Jazz Articles

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One for All: Incorrigible

by Sean Coughlin
May 28, 2010

One for All Incorrigible Jazz Legacy Productions 2010

One for All's Incorrigible showcases some of the best original writing the group has had in its 14 releases. It no longer sounds like a bunch of “young lions" thrown together in a recording studio. Cohesive and interdependent, these musicians bring out the best in one another, resulting in an album filled with thoughtful communication and high energy improvisation. “Bewitched, Bothered, ...

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Take Five With Robert Spigner

by AAJ Staff
May 28, 2010

Meet Robert Spigner:Robert was born in Harlem, moved to the Bronx as a teenager. A dreamer who aspired to be a self taught musician earned a degree in business at Bronx community college. His entertainment career began as the bassist for a local band performing at venues in and around New York City. Throughout the years he also honed his skills as a keyboardist and songwriter.

In 2008 he wrote all songs for the ...

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Metropole Orkest / John Scofield / Vince Mendoza: 54

by John Kelman
May 28, 2010

Metropole Orkest / John Scofield / Vince Mendoza 54 Emarcy 2010 Guitarist John Scofield's shared history with Vince Mendoza dates back to the composer/arranger/conductor's Start Here (World Pacific, 1990) and Instructions Inside (EMI/Manhattan, 1991)--two criminally out of print gems that provided early evidence of Mendoza's distinctive harmonic language, compositional perspicacity and innate ability to get the best out of an ensemble, regardless of the size. Now an in-demand, Grammy Award- winning producer/arranger who has worked ...

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Odean Pope: Odean's List

by Troy Collins
May 27, 2010

Though best known for his lengthy tenure accompanying legendary drummer Max Roach, Philadelphia-based tenor saxophonist Odean Pope has long demonstrated a flair for writing and arranging that is as impressive as his sideman work. His most arresting compositions have been conceived for his decades-old Saxophone Choir, while smaller-scale projects have featured his improvisational prowess in collaboration with peers such as Dave Burrell, Khan Jamal and Sunny Murray. The octet featured on Odean's List gracefully integrates the intricate charts of Pope's ...

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Azar Lawrence: Mystic Journey

by Chuck Koton
May 27, 2010

Azar LawrenceMystic JourneyFurthermore Recordings2010

Unlike many who stumble in the darkness for years, tenor and soprano saxophonist Azar Lawrence discovered his way in life early, knowing that he would be journeying down a road filled with music. By the time he turned 21, Lawrence had already played with revered jazz musicians such as drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner and trumpeter Miles Davis. During this period in the 1970s, Lawrence also released ...

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John Escreet: Don't Fight the Inevitable

by John Kelman
May 27, 2010

Since moving to New York in 2006, pianist John Escreet has positioned himself as one of the scene's most significant up-and-comers. In addition to performances with artists including Chris Potter and Seamus Blake, he's a member The Story, which released its self-titled debut independently in 2009. Escreet also gigs with David Binney, appearing on Aliso (Criss Cross, 2010) and In the Paint (Posi-Tone, 2009), the altoist's co-led date with Alan Ferber. In return, Binney is a member of The John ...

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31st Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland

by Matt Marshall
May 27, 2010

31st Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio April 15-25, 2010

In its 31st offing, the Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland followed a familiar yet engaging formula. One that, over the years, has made it the largest music festival in Ohio and the largest educational jazz festival in the country. The clinics and workshops for local musicians, as well as performances by local high school and college bands, remained intermixed with shows by international stars. And throughout its 11-day ...

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Federico Britos: Voyage

by Raul d'Gama Rose
May 27, 2010

The world continues to awake to the rising tide of undiscovered music and musicians from the South American paradigm, in an almost ironic kind of reversal of Alejo Carpentier's voyage of musical discovery in his 1953 work, The Lost Steps. As this is going on, the Uruguayan violinist Federico Britos celebrates five decades in the lonely and all-but-forgotten Chair of the Magisterium of South American Music with a spectacular Sunnyside offering, Voyage. This sojourn, documented at several moments in time, ...

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Konk Pack, Tim Hodgkinson, George Lewis and Bob Stewart

by Martin Longley
May 27, 2010

Konk PackThe StoneApril 14, 2010 RouletteApril 17, 2010 The Anglo-German improvising trio Konk Pack climaxed their epic US tour with a pair of New York City dates. They had already taken their extremist electroacoustic abstractions to far Knoxville and Kansas City, ending up performing at two of NYC's finest experimental haunts. Konk Pack boasts a line-up that springs from diverse quarters, combining to make a gloriously ...

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Take Five With Alison Cecile Johns

by AAJ Staff
May 27, 2010

Meet Alison Cecile Johns: Alison Cecile Johns is a vocalist and composer with one eye on the world of jazz, rock and '70s R&B, and the other on an open sky of world music and electronica. Legendary composer Pauline Oliveros praised her “spiritual voice," and she has worked with composers as diverse as Sebastian Robin Craig, Jonas Muller, and Detroit Escalator Company's Neil Ollivierra. She is currently working on a CD titled Come Back As A Flower: Compositions of Stevie ...