Jazz Articles

like 228

Mitch Marcus: Countdown 2 Meltdown

by Terrell Kent Holmes
May 11, 2010

Although its music is grounded in blues, bop and other time-honored constructs, the Mitch Marcus Quintet is not your usual jazz band. In fact, the MMQ's adventurous tunes, use of unusual meters and delightfully manic arrangements travel far beyond conventional musical borders. The band's Countdown 2 Meltdown is a sonic riot bursting with invention and mischief. This is evident from the first notes of “Coffee and Cones." Marcus' tenor and Sylvain Carton's alto drive this tune, with ...

like 333

Rale Micic: 3

by Joshua Weiner
May 10, 2010

Rale Micic has emerged over the past few years as one of the most interesting young guitarists on the New York City scene. Beginning with Bridges, a fantastic quintet date from 2003 featuring some exciting saxophone work from Bob Reynolds, and continuing on 2006's Serbia featuring the great Tom Harrell on trumpet, Micic has established a style that, while indebted to giants like Jim Hall and John Scofield, is recognizably his: a clean, rich, classic tone; clarity of line; spaciousness ...

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Ballrogg: Insomnia

by John Kelman
May 10, 2010

Contrasting his role in the remarkable Norwegian trio In the Country--responsible for the critically acclaimed debut This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat (Rune Grammofon, 2005) and even more ambitious Whiteout (Rune Grammofon, 2009)--bassist Roger Arntzen formed Ballrogg in 2006, with saxophonist Klaus Ellerhusen Holm; a more intimate duo that found its own dark nexus of form and freedom. Ballrogg (Bolage, 2008) was a well-received look at the repertoires of Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and Jimmy Giuffre; chamber jazz with ...

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Nat Birchall: Guiding Spirit

by Chris May
May 10, 2010

Nat BirchallGuiding SpiritGondwana Records2010 Who would have guessed that a group of musicians in the brash English city of Manchester would, in 2010, be rekindling the astral jazz forged by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and harpist and pianist Alice Coltrane in the late 1960s? But it's happening, and happening with luminous conviction. The musicians are centered around trumpeter Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Records label. Saxophonist Nat Birchall's Guiding Spirit is Gondwana's fourth ...

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Von Freeman: Vonski Speaks

by Clifford Allen
May 10, 2010

Von Freeman Vonski Speaks Nessa Records 2009

The “musician's musician" is a tiring phrase--assuming that only someone who actually plays an instrument can receive joy from listening to players such as tenor saxpohonists Dexter Gordon, Don Byas and Ike Quebec, trumpeter Dupree Bolton or drummer Walter Perkins. None of the aforementioned players are still with us, and all spent time either in Europe (where ostensibly they were more appreciated), or died in ...

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Stefan Grossman: Aunt Molly's Murray Farm/The Gramercy Park Shiek

by David Rickert
May 10, 2010

It's a well-known irony that if you were interested in playing traditional blues in the sixties, one of the best places you could be was overseas in England. Fed up with the Vietnam War, Stefan Grossman headed across the pond and began running around the town with the likes of Cream going to see new blues bands like Pink Floyd. Grossman got his traditional licks honestly from none other than his teacher the Rev. Gary Davis, and no doubt picked ...

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Dave Liebman / Evan Parker / Tony Bianco: Relevance

by Nic Jones
May 10, 2010

This release documents the first time that saxophonists Dave Liebman and Evan Parker have worked together and given their respective lengths of service to the music, this is remarkable. What is less so, is the fact that they so readily found a common language given their respective takes on the aesthetic of John Coltrane. Of the two, Parker has always been the greater--one might say the more dogmatic--advocate of free music, but given the diversity of Liebman's discography it's easy ...

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Antoinette Montague: Behind The Smile

by Marcia Hillman
May 10, 2010

Antoinette Montague shows what is Behind the Smile--eclectic taste and strong delivery. She is joined by choice company on this outing: Mulgrew Miller (piano), Bill Easley (saxophone, clarinet and flute), Peter Washington (bass) and drummer Kenny Washington, who doubles as producer. Montague's programmatic choices are a varied mix, including blues, soul, the Great American Songbook, two Motown numbers and the original title track. She travels through these different genres without being tied down to any of them, ...

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siLENT Z: siLENTZ

by Elliott Simon
May 10, 2010

Downstairs at the Cornelia Street Café in the Village is one of the more intimate places to see live jazz in the city. The program there is intentionally eclectic and siLENT Z Live, from altoist Pete Robbins, captures his angular group in those comfortable environs. All other things being equal, the make or break for a live recording is the extent to which the performances thus immortalized remain fresh enough to endure repeated listening. Is the spontaneity ...

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Sam Newsome: Blue Soliloquy

by Terrell Kent Holmes
May 10, 2010

Sam Newsome's Blue Soliloquy is not just a recording of solo soprano saxophone pieces; it's an eloquent and daring discourse on the scope of possibilities that the instrument offers. As the CD title and song names suggest, the blues forms the foundation for everything Newsome writes and plays. He depends heavily on multiphonics but this complements, rather than submerges, the smooth, rich resonance of his overall tone.

There are Gershwin-esque flourishes in tunes like “Blues for Robert Johnson" and “Blue ...