Jazz Articles

like 1,023

Neil Cowley: A Rock and Roll Take on Jazz

by Bruce Lindsay
April 26, 2010

It's not an observation based on hard evidence, but the jazz world seems to be more awash with piano trios than it has been for many years. Whether it's a whim of fashion, a response to economic recession, a reaction to the over-digitization of music technology, or something else entirely, is far from clear. But there do seem to be a lot of them about, and many of them are extremely good.

So how does ...

like 369

Aaron Goldberg: Home

by Raul d'Gama Rose
April 26, 2010

Home by the young pianist Aaron Goldberg, is a gorgeous album of songs. The music here proffers many moods. It is sharp, and probes the density of emotions--from happiness, and one's unique identity, to the loss of both. It is a poignant search for a home for the heart, the soul and the restless mind. The original music is brave and although performed by a trio (or quartet) has a feel of being conceived on a large canvas of colors ...

like 672

Jeff Robinson: Rare Bird Sighting

by Timothy J. O'Keefe
April 26, 2010

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. It's also National Poetry Month, and every Sunday night, the Jeff Robinson Trio accompanies poets at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The trio provides collective jazz improvisation based on the rhythmic cadence of each poet, creating music that is truly unique to each performance.

Jeff Robinson hails from St. Louis and moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. To create his one-person play, Live Bird, which is based on the life of ...

like 223

Beppe Crovella: What’s Rattlin’ On The Moon? A Personal Vision Of The Music Of Mike Ratledge.

by Nic Jones
April 26, 2010

The sub-title makes all the difference here. Mike Ratledge was a key member of all the most worthwhile line-ups of Soft Machine, but alone amongst the quartet that consisted of himself, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt, he didn't go on to develop a solo career once he left the band. This and the passing of time, have had the effect of setting a seal on his music, but Italian composer/keyboardist/producer, Beppe Crovella has not only broken it, he's ...

like 244

Paul Motian / Chris Potter / Jason Moran: Lost in a Dream

by Dan McClenaghan
April 26, 2010

Drummer Paul Motian seems to fit very comfortably into any musical situation, and elevate it. With a career that spans more than five decades--and seeming to begin at an early pinnacle with pianist Bill Evans' trio on the legendary Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside Records, 1961)--Motian has, as a sideman, augmented musical visions galore. A listen no further than his contributions to Bobo Stenson's Goodbye (ECM Records, 2005), Anat Fort's A Long Story (ECM Records, 2007), or Marc Copland's ...

like 601

Pere Ubu, Manorexia, Growing & Acid Mothers Temple

by Martin Longley
April 26, 2010

Pere Ubu(le) Poisson RougeMarch 28, 2010 Let's get this out of the way first: these masters of the avant-garage genre (well, lead vocalist David Thomas came up with the term, and there might not be many contending combos for such a mortar'n'gown) had played a gig four days earlier, in Chicago. This is about as equidistant to the west as NYC is to the east from Pere Ubu's Cleveland breeding-ground. This gig involved ...

like 192

Oles Brothers with Rob Brown: Live at SJC

by Jerry D'Souza
April 26, 2010

Bartlomiej Brat Oleś (drums) and Marcin Oleś (double bass) have a simple adage when it comes to their music: to remain faithful to their convictions and create music that is open and requires both technical mastery and individual artistry. They have remained true to that whether playing as a Duo (Fenommedia, 2008) or with other musicians like Herb Robertson on Live at Alchemia (Not Two Records, 2007). Interaction and empathy are the twin factors that open the door and capture ...

like 810

Keeping Up With The Joneses: The Jones Name In Jazz

by Dan Bilawsky
April 26, 2010

"What's in a name?"This question, written by Shakespeare and spoken from the mouth of his Juliet, really touches on an important line of thought. Juliet continued and said, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." While she was dealing with the Montague/Capulet issue, she sought to downplay the importance of names and highlight the fact that they don't change the inherent beauty of a person.While nobody can really argue ...

like 832

Evan Parker/Paul Dunmall Quartet at the Vortex, London

by John Sharpe
April 25, 2010

Evan Parker/Paul Dunmall/Paul Rogers/Tony Levin The Vortex London February 25, 2010

Any opportunity to catch the UK's top tenors Evan Parker and Paul Dunmall in tandem is enough to set the pulse racing, but factor in a rare sally across the Channel by French-based bassist extraordinaire Paul Rogers and you have the makings of an event. With north London's packed Vortex doing a passable imitation of a sardine can, the assembled punters obviously ...

like 372

Roland Ramanan Tentet: London

by John Eyles
April 25, 2010

In his sleeve notes to this release, trumpeter Roland Ramanan poses the question, “What can you do with ten musicians that you can't do with five?" It may sound like a Christmas cracker joke with a risqué answer, but don't make up your own punch line. In fact Ramanan's real answer begins, “Well, you can make twice as much noise..." And that is amply demonstrated by this ensemble which brings together ten of the best improvisers from the London scene, ...