Jazz Articles

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Donat Fisch / Christian Wolfarth: Circle & Line 2

by Karl Ackermann
March 30, 2010

Drummer Christian Wolfarth and saxophonist Donat Fisch first recorded in this formation more than ten years ago. Circle & Line 2 is the Swiss duo's reunion and an unique free jazz achievement. Saxophone and drum duos rarely become an artist's defining work. It is a difficult format, requiring extraordinary creative effort to maintain variety and interest. When master musicians like Anthony Braxton and Max Roach approached it, the result was an unstructured exchange between very different musical comfort zones. Peter ...

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The Kidd Jordan Quartet Brings Free Jazz to Douglas Beach House, CA

by Bill Leikam
March 30, 2010

Kidd Jordan Quartet Douglas Beach House Half Moon Bay, California March 7, 2010

On March 7th, with a stiff northerly wind blowing the flags straight out from the flag pole outside the Douglas Beach House and under a gray coastal sky, legendary jazz sax-man Sir Edward Kidd Jordan led his quartet consisting of Eddie Gale on trumpet, Warren Smith on drums, William Parker on bass onto the stage of the famous jazz venue ...

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Don Ellis: Haiku

by John Kelman
March 30, 2010

One of the more tragic casualties of the 1970s was Don Ellis. Emerging from the big bands of Maynard Ferguson, Charlie Barnet, and Ray McKinley, the trumpeter began releasing albums under his own name in the early 1960s, distanced from his mentors' more mainstream big band sound. Beginning in small ensembles with free-thinking players such as pianist Paul Bley and bassist Gary Peacock, Ellis proved himself a more experimental instrumentalist, a quality he carried over to a return to larger ...

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Matthew Charles Heulitt: Room To Run

by Mark F. Turner
March 30, 2010

A subtle change in the opening “Resurrected" is an indicator of things to come on guitarist Matthew Charles Heulitt's Room To Run, as the introductory chord progression deviates from its western motif. That shift is informed by the guitar's sweeping volume swell, before opening the path for a statically charged solo and resonating touches by bassist Dan Feizli and drummer Jon Arkin. The eleven tracks are a reflection of Heulitt's creativity and musicianship--with over twenty years experience ...

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John Pizzarelli: Rockin' in Rhythm

by Woodrow Wilkins
March 30, 2010

He's the captain of cool. It seems no matter which songs he performs, guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli always delivers a certain amount of dashing and debonair. Rockin' in Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington is no exception.Items repeatedly culled from the American Songbook can become trite. But Pizzarelli has a knack for making the old seem new, fresh, and invigorating. He was very young when Ellington died in 1974, but his father, Bucky Pizzarelli, taught him much ...

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Steve Howe Trio at Norwich Arts Centre, UK

by Bruce Lindsay
March 30, 2010

Steve Howe Trio Norwich Arts Centre Norwich, UK March 15, 2010 In the world of rock and progressive music--where technology is too often used just because it's there,and where stadium tours offer the only opportunities to hear the genre's giants--a chance to listen to a genuinely influential guitarist in an intimate trio session is a rare event. So when rock guitar great Steve Howe came to Norwich with his trio, ...

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Peter van Huffel Quartet: Like The Rusted Key

by Raul d'Gama Rose
March 29, 2010

The Berlin-based Canadian alto saxophonist, Peter van Huffel may be one of the most intense performers on this instrument. He creates sharp images with his playing, is exceedingly energetic--in sections of music that demand quieter moments his calmness is most elastic and taut--and although he has a tendency to play with broad glissandi almost throughout Like The Rusted Key, he has an inventive sense of rhythm. In this respect he is like Eric Dolphy, who played with a pulse that ...

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Ray Charles: Original Album Series

by Chris May
March 29, 2010

Ray Charles Original Album Series Warner/Rhino 2010 (1957-61)

Singer and pianist Ray Charles' period with Atlantic Records, from 1953 to 1960, which is the subject of Warner/Rhino's Original Album Series, was the most exciting in Charles' long and well documented career. Preceding the country music years which began on ABC in the early 1960s, the Atlantic era found Charles recording albums rather than singles; establishing his own touring and recording band, and ...

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3ology: With Ron Miles

by Mark Corroto
March 29, 2010

This take out order of music was made from both sides of the menu from a restaurant serving up both groove and improvisation by the Colorado-based trio 3ology with guest cornetist Ron Miles. This disc is the third release for saxophonist Doug Carmichael, bassist Tim Carmichael and drummer Jon Powers, following Out Of The Depths (CMW Records, 2008) and the self-titled 3ology (CMW Records, 2007).

While 3ology favors a groove-based approach, they shouldn't be labeled as a “jamband." ...

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Peppe Merolla: Stick with Me

by Edward Blanco
March 29, 2010

Peppe Merolla may not be a familiar name to most jazz audiences but a sampling of Stick with Me, his stellar debut as a leader, may well serve to change that fact. Born in Italy and hailing from an artistic family of actors and singers, Giuseppe “Peppe" Merolla followed in the family tradition doing a little acting and singing before pursuing his love for the drums and jazz. On this striking first outing, Merolla offers a decidedly hard bop-styled jazz ...