Jazz Articles

like 293

Posi-Tone Saxophones

by Joel Roberts
April 3, 2010

Ralph BowenDue ReverencePosi-Tone2010 Mike DiRubboRepercussionPosi-Tone2009 Sean NowellThe SeekerPosi-Tone2009 Giving underappreciated jazz artists their due is one of the perks (and responsibilities) of writing about the music. The frustrating thing is the sheer number of outstanding musicians flying under the radar of most listeners. These three saxophonists, all ...

like 285

Globe Unity: Spain

by Tom Greenland
April 3, 2010

AfinkeEn la Cuerda Floja R3cords 2009 Santiago LatorreÓrbitaAccretions2009 Agusti FernandezUn Llamp Que No S'Acaba MaiPsi2009 The Spanish jazz scene got off to a slow start, most notably in the mid '60s with the launch of the San Sebastián festival, but has flowered considerably in the intervening ...

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Claudio Roditi: Simpatico & The Mastery of Passion

by George Kanzler
April 3, 2010

Claudio RoditiSimpaticoResonance2009 Harry SimonThe Mastery of PassionResonance2009 Claudio Roditi, along with Michael Brecker, was a “special guest" on two LPs the young keyboardist Harris Simon made for producer George Klabin at the end of the '70s. Klabin must have liked what he heard in the Brazilian trumpeter/flugelhornist for a couple years ago Roditi did ...

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Harold Danko: Escapades & Gone

by Francis Lo Kee
April 3, 2010

Harold DankoEscapadesSteepleChase2009 Rich PerryGoneSteepleChase2009 Pianist Harold Danko is well known in the jazz education field as chair of the Jazz Studies Department at the Eastman School of Music. One would suppose that, while taking his educational work seriously, this 'steady job' allows him to pick and choose the best moments for creative musical statements. ...

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Two Talents, Two Tangents: Pete McCann & Sheryl Bailey

by Tom Greenland
April 3, 2010

Pete McCann Extra Mile 19/8 2009 Sheryl Bailey A New Promise MCG Jazz 2009

Pete McCann and Sheryl Bailey, two talented jazz guitarists with an affinity for rock, have each released recordings reflecting complementary tangents of 'mainstream' jazz, Bailey with a guitar-fronted big band, McCann with a new-fusion small group.

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Playdate: Playdate

by Dan Bilawsky
April 2, 2010

While children spend after school-hours and weekends working on homework and spending time with their families, they also have play dates. They get together with other like-minded friends to let loose and blow off some steam. Musicians often do the same thing and, appropriately enough, three of the five performers on Playdate have been friends since high school. Guitarist Amanda Monaco, saxophonist Wayne Escoffery and pianist Noah Baerman have a shared history, having studied music together in Connecticut, and they've ...

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Danilo Perez and Somi at the Kimmel Center

by Victor L. Schermer
April 2, 2010

Verizon HallThe Kimmel Center for the Performing ArtsPhiladelphiaMarch 19, 2010

In this concert, the performance by Danilo Perez' group (entitled “Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy") was supplemented with an opening set by the up-and-coming vocalist Somi, making for an interesting combination of diverse jazz flavorings. Somi's unique African-based renderings was followed by compositions dedicated to or written by Dizzy Gillespie, which were energetically executed with distinctly postmodern arrangements and interpretations.

Somi is ...

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Sergio Santos: Litoral e Interior

by Raul d'Gama Rose
April 2, 2010

Sergio Santos Litoral e Interior Biscoito Fino 2010

The modern history of Brazilian music--or Musica Brasileira--will surely have to be rewritten to include Litoral e Interior, this masterpiece from composer, guitarist and singer, Sergio Santos. Cast on a gigantic canvas where mountains meet the swell and foam of the warm waters of the Atlantic, where the clouds descend in thick and frequent showers on the magnificent countryside, where dancing takes place and celebrates the ...

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Ryan Burns: Birds

by Dan McClenaghan
April 2, 2010

Keyboardist Ryan Burns possesses a distinctive artistry, one that is integral to the success of the sound of the Matt Jorgensen + 451 group on sets such as Hope (Origin Records, 2004) and Another Morning (Origin Records, 2008), and with trumpeter Thomas Marriott on the strange and stellar Crazy:The Music of Willie Nelson (Origin Records, 2008). Burns also works as a leader on the acoustic piano trio set Tree-O (Odd Bird Records, 2007), and now on the plugged-in Birds. A ...

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Dan Dean: 2 5 1

by Dan Bilawsky
April 2, 2010

Dan Dean 2 5 1 Origin Records 2010

Bassist Dan Dean leaves no stone unturned when it comes to his knowledge and involvement in the world of music. His work as a producer and engineer, along with his development of the Dan Dean Sample Libraries, demonstrates his affinity for the technological side of the music business. Dean's work as an educator--including electric bass method books written for Hal Leonard--demonstrates his desire to ...