Jazz Articles

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Take Five With John Troy

by AAJ Staff
June 26, 2010

Meet John Troy:John Troy has had a rich affinity towards the performance and development of his music since beginning the saxophone at age twelve. After showing exceptional ability in the classical realm throughout middle school, and with the tutelage of William Eicher, his attention gradually turned toward the study of jazz saxophone.

John honed his skills on lead alto saxophone for Concert and Jazz All-County Ensembles, and New York All-State Bands as well. Other ...

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John McLaughlin & The 4th Diminsion: To The One

by Robert Bush
June 26, 2010

Iconic guitar virtuoso John McLaughlin has released his most consistently engaging disc in years. What makes it so? Well, his band is the same kind of highly skilled fusion unit as on many McLaughlin dates--nothing new there. The main difference seems to be a renewed commitment to the art of songwriting. Much more care has been invested in these pieces and it shows. McLaughlin has always created thick jazz-funk grooves to improvise over; now, those grooves have real, singable melodies. ...

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Rites of Spring

by Wayne Wolfson
June 26, 2010

Spring was the sweat running down the back of her legs. It is the pack of young dogs running down the street in their best clothes, new haircuts and fresh packs of smokes always kept in the left pocket of their sports coats. Ready to offer one up to a beautiful or willing lady, unwrapping the cellophane in front of her, the pack as yet unopened granting the illusion of being overly flush. There is plenty more where that came ...

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Cindy Scott: Let The Devil Take Tomorrow

by Dan Bilawsky
June 25, 2010

Vocalist Cindy Scott is a rare breed of artist--comfortably covering a variety of music, undaunted by genre barriers and walls that scare lesser singers into pursuing a singular line of musical thought. The dozen songs that Scott presents on Let The Devil Take Tomorrow make up a rich smorgasbord of sounds, moving from Brazil to the Bayou and covering everybody from Smokey Robinson to Hank Williams. “You've Really Got A Hold On Me" opens the album, and ...

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The Jay D'Amico Trio: Nocturne: Jazz Under Glass

by Jack Bowers
June 25, 2010

Pianist Jay D'Amico neatly straddles two musical worlds, those of jazz and classical, embodying the best of each on Nocturne, whose subtitle--"Jazz Under Glass"--explicitly describes D'Amico's singular point of view. All of the compositions and arrangements are his, and they are invariably melodic and tasteful while at the same time underlining such essential Jazz components as spontaneity and swing, albeit with a perceptible classical veneer.

Even though much of the music is temperate and easygoing, D'Amico keeps it interesting by ...

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Take Five With Daniel Ian Smith

by AAJ Staff
June 25, 2010

Meet Daniel Ian Smith: Daniel Ian Smith is a saxophonist/flutist and an Associate Professor at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he has taught for the past fifteen years. Daniel has had the privilege to perform in Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the United States in major jazz festivals and venues including: Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, The Pit Inn, Schlot, Ottawa International, JAZZUV in Mexico, Visiones, and many others.

Leader of the ...

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Leela James: My Soul

by Ernest Barteldes
June 25, 2010

As she begins a relationship with a new label, Leela James presents a selection of all-original songs, contrasting Let's Do It Again (Shanachie, 2009), where the classic soul singer paid tribute to iconic soul singers and songwriters who informed her career. The collection is refreshing, starting with the powerhouse" I Ain't New To This," which contains a sample of Millie Jackson's “Solitary Love Affair" during its intro. James keeps things going with “I Want It All," its thumping bass line ...

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Nathan Eklund Group: Coin Flip

by John Barron
June 25, 2010

NewYork-based trumpeter/composer Nathan Eklund assembles a fiery, swinging quintet for Coin Flip, his fourth release as a leader and first for Seattle's OA2 Records. The nine track disc is as much a showcase for Eklund's convincing abilities as a composer and arranger as it is for his dynamic trumpet playing. Eklund demonstrates an immense trumpet tone with technical agility, rooted in the post-bop tradition. Echoes of the late trumpet giants Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw can be heard ...

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Emerson, Lake & Palmer: A Time and a Place

by John Kelman
June 25, 2010

With two-thirds of progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer having just completed its first tour in over a decade--an intimate theatrical tour featuring keyboardist Keith Emerson and guitarist/bassist/vocalist Greg Lake, billed as an unplugged warm-up for July, 2010, when the full trio will reunite for what is, so far, a single date at London's High Voltage Festival---a box set that collects live performances from the group's quarter-century off-again/on-again career seems to make a lot of sense. And with Shout! ...

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Music as a Profession

by Chuck Anderson
June 25, 2010

Music as a career has always been met with considerable skepticism. This stems from a basic misunderstanding of the types of music involvements that are possible. The concept of the “starving musician" is but one of the many stereotypes. This installment of “The Art and Science of Jazz" is devoted to illustrating other alternatives. Music can be an avocation, a dedication, a business or a profession. They are not necessarily distinctly unique. Mixtures of these various roles are ...