Jazz Articles

like 199

David S. Ware: Saturnian (Solo Saxophones, Volume One)

by Chris May
April 10, 2010

Saturnian celebrates saxophonist David S. Ware's return to health--and public performance--after near fatal kidney failure. Released in a limited edition, and subtitled Solo Saxophones Volume 1, it was recorded live at the Abrons Arts Center, NYC in October 2009, towards the end of a year in which Ware's life had hung in the balance and many in the jazz world had feared the worst. He was saved by the widow of a fellow musician and Ware fan, kidney donor Laura ...

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Brandon Wright: Boiling Point

by John Barron
April 10, 2010

Saxophonist Brandon Wright has spent the last few years making a name for himself on the New York jazz scene as both a sideman and bandleader. Since graduating from the University of Miami, the New Jersey native has performed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and, most recently, has been touring with trumpeter Chuck Mangione. For Boiling Point, his debut as a leader, Wright teams-up with trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, pianist David Kikoski, bassist Hans Glawischnig and ...

like 336

Ernst Reigseger: Tell Me Everything

by Kurt Gottschalk
April 10, 2010

The German label Winter & Winter has a beautiful way of capturing senses of place and preserving them in elegant, corrugated covers. From audio travelogues through Cuba and Trinidad to Sardinian vocal music, the albums feel like books for your ears. Ernst Reijseger, a central figure among the Amsterdam players swimming in the Instant Composers Pool, has had a productive relationship with the label. On his solo recital Tell Me Everything, he continues his series of Italian ...

like 235

Tobias Gebb & Unit 7: free at last

by Terrell Kent Holmes
April 10, 2010

On free at last, drummer Tobias Gebb shows great depth and maturity as a composer and arranger. This recording is a balanced mix of originals and standards, from various musical genres, combined to produce rich sounds and vibrant colors. Veteran altoist Bobby Watson and young tenor lion Stacy Dillard take star turns on the brisk “Blues for Drazen," one of several tunes with a hard bop pedigree. Joel Frahm's gritty tenor, Joe Magnarelli's fluttering trumpet and Mark ...

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Judy Carmichael: Come and Get It

by Ken Dryden
April 10, 2010

Judy Carmichael has been on the jazz scene for a long time. She has produced the radio series Jazz Inspired for a number of years and played piano for over a quarter-century with a number of CDs under her belt, most of them issued on her own label. Her specialties are stride and swing (one of her CDs was titled And Basie Called Her Stride), though this outing marks her debut as a vocalist. With a strong ...

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Richard Galliano: Tangaria

by Chris May
April 9, 2010

A little accordion can go a long way. Its sound is a knife edge away from a dolorous monotone, and stubbornly resists modulation. It is no accident that Argentinian tango, the style indelibly associated with the instrument, typically deals with loss and bad luck. Few accordionists are able to cast off this baggage, but Richard Galliano is one who can.

An inventive, virtuoso performer with solid jazz chops, Galliano is at home with a variety of atmospheres, including ...

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The Dave Liebman Group: Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman

by John Kelman
April 9, 2010

When listening to Ornette Coleman's music from the fertile period of his 1959-1961 Atlantic albums--beautifully documented on the aptly titled Beauty is a Rare Thing (Rhino, 1993) box set--it's perhaps a little difficult to understand what all the hubbub was about. As is so often the case, time turns naysayers into champions, and many of the people who were so vehemently opposed to Coleman's forays into the realm of free jazz are now amongst those celebrating him for the innovator ...

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Anastasia: Live 1994 - 2001

by Nenad Georgievski
April 9, 2010

Anastasia Live 1994--2001 Lithium Records 2009

Some live albums just document certain concerts in order to fulfill record deal obligations and some capture the essence of a band's magic, something that could be sensed on studio recording but only completely reveals itself at live performances. There are groups that should be heard, but not necessarily seen. Both as a recording and performance entity, Anastasia is a powerful act with musical pieces that resemble an ...

like 219

George Cotsirilos Trio: Past Present

by C. Michael Bailey
April 9, 2010

Mainstream guitar trio jazz possesses a soundtrack quality that makes it perfect for sleek and sophisticated noir movies boasting sardonic shamuses and dangerous dames. George Cotsirilos typifies this type of jazz guitar playing. If jazz guitar had an aroma, Cotsirilos' brand would smell of Yardley Soap, single-malt scotch, and unfiltered cigarettes in close quarters: dark and slightly decadent, full-bodied, and warm. On his third OA2 release, Past Present Cotsirilos and his working trio mix up the standards ...

like 180

Erika: Obsession

by Bruce Lindsay
April 9, 2010

Obsession is vocalist Erika Matsuo's debut CD, but it comes after a long and varied musical career that includes the all-girl rock band Tear Drops, in her native Japan, and work with the City College of New York's Latin jazz band. This is the debut, therefore, of an experienced singer and it shows in Matsuo's confident approach. The album's mix of tunes includes standards such as Cole Porter's “Night and Day" but focuses mainly on songs from ...