Jazz Articles
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Gianluigi Trovesi / Gianni Coscia: Frere Jacques - Round About Offenbach
by John Kelman
Once again, more than half a decade has gone by since clarinetist GIanluigi Trovesi and accordionist Gianni Coscia last recorded. Round About Weill (ECM, 2005) represented a shift away from the broader compositional purview of In cerca di cibo (ECM, 2000), instead focusing more monolithically--albeit with the improvisational élan which has defined this partnership from its inception still intact--on misunderstood 20th century composer Kurt Weill. With Frère Jacques: Round About Offenbach , the Italian duo with one octogenarian (Coscia) and ...
Continue Reading...Reuben Wilson: Revisited
by David A. Orthmann
Reuben Wilson Trio Revisited American Showplace Music 2011 For any organist mining the soul-jazz vein, it's tough to escape the long shadow of Hammond B-3 titans such as Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Richard “Groove" Holmes and Jimmy McGriff. On the other hand, invoking the memory of a few of the masters doesn't hurt an artist in reaching fans who crave sounds that stop short of Larry Young's mid 1960s, saxophonist John Coltrane-influenced innovations and ...
Continue Reading...Amy C. Beal: Carla Bley
by Chris May
Carla Bley Amy C. Beal Softcover, 114 pages University of Illinois Press ISBN: 9780252078187 2011 Remarkably, this is the first detailed, published study of the career and music of Carla Bley, the distinguished composer, keyboardist, band leader and activist. It is the seventh volume in the University of Illinois' American Composers series, following studies of Lou Harrison, John Cage, Dudley Buck, William Grant Still, Rudolf Friml and Elliott Carter. ...
Continue Reading...Pat Martino: Undeniable
by Glenn Astarita
Guitar virtuoso Pat Martino's long awaited album, recorded live at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., serves as a homecoming of sorts, since he began his career within the classic jazz-organ combo format. As a leader, Undeniable is Martino's first album since the 2006 Blue Note Records Wes Montgomery tribute, Remember. Martino's quartet parlays a prominent groove quotient, alternating the dynamic throughout the program. One of many highlights is Martino's “Double Play," a sleek jazz-blues designed with an understated, ...
Continue Reading...Junior Wells’ Chicago Blues Band: Hoodoo Man Blues
by Nic Jones
Being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame could, in the overall scheme of things, mean everything or nothing, considering that Hoodoo Man Blues is as powerful an example of the Chicago Blues as has ever been captured on record. Singer/harmonicist Junior Wells was one of those surprisingly rare individuals who knew how to stir an audience without showboating, and if one had been present on these recording sessions from September 22 and 23, 1965, chances are ...
Continue Reading...Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5: Boston Music Hall 6/9/76
by Doug Collette
Set to be supplanted in 2012 by a new sequence of concert recordings dubbed Dave's Picks (overseen by chief archivist David Lemieux), The Grateful Dead's Road Trips archive series ends in stellar fashion with a complete show (plus), capturing the iconic band at one of the highest performing plateaus of its career in one of its favorite cities. Volume 4 Number 5 is a beautifully played and precisely recorded triple-disc set from The Boston Music Hall. The third ...
Continue Reading...Ray Charles: Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles
by C. Michael Bailey
Handsomely appointed, Concord's Singular Genius--The Complete ABC Singles offers an example of intelligent and succinct programming and assembly in the waning days of the compact disc. This individual items collection were produced during the heyday of the 45 RPM single, which is to say during the time of alphanumeric telephone exchanges. It represents all of Charles' ABC single releases between 1960 ("My Baby, I Love Her Yes I Do") and 1973 ("Ring of Fire"). What exists in between is nothing ...
Continue Reading...Five Golden Rings for Christmas
by C. Michael Bailey
The 2011 holidays are nearly upon us and with them, the requisite focused recordings. The number of such offerings has diminished in the last number of years. What has not diminished is the quality of the recordings, as evidenced by these five “golden rings." Happy holidays, jazz fans. Elisabeth Lohninger BandChristmas in JulyJazz Sick Records2011 Austrian singer and studio maven Elisabeth Lohninger follows her exceptional Beneath ...
Continue Reading...Gonzalo Del Val Trio: Three Generations
by Dan Bilawsky
Spanish jazz musicians need not produce music that overwhelms with Iberian-influenced sounds or seduces with the so-called “Spanish Tinge" at every turn, and drummer Gonzalo Del Val's trio is proof. While Del Val's music isn't completely devoid of elements endemic to his musical DNA ("Malena"), the drummer's broad outlook goes well beyond any one place or style. On Three Generations, Del Val uses the age-old piano trio format to create a program of music that, strangely enough, is unified by ...
Continue Reading...Horace Silver: Song For My Father
by Greg Simmons
Horace Silver Song For My Father Blue Note Records 1963 The nice thing about reissuing classic, fifty year-old records is the benefit of hindsight; delving into a well-established catalog that's been lauded for decades helps ensure that every release will be desirable. The classic Blue Note Records catalog of the 1950s and '60s is about as evergreen a collection of albums as could be imagined. There are so many great titles that it's difficult, ...
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