Jazz Articles

like 168

Peter Evans Quartet: Live in Lisbon

by Troy Collins
July 2, 2010

Recorded at Portugal's Jazz em Agosto Festival in August of 2009, Live in Lisbon captures Peter Evans' longstanding quartet in concert, deconstructing a program of reconfigured standards--a regular feature of the New York-based trumpeter's oeuvre. Using classic American Songbook tunes as the basis for the quartet's freewheeling improvisations, Evans dismantles familiar melodies, harmonies and rhythms, rearranging them into kaleidoscopic panoramas that transpose wistful nostalgia into surreal futurism.

Evans' modular approach towards spontaneous composition evolves in a state of ...

like 314

Steve Cardenas: West of Middle

by Raul d'Gama Rose
July 2, 2010

Steve CardenasWest of MiddleSunnyside Records2010

It is time for the voice of Steve Cardenas to be heard. The guitarist, a sideman for several years and dozens of projects led by a diverse group of musicians--bassists, reedmen, brass players, drummers, vocalists--Cardenas has held his own in various sizes of ensembles. But as a leader, so far the guitarist has preferred the company of one or two musicians to accompany him on his musical ...

like 762

Various Artists: Message from the Tribe - An Anthology of Tribe Records 1972-1976

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
July 2, 2010

Various ArtistsMessage from the Tribe: An Anthology of Tribe Records 1972-1976Soul Jazz Records2010

“It seems to me that Black musicians are always on top of the issues." So wrote critic Betty L. Holloway in a mid-1970s number of Tribe magazine. It's easy to assume that Holloway meant the bleak litany of issues--unemployment, poverty, social disintegration--permeating the socially-conscious African-American music that dominated the airwaves at the time: the Temptations' “Papa Was A Rolling ...

like 207

Sinan Bakir: On My Way

by Dan Bilawsky
July 2, 2010

A lot of young artists seem to throw out hard and fast material at the top of their album programs, to instantly grab attention, but the rest of the music often falls flat and doesn't live up to the early-track hype. Guitarist Sinan Bakir goes the other way, easing into his music as On My Way sets sail, preferring to hold all the aces until later in the game. The title track and, to a greater extent, ...

like 544

The Peter Sprague String Consort: The Wild Blue

by Robert Bush
July 2, 2010

The Peter Sprague String Consort The Wild Blue SBE Records 2009

Guitarist/composer Peter Sprague isn't nearly as well known outside serious musician circles as he should be. Maybe his international profile will be raised since he's been touring with vocalist Dianne Reeves. Twenty-three years ago, in 1987, bassist Charlie Haden asked his good friend, guitarist Pat Metheny to join a quartet he was putting together. Metheny was reluctant to move to the ...

like 204

Marian Petrescu: Thrivin'

by Larry Taylor
July 2, 2010

Called “The Horowitz of the Piano" by French jazz great Martial Solal (under whom he studied) pianist Marian Petrescu's dazzling technique--reminiscent of the late Oscar Peterson--is on full display with Thrivin', recorded at New York's Jazz Standard. Petrescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1970. Coming from a large family of musicians, he began playing piano at age 4 and went on to study classical and jazz in Sweden and Finland. He made his jazz debut at ...

like 544

Take Five With Rico Belled

by AAJ Staff
July 2, 2010

Meet Rico Belled:Born and raised in Holland, Rico Belled is best known as the Grammy-nominated bassist for The Rippingtons. Now based in Los Angeles, CA, he's worked with artists in many genres, ranging from Liza Minnelli to Eddie Money, Eric Marienthal to The Dan Band. Piano being his first instrument, Rico is also an accomplished guitarist and producer, releasing his first solo record entitled The Pursuit Of Comfort in 2010. A prolific composer, his music has found its ...

like 255

Norman Brown: Sending My Love

by Woodrow Wilkins
July 2, 2010

Whether to military troops overseas, family members or fans, guitarist Norman Brown has plenty of love to give. And he shows it with Sending My Love. Brown is a Grammy Award winner who has played guitar since the age of 8. Drawing inspiration from Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery, and often compared to George Benson, Brown has worked with a number of smooth jazz luminaries, including Paul Brown, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun, Mitch Forman and Michael Manson.

like 159

Gabriel Zufferey: Hear & Know

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
July 1, 2010

This satisfying, varied and coherent date sounds like the work of a mature group leader, but in fact it is only the second release from twenty-something Swiss pianist Gabriel Zufferey. His first, Après l'orage, a trio outing with heavyweight French drummer Daniel Humair and bassist Sébastien Boisseau, came out on Bee Jazz in 2005 to very good notices in Europe. Hear & Know was recorded live before a small and good-natured audience; the concert setting lends a freshness to the ...

like 238

Jacam Manricks: Trigonometry

by Bruce Lindsay
July 1, 2010

Jacám Manricks is a rich-toned saxophonist and composer with a growing body of original tunes--Trigonometry appears hot on the heels of the self-released Labyrinth (Manricks Music Records, 2009). The New York based musician has allied himself to a strong ensemble of players who happily take on the challenge of Manricks' compositions and invest them with some terrifically enthusiastic playing. The result is a bop-inspired album that can readily surprise and delight. The album begins emphatically on “Trigonometry" ...