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Jared Gold: Out of Line
by C. Michael Bailey
The age of the classic chitlin' circuit organ combo passed away with Jimmy Smith in 2005. Regardless, greasy-spoon organ jazz is still frequently summoned, if only in approximate form, beating the alternative of no new mainstream B3 music at all. New Yorker Jared Gold tore things up on his Supersonic (Posi-Tone, 2009) and Dan Pratt's Toe The Line (Posi-Tone Records, 2010), and continues to do so on Out of Line. And how can an album go wrong ...
Continue Reading...Dave Douglas & Keystone: Spark Of Being: Expand
by Mark Redlefsen
Just as summer comes to a close, another great release from trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas comes along. Expand is the second part of a trilogy of music, performed by Dave Douglas & Keystone, for the Bill Morrison film Spark of Being (2010). The film and related music bring Mary Shelley's iconic novel, Frankenstein (1818), and the relationship between science and humanity in the future, into a modern light. The first part, Soundtrack (Greenleaf, 2010) , was released earlier in the summer, ...
Continue Reading...The Black Crowes: Croweology
by Doug Collette
Croweology is a reaffirmation of the versatility of The Black Crowes lineup as first presented on Warpaint (Silver Arrow, 2008). It also extends the group's reach into the realm of Americana, as introduced on Before the Frost/Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow, 2009) In hearing this two-CD set, it's essential not to compare these new arrangements to the previously recorded versions, if only because the only carryovers in the current lineup remain in the form of founding siblings Chris ...
Continue Reading...Charles Lloyd Quartet: Mirror
by John Kelman
Sometimes the trust in knowing can yield more than the excitement of uncharted territory. Charles Lloyd ratchets down the energy from Rabo De Nube (ECM, 2008), one of the most exciting, free-wheeling albums and new groups of the saxophonist's half century career. Relying on the quartet's increasingly profound chemistry--and mostly recycled material rather than Rabo's largely new set of originals--Lloyd continues his upward trajectory; his intrinsically spiritual nature a moving force behind an album somewhat reminiscent of The Water is ...
Continue Reading...Dave Liebman: Live / As Always and Quest for Freedom
by John Kelman
Quite possibly the hardest-working saxophonist--if not the hardest working musician, period--these days, not a month goes by when there doesn't seem to be a new release from veteran jazzer Dave Liebman.In the twelve months since autumn 2009 alone, Liebman has been spotted in freer terrain, collaborating with another active saxophonist, Evan Parker, on Relevance (Red Toucan, 2010), and drummer Michael Stephans on Nomads (ITMP, 2009), while mining the modern mainstream with the collective super group Contact ...
Continue Reading...David S. Ware: Onecept
by Nic Jones
In the press release for Onecept, David S. Ware makes much of the concept of spontaneous form. This is worth mentioning because the degree of continuity between notion and outcome is exceptional. Ware's work--and, indeed, his musical life, perhaps--is now at a stage where the reedman doesn't have to be combustible all the time, and it shows in this trio's collection of three equal voices. The implied democracy hasn't resulted in a quenching of the fire, but rather a group ...
Continue Reading...Quest: Searching for the New Sound of Be-Bop
by John Kelman
QuestSearching for the New Sound of Be-BopStoryville Records2010 There are groups that become legends in their own time and others that only gain momentum after that time has come and gone. Quest was by no means unsuccessful during its ten-year run beginning with its self-titled, Japan-only, 1981 debut, but the quartet's reputation has grown considerably in the two decades since its swan song, Of One Mind (CMP, 1990). As key as each ...
Continue Reading...Paul Carr: Straight Ahead Soul
by C. Michael Bailey
If saxophonist Paul Carr could be described in a single word, it would be durable. Carr's two previous recordings--Just Noodlin' (PCJE, 2008) and Musically Yours (PCJE, 2006)--displayed a dependable adherence to the Ray Charles' principles of rhythm and blues. His tone and attack are made of the same precious metal as that of Hank Crawford and David “Fathead" Newman. On Straight Ahead Soul, Carr does his part to move adult contemporary jazz toward respectability with the fussy and hard-to-please traditionalist. ...
Continue Reading...Various Artists: Latin Party
by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
The redoubtable Putumayo programmers have already released ¡Baila! A Latin Dance Mix (2006), ¡Salsa! (2009) and Afro-Latin Party (2005), as well as nationally-themed but party-ready collections from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Are they perhaps scraping the bottom of the Latin party barrel with Latin Party? Ah, that would be to mistake the inexhaustible profundity of that barrel.As it is, Latin Party conveys a convincing party message. It also conveys an interesting ...
Continue Reading...Matt Jorgensen: Tattooed by Passion: Music Inspired by the Paintings of Dale Chisman
by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Matt Jorgensen pushes a bit out of the relative comfort zone of his longstanding Matt Jorgensen + 451 ensemble, to pay homage to his late father-in-law, abstract expressionist painter Dale Chisman, with Tattooed by Passion. With his + 451 group, Jorgensen crafted a distinctive modern-leaning sound on CDs Hope (Origin Records, 2004) and Another Morning (Origin Records, 2008). He carries that tradition forward on Tattooed by Passion. Tight grooves are a part of Jorgensen's approach, which isn't ...
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