Jazz Articles

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Billie Holiday: The Complete Commodore & Decca Masters

by George Kanzler
June 13, 2010

Billie HolidayThe Complete Commodore & Decca MastersVerve Music Group2010 In 1959, Nina Simone made a black-pride point about her hit single, “I Loves You Porgy," very publicly proclaiming that she refused to use the (to her) demeaning dialect pronunciation “loves," substituting “love." It was the same year that Billie Holiday died, but few remembered that Holiday had, without fanfare, simply sang “love" instead of “loves" in her exquisite 1948 recording of ...

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Steve Lacy: November

by Mark Corroto
June 13, 2010

Even without the back story of November, the music of soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy exists on its own merits. Compare this live recording to the two dozen-plus solo sessions by this master, and it stands up to any of them.

Not that Lacy was in his finest form here, having been diagnosed with liver cancer. He was to pass away within six months. Did the audience that November night in Switzerland know of his fate? Maybe. Certainly the ...

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I Walked With Giants

by Russ Musto
June 13, 2010

I Walked with GiantsJimmy Heath/Joseph McLarenSoftcover; 344 pagesISBN: 1439901988Temple University Press2010 The title alone of Jimmy Heath's marvelous memoir speaks volumes about the man. The NEA Jazz Master is himself an acknowledged giant among his peers and his choice to name the book as he did is an indication of both his great humility and self-effacing humor (in this case regarding his height). Heath is a clever ...

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John Escreet: Don't Fight The Inevitable

by Dan Bilawsky
June 13, 2010

Highbrow compositions and intuitive musicianship work hand-in-hand with stellar results on pianist John Escreet's Don't Fight The Inevitable. Escreet's band of like-minded modernists, including saxophonist David Binney and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, had the opportunity to work through this music on the bandstand during a European tour, an experience that helped them to delve deeply into these pieces. Dark shadows hover around Escreet's piano at the top of “Civilization On Trial" and drummer Nasheet Waits creates some loose, ...

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Take Five With Terje Lie

by AAJ Staff
June 13, 2010

Meet Terje Lie:Saxophonist Terje Lie, ("Terry Lee"), started his career as a musician during high school in Norway with his blues/rock band with which he appeared as a lead vocalist on Norwegian television at seventeen years of age.

Over time, he became a part of that country's scene of young rising jazz artists and freelance musicians, featured as both a singer and saxophonist. Lie toured Norway, Sweden, and Finland with different groups and appeared ...

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Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues / Carlos Santos / Andrew Drury: Eterno Retorno

by Stuart Broomer
June 13, 2010

Creative Sources is a Portuguese label largely devoted to free improvisation. Over the past decade it has released over 150 CDs, making it one of the most active labels devoted to a demanding genre. Founded by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, the label frequently documents his work, along with his regular musical partners. Eterno Retorno, recorded in Lisbon in 2007, presents a quartet with Rodrigues and two frequent collaborators--his son, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, and electronic musician Carlos Santos, along with Brooklyn-based percussionist ...

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The Claudia Quintet: Royal Toast

by David Adler
June 13, 2010

With one exception, drummer John Hollenbeck hasn't taken prominent front-cover credit on releases by The Claudia Quintet. This holds true for Royal Toast, the band's extraordinary fifth album. The decision makes sense, for Hollenbeck's labyrinthine compositions get much of their subtlety and force from the individual players that have defined the group's identity from the start. On Royal Toast, Hollenbeck yields the floor to each of them in turn and so “Ted versus Ted" features accordionist Ted ...

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Wein, June & Jazz

by AAJ Staff
June 13, 2010

As I write this, I am sitting in the Gran Hotel Havana in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. My friend Joan Cararach, Artistic Director of the Barcelona International Jazz Festival, and the festival promoter Tito Ramoneda asked me to join them in a collaboration to cross-promote our festivals. CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival (Aug. 6th-8th) and Voll-Damm Barcelona International Jazz Festival (Nov. 3rd-Dec. 4th) are now sister festivals. By the time you read this, I will have had the opportunity to perform with ...

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Lill Lindfors: Lill

by Chris Mosey
June 12, 2010

Alas, Lill Lindfors remains best known outside Sweden for her “wardrobe malfunction" in the 1985 Eurovision song contest, actually a well-handled publicity stunt. She's actually a remarkably good vocalist and a dynamic performer, worth far more than that annual dose of television schlock. Lindfors is not known for singing jazz but does it extremely well. It would be ungallant to reveal the lady's age. Suffice to say that a great many female vocalists half her age would ...

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June 2010

by AAJ Staff
June 12, 2010

Chick Corea/Eddie Gomez/Paul Motian Blue NoteNew York, NY May 5, 2010Paying homage to Bill Evans in a two-week summit at the Blue Note, pianist Chick Corea set up camp with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Paul Motian--two Evans alumni who have rarely if ever worked together. It had all the makings of an offbeat and remarkable encounter and during the late set on the first Wednesday (May 5th), the trio lived up to the ...