Jazz Articles

like 276

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

by John Sharpe
March 14, 2010

There is always a tinge of soul-baring in solo performance on a single line instrument like the saxophone, when stripped of the musical support customarily handled by an ensemble. David S. Ware's story only accentuates that feeling. Rushed into print as a limited edition release of 1500, Saturnian documents Ware's first public showing since his kidney transplant, at an October 2009 solo appearance. Though more often sighted at the helm of a quartet, with a restyled foursome onboard for his ...

like 238

Katrin Scherer: The Bliss

by Jerry D'Souza
March 14, 2010

Saxophonist/flautist Katrin Scherer brings an impressive presence in her roles as composer and musician on The Bliss. Her writing underpins an ease, not only in assimilating different styles into an artful whole, but in transposing and setting up panels of sound to give the band an organic structure to manipulate and develop.

Scherer, a German, studied the flute for 11 years before taking on the alto saxophone and then the baritone sax. She played with the Peter Herbolzheimer's ...

like 785

Lew Tabackin

by Ken Dryden
March 14, 2010

Lew Tabackin needs no introduction to serious jazz fans. The tenor saxophonist and flutist worked with Maynard Ferguson, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones and The Tonight Show Band; was a star soloist with the Danish Radio Orchestra in the late '60s; and joined alto saxophonist Phil Woods for a one-shot small group album. But Tabackin made his mark in the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Jazz Orchestra for several decades until it disbanded in 2003. ...

like 655

The Rolling Stones: Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert (40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set)

by C. Michael Bailey
March 13, 2010

The Rolling Stones Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert (40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set) Abkco Records 2009

What is the measure of a great live music recording? That answer would be intellectual brevity, spontaneity and invention. A better illustration would be examples of poor live recordings. Ergo, Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same (Swan Song, 1976) and The Eagles Live (Asylum, 1980). The former is certainly full of the invention ...

like 407

Ehud Asherie: Modern Life

by Dan Bilawsky
March 13, 2010

A dichotomy exists within the musical mind of pianist Ehud Asherie. The youthful pianist is clearly an old soul in many ways. His choice of material--including tunes from George Gershwin, Billy Strayhorn and Jerome Kern--combined with his knowledge of stride piano and fondness for the jazz masters of the early twentieth century are a throwback. However, Asherie also shows a thoroughly modern concept with some of his choices and stylistic preferences. These two sides converge on Modern Life. While he ...

like 490

Bill Mays: Mays at the Movies

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
March 13, 2010

Bill Mays has spent much of his career as a first-call studio pianist in Hollywood, accompanying singers like Sarah Vaughan and Al Jarreau, and playing on movie soundtracks. Moreover, his most recent CDs have involved his innovative third-stream group, The Inventions Trio, with trumpeter Marvin Stamm and cellist Alisa Horn. As a result, Mays's profile may be a bit lower than some who spend more time in the jazz performance spotlight. But he's also one of the most intelligent, fluent, ...

like 216

Ullmann-Swell 4: News? No News!

by Mark Corroto
March 13, 2010

It is difficult to decide, when listening to The Ullmann-Swell 4 disc News? No News! whether the choicest parts are composed or purely improvised. With such talent heard here in this mini-supergroup of saxophonist/bass clarinetist Gebhard Ullmann, trombonist Steve Swell, bassist Hilliard Greene, and drummer Barry Altschul, maybe the extreme pleasure that results is allowing that tug-of-war to play itself out.

This disc is the second by the quartet, following Desert Songs and Other Landscapes (CIMP, 2004). Ullmann and Swell ...

like 876

Medeski, Martin and Wood: Radiolarians - The Evolutionary Set

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
March 13, 2010

Medeski Martin & WoodRadiolarians: The Evolutionary SetIndirecto Records2009 In an age when jazz is usually driven by individuals and fleeting lineups, the ability of Medeski, Martin and Wood (MMW) to sustain and reinvigorate their collective creativity for nearly 20 years is astounding. Never risk-averse--whether jamming with turntablists or flouting expectations with an all-acoustic record and tour--they've kept the music fresh for themselves and their listeners. So it wasn't ...

like 201

Edward Ratliff: Those Moments Before

by Troy Collins
March 13, 2010

The cover of Those Moments Before features a poster of Marlene Dietrich advertising Josef von Sternberg's 1931 film Dishonored. While this album--New York-based multi-instrumentalist Edward Ratliff's third as a leader--isn't a soundtrack like the earlier Barcelona in 48 Hours (Strudelmedia, 2004) was, this date unfolds with the same degree of wild eclecticism and globe-trotting impetuousness as a proverbial soundtrack album.

Joined by a stellar cast of Downtown improvisers, Ratliff has an unlimited palette of sound at his disposal. ...

like 404

Thomas Lorenzo: Spanish Breeze

by Edward Blanco
March 13, 2010

Guitarist Thomas Lorenzo moved to Barcelona, Spain in 2003 and has since produced four solo albums, including the very charming Spanish Breeze. The son of Spanish immigrants, who fled Franco's Spain and settled in Lorenzo's birth place of Australia, Lorenzo never really forgot his Spanish ancestry, learning to weave traditional Spanish music within the Australian rock and pop music he often performed.

Some of that rock and pop influence comes through on the first five tracks of Spanish Breeze, where ...