Jazz Articles

like 406

Dr. John and The Lower 911: Tribal

by Chris May
July 7, 2010

With hindsight, keyboards player and vocalist Mac Rebennack's return to his “Dr. John, The Night Tripper" oeuvre might have been foreseen before the recording of Tribal, when in 2006 he once more donned the full-blown voodoo regalia for his appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. But then Katrina came along and Rebennack's attentions became focused on a more pressing concern, the rescue of his hometown, New Orleans. The Grammy award-winning ("Best Contemporary Blues Album") City That Care Forgot (Cooking Vinyl, ...

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Cochemea Gastelum: The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow

by Chris May
July 6, 2010

Its title giving a nod to his Native American roots, The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow is the debut album from Brooklyn-based saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum. A touring member of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and a recurring saxophonist in the original band for the Broadway musical Fela!, Gastelum here pays tribute to some of his soul and Afrobeat heroes--including Fela Kuti & Afrika 70 baritone player Lekan Animashaun and tenor players Igo Chiko and Christopher Uwaifor, and--above all--electric saxophonist ...

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Meg Okura: Naima

by Dan Bilawsky
July 6, 2010

Chamber jazz is often a misunderstood label and balance is to blame for it. Classical-leaning projects bearing this descriptor often lack passion and strong improvisational elements, but jazz artists who try to play swinging takes on pieces by J.S. Bach also miss the mark. Fortunately, violinist Meg Okura avoids these potential pitfalls and manages to find balance where others have failed. Okura, and her Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, place strong solos within brilliantly written, formalized musical dwellings on Naima. ...

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Various Artists: Sound Of The World Presents - Anywhere On This Road

by Bruce Lindsay
July 6, 2010

Various Artists Sound Of The World Presents: Anywhere On This Road Warner Classics & Jazz 2010

The series of compilation albums known as Sound Of The World was the brainchild of the DJ and writer Charlie Gillett. Credited with championing both Dire Straits and Ian Dury in their early careers, Gillett was also a great enthusiast for music from around the world, and one of the earliest radio presenters to bring “world ...

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Laurie Antonioli: A Constellation In The West

by C. Michael Bailey
July 6, 2010

While vocalist Laurie Antonioli may not be a household name, she is not exactly an unknown quantity. The Bay area native has been singing pre-professionally and professionally since the late 1970s, initially influenced by the diamond songwriting talents of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Neil Young. She took a right turn listening to her grandmother's 78s of the bawdy and bold jazz/blues princess Nellie Lutcher, which led to the universes of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Formal ...

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Marc Edwards / Weasel Walter Group: Blood Of The Earth

by Mark Corroto
July 6, 2010

Double drummer-led free jazz sessions come with a price, and both aural and contemplative muscles need to be flexed. With Blood Of The Earth, from drummers Marc Edwards and Weasel Walter, the challenges for immersion in a sonic concentration of spontaneity and stamina.

But this is not your father's retread of John Coltrane's Ascension (Impulse!, 1965). The two drummers have taken the 1960's concept of freedom as starting point and fired their rockets way past the stellar regions.

Edwards--a former ...

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Ketil Bjornstad: Remembrance

by Dan McClenaghan
July 6, 2010

The disc is called Remembrance, but it could just as well have been tagged “Prayers" or “Hymns," or “The Search for Peace and Tranquility," words that seems a fit with the music of Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjørnstad.Bjørnstad began his sojourn at ECM Records with Water Stories in 1993. In his eight recordings for the label since then, he has played often with string men, including cellist David Darling and guitarist Terje Rypdal, but this time out he enlists ...

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2010 TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Days 1-3

by AAJ Staff
July 5, 2010

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 | Days 7-10 TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaJune 25th--July 4th 2010 Remnants of this year's Winter Olympics from February have seemingly been cleared right out of the city of Vancouver. For the first week of this year's 25th anniversary of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival (VIJF), you'd never know trekking to and from any one of the 40 stages and venues- -stretching from Kitsalano through ...

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Jan Bang: Head, Shoulders, Hips, Knees and Toes

by John Kelman
July 5, 2010

When it comes to organically integrating modern technology into music, few countries are innovating to the degree of Norway, and at the epicenter of that country's forward-thinking approach to melding improvisation with jazz and Norwegian traditionalism--not to mention contemporary classicism, pop, ambient and more; truly any and all musical markers--is producer/remixer/sampler Jan Bang, who has just released his first album as a leader, ....and poppies from Kandahar (SamadhiSound, 2010). Bang, from his home base in ...

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Jan Bang: ….and poppies from Kandahar

by John Kelman
July 5, 2010

It's rare for an album to quietly shake the foundation of what music is...and can be. Fifteen years after Jan Bang first innovated the concept of live sampling--turning an Akai MPC 3000 sampler into a true improvising instrument by sampling other musicians in real time and feeding processed musical ideas back; pushing and pulling the music just as any “conventional" musician does in a live context--he's finally released his first album under his own name, and it's a stunner. Filled ...