Jazz Articles
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Francois Carrier / Alexey Lapin / Michel Lambert: Inner Spire
by John Eyles
For Inner Spire, his fourth release on Leo records, Montreal-based alto saxophonist François Carrier performs with a new trio, retaining his long-standing collaborator Michel Lambert on drums and replacing double-bass with piano, played by Alexey Lapin. Recorded at the DOM Cultural Centre in Moscow in December 2010, the album's five tracks were entirely improvised. That is not immediately obvious as, without any tentative warming-up period, right from the start of the title track Carrier and Lapin are in full flow, ...
Continue Reading...John MacLeod & His Rex Hotel Orchestra / Tim Davies Big Band / New England Jazz Ensemble
by Jack Bowers
John MacLeod & His Rex Hotel OrchestraOur First SetSelf Published2010 Those who mourn the passing of the great trombonists Rob McConnell and Dave McMurdo and, with them, two of the most renowned big bands Canada has ever produced, should take substantial comfort from this superlative debut recording by John MacLeod and His Rex Hotel Orchestra, an ensemble patterned after the Boss Brass in whose trumpet section MacLeod was a standout for ...
Continue Reading...Jane Bunnett & Hilario Duran: Cuban Rhapsody
by Edward Blanco
Torontonian flautist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett joins forces with Cuban-born, Toronto-based pianist Hilario Duran for a special duet recording, exploring the Cuban equivalent of The Great American Songbook on Cuban Rhapsody. Containing a full range of Cuban music, from Ignacio Cervantes to Jose Maria Vitier, the classically trained duo breathes new life into much of this classical-rooted music. At the same time, it would be a mistake to categorize this as a strictly classical album, for it does contain certain elements of ...
Continue Reading...Various Artists: Jazz For Japan
by DJ Marc Antomattei
In the wake of the barrage of natural and man-made disasters that struck Japan in early 2011, a large group of fine musicians got together for Jazz For Japan. One of the strongest compilations of the year, all proceeds are being donated to help the victims of this great tragedy. The standards featured on this two-disc compilation album come from heyday eras of jazz bigwigs including Herbie Hancock, who wrote four of the set's fourteen tracks, Stanley ...
Continue Reading...WOMAD: Malmesbury, England, July 29-31, 2011
by Martin Longley
WOMAD Charlton Park Malmesbury, England July 29-31, 2011 The World Of Music, Arts & Dance, which will celebrate it's 30th anniversary in 2012, is almost certainly the biggest, best and longest-established international festival of global sounds. With its roots in England, the organization has steadily cultivated a worldwide presence, with editions in Spain, Sicily and Australia enjoying the greatest longevity. The art and the dancing can always be found on ...
Continue Reading...Angelica Sanchez: A Little House
by Mark F. Turner
More than any other instrument, the solo piano seems to reveal a deeper glimpse into the musician's insight. This has proven true in recent works like Geri Allen's Flying Toward the Sound (Motema, 2010), Craig Taborn's Avenging Angels (ECM, 2011), and here, with Angelica Sanchez's equally absorbing A Little House . Sanchez's voice has gained notoriety in working with a coterie of like-minded individuals--saxophonist Tony Malaby (also her husband), drummer Paul Motian, and Wadada Leo Smith's Organic ...
Continue Reading...Vivian Buczek: Dedication To My Giants
by Bruce Lindsay
Dedication To My Giants, is Vivian Buczek's tribute to those giants of jazz who have inspired the Swedish vocalist's own work. While Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles get a mention, Buczek's giants for are predominantly instrumentalists--John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown included--and as a result her song selection for this, her third album, avoids the most obvious vocal standards and gathers up some more unusual numbers. It's an impressive and enjoyable album. The first five songs ...
Continue Reading...Wolfert Brederode Quartet: Post Scriptum
by Dan McClenaghan
ECM Records has a way of offering up music from various artists that seems as if it has existed forever--in nature, in the air--and that they, the label and the artists involved--be it pianists Tord Gustavsen or Bobo Stenson, or saxophonist Jan Garbarek--are simply conduits for grabbing those sounds and bringing them to the listening/CD-buying public. The music of Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode, on 2008's Currents, and now on Post Scriptum, fits well within this malleable mold. Employing ...
Continue Reading...Jeremy Noller: Music Notes
by Greg Simmons
Jeremy Noller's debut as a leader makes a broad case for his international brand of jazz. Music Notes assembles a variety of musical strains, including American jazz, West-African rhythms, and even folk music, blending them all seamlessly. With eight original compositions, Noller proves his value as a composer as well as a drummer. The first notable element is the inclusion of the acoustic guitar, ably manned by Jesse Lewis. The natural resonance of the steel strings and wooden ...
Continue Reading...Mark McKnight: Do Or Die
by Bruce Lindsay
Do Or Die, Irish guitarist Mark McKnight's second album, features an organ quartet rather than the more usual organ trio. The added musical depth comes courtesy of saxophonist Seamus Blake, who joins McKnight's trio on a set of tunes with a laid back, almost hypnotic, feel. McKnight emphasizes melody and mood above speed and overt displays of technique, uses a rounded, pure tone with few effects, and plays single note runs with economy and precision. Organist Ross ...
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