Jazz Articles

like 330

Kris Davis / Ingrid Laubrock / Tyshawn Sorey: Paradoxical Frog

by Chris May
July 9, 2010

There's so much music bursting out of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, and her cultural reference points are so diverse, that you never quite know, as you take a disc out of the sleeve for the first time, what she's going to be up to--aside from going further. The intriguing Paradoxical Frog contains more surprises. Among the first fruits of Laubrock's more or less full-time relocation from London to Brooklyn, the album is a trio set made with pianist Kris ...

like 788

2010 TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Days 4-6

by AAJ Staff
July 9, 2010

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 | Days 7-10 TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaJune 25th--July 4th 2010 Day 4 Here come the Dutch! From South Africa to Vancouver, Holland is at the forefront of everyone's minds--and ears. The customary early afternoon set at Performance Works on Granville Island today featured perhaps the best known and arguably most celebrated Dutch jazzman ever (next to pianist and fellow ICP Orchestra ...

like 255

Steve Lehman / Rudresh Mahanthappa: Dual Identity

by Mark F. Turner
July 9, 2010

Recorded live at Portugal's Braga Jazz Festival in 2009 Dual Identity features two leading sax innovators--Steve Lehman and Rudresh Mahanthappa--in a stunning performance. Their discographies are synonymous with the current environment of progressive jazz; music that stretches boundaries with fresh ideas in conceptualization (Lehman's spectral harmony experiments in Travail, Transformation, and Flow (Pi Recordings, 2009)) and broad culture awareness (Mahanthappa's unique blend of Eastern and Western music in Apti (Innova Recordings, 2009)). Their bold alto frontline is further enhanced by ...

like 98

David Leonhardt: Bach to The Blues

by Ernest Barteldes
July 9, 2010

Veteran pianist David Leonhardt has often improvised around classical melodies in a live format, and now he finally commits an entire disc to tunes by Debussy, Bach, Beethoven and others. Backed by his working trio, the pianist gets things started with Bach's “Prelude in C Major" alternating the tempo between andante and another more suitable tempo with a straight-ahead beat.

He also tackles Schubert's popular “Ave Maria," playing it straight without adding much to it. Bassist Matthew Parrish ...

like 415

The Bobby Matos Latin Jazz Ensemble at the Saville Theater

by Robert Bush
July 9, 2010

Bobby Matos Latin Jazz EnsembleSaville Theater, San Diego City CollegeSan Diego, CAJune 29, 2010

Tuesday's concert was another excellent installment in the “Jazz Live" series, promoted and co-sponsored by San Diego City College and one of the few true jazz radio station's left in our country, KSDS Jazz 88. Once a month during the regular school year, (and twice a month in the summer), concerts are held in the acoustically pristine Saville Theater. Visiting artists and concert ...

like 383

Curtis Fuller: I Will Tell Her

by Edward Blanco
July 9, 2010

Legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller and saxophonist Keith Oxman have performed a regular gig at the Dazzle nightclub in Denver leading to this first recording for Fuller on the Capri label. I Will Tell Her is a special album in several ways, dedicated to Fuller's late wife Cathy, the album is also the 100th of the Capri label and their first double CD. The two disc set comprises a studio recording session and a live date at the Denver nightclub. Fuller ...

like 210

Alex Silverio Quartet at Americas Society, July 1, 2010

by Ernest Barteldes
July 8, 2010

Alex Silverio Quartet Americas Society New York, NY July 1, 2010

The Brazil-based quartet (Alex Silverio: bassoon; Neimar Dias: electric guitar; Igor Pimenta: upright bass; Eduardo Guarinon: drums) started off their concert at The Upper East Side's Americas Society with Branislaw Kasper's “Invitation," a straight-ahead piece with touches of samba jazz. The arrangement was built around Dias' effective guitar chords. Silverio immediately began improvising, and at the end there was a thrilling ...

like 157

More British Jazz: Edition Records

by Nick Catalano
July 8, 2010

During the past few years much attention has been given in this column to currents in European jazz. The British scene is characterized by intense club activity and a robust recording output epitomized by Edition Records—a label unafraid to support new compositional ideas and innovative styles.A recently released CD displays the compositions of Dave Stapleton featured in a quintet he has led to prominence in European festivals. Between The Lines contains music Stapleton has played at Cannes, Budapest, ...

like 447

Stanley Clarke: The Stanley Clarke Band

by Jeff Winbush
July 8, 2010

Stanley ClarkeThe Stanley Clarke BandHeads Up International2010 Stanley Clarke is still playing the bass the way he wants to, still pulling sounds out of his assortment of electric, acoustic and Alembic basses like nobody else, and still slapping, plucking and thumbing his way through contemporary, fusion jazz, rock, funk and whatever else he puts his mind to.Clarke honed his craft working with pianist Horace Silver, saxophonists Gato Barbieri and Pharoah ...

like 263

Michael Jaeger: Kerouac

by Nic Jones
July 8, 2010

The quartet of Jaeger, pianist Vincent Membrez, bassist Luca Sisera and drummer Norbert Pfammatter has been together for five years and the depth of playing experience that implies is evident in this release. The balance of the new and the familiar is rarely struck with such precision as this ensemble manages, but the presence of guests Greg Osby and Philipp Schaufelberger adds another dimension to the creative tension. Both men prove themselves adept at blending with the quartet's working methods ...