring jazz with South-African, Norwegian and Caribbean influences.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Nubya Garcia “Set It Free" Odyssey (Concord Jazz) 0:16 Host talks 4:18 Joe Armon-Jones feat. Nubya Garcia “Nubya's Side of Town" Wrong Side of Town (Aquarii) 5:18 Host talks 9:41 Aaron Parks “Delusions" Little Big III (Blue Note) 11:18 Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Espen Berg “Climbing" Maetrix (Odin) 15:56 Host ...
Continue ReadingAvishai Darash: Between Hope and Despair
by Nathalie Tamara Freson
Avishai Darash's Between Hope and Despair is a timely album, composed as a reaction to the October 7th 2023 massacre in Israel. It refers to the spectrum of emotions one may feel in times of war, regardless of what side one stands on. This is to be expected from Darash, an intellectual pianist. He does not just play; his compositions feel like philosophical debates. The situation in his birth country, and the world reaction to it, triggered an avalanche of ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans: Walk a Mile in His Shoe
by David Bixler
The shoes that grace the cover of Orrin Evans' new record are special shoes from his childhood that were necessitated by being born with Neurofibromatosis. The record is called Walk a Mile in My Shoe (Imani Records) and the shoes are a reminder of his condition and the impact that this neurological disorder has had on him. However, Evans yearns to move past the initial metaphor of the title in order to convey the ideas of feeling worthy and taking ...
Continue ReadingTen Supreme Fender Rhodes Albums
by Chris May
In 1965, reeling from the impact of Motown and the Brit invasion led by the Beatles, and about to be hit by the triple whammy that was acid rock and the rebel culture that went with it, jazz was on the back foot. Its relevance as entertainment, art form and spiritual sustenance was under threat, at least for people under thirty years of age. And then along came Harold Rhodes and the Fender Rhodes. The electric piano was not a ...
Continue ReadingGeoffrey Keezer: Live at Birdland
by Pierre Giroux
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer's 2024 release, Live At Birdland, is his first live trio recording in more than 15 years. Accompanied by those rhythmic stalwarts, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Clarence Penn, the group gives a tutorial in the art of the jazz trio filled with unparalleled intimacy and dynamism. In constructing the track list, Keezer wanted to acknowledge the contribution of his heroes, Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea, to his music and his career. Accordingly, three compositions from each are ...
Continue ReadingMarcus Miller At The Meritage 2024
by Walter Atkins
The magnificent composer/bassist/producer Marcus Miller performed in front of a jubilant and full house at the luxurious Meritage Hotel & Spa in pleasantly pastoral Napa, California.The August 30, 2024 date was part of a fantastic musical weekend. His torrid set opened with an arrangement of the Dazz Band's 1982 Grammy-winning track “Let It Whip" and closed with the 1988 go-go party pleaser “Da' Butt" written by Miller, and originally performed by Experience Unlimited (E.U.). The song was part of the ...
Continue ReadingGary Smulyan: Boss Baritones
by David A. Orthmann
The once-popular pairings of such incisive hard-blowing saxophonists as Johnny Griffin with Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Gene Ammons with Sonny Stitt constitute some of the inspiration behind the making of Boss Baritones. Incorporating material penned by Griffin, Davis, Illinois Jacquet, Don Byas and J.R. Monterose indicates a healthy respect for giants who may no longer be in vogue. We can dwell on the significance of these ties to the past if we like. However, they have little to do with ...
Continue ReadingPatricia Brennan, Ola Tunji & Ingerbrigt Haker-Flaten
by Maurice Hogue
Vibraphonist Patricia Brennan put together a very strong ensemble to make Breaking Stretch, one of the best releases of 2024. Her original compositions and ever-growing skills on her instrument draw on elements of her native Mexico, and that helps to set apart this terrific new album. The free jazz scene of Mexico City gets additional space in the music of the trio, Tulpas. You may never have heard of saxophonist Ornella Noulet, guitarist Roman Raynaud, pianist LoÏc Lengagne, bassist Anthony ...
Continue ReadingDave Douglas: Gifts
by John Sharpe
Trumpeter Dave Douglas' talents as an improviser, composer and organizer are well known by now. In some ways the challenge for him is to find novel settings in which his abilities can be appreciated. If that is indeed an issue, then he has aced the test on Gifts, with a quartet that often sounds like a much larger ensemble, thanks to Rafiq Bhatia's widescreen guitar FX, man-of-the-moment tenor saxophone star James Brandon Lewis and drummer Ian Chang. ...
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