Jazz Articles

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Adam Rudolph

by Rex Butters
March 13, 2010

Watching Adam Rudolph conduct the Go: Organic Orchestra is witnessing the embodiment of music. Rudolph takes on the role of sound sculptor, leading the specially-trained musicians through channels of sound as they occur to him in the course of performance, mixing and editing with hand signals, facial expressions and bodily torque. The only constant in the swirling world of change that characterizes the project is the near ecstatic Rudolph, shaping and molding the music as it appears, in the form ...

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The State of Zoho Music 2010: Pablo Aslan and Jon Gold

by C. Michael Bailey
March 12, 2010

Zoho Music was founded by Joachim “Jochen" Becker in 2003, rising out of the ashes of Khaeon World Music. Since that time, the label has released almost 80 recordings, garnering numerous Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations.

Zoho continues to thrive. Two recent recordings illustrate not only where the label is going but also offer a contrast between the musics of Argentina, as presented by bassist Pablo Aslan and Brazil, as offered by pianist Jon Gold. The former hosts ...

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Mike LeDonne: The Groover

by Sean Coughlin
March 12, 2010

Mike LeDonne The Groover Savant Records 2010

What kind of music “grooves" exactly? Look no further. Hammond B3 organist Mike LeDonne teams with a group of accomplished musicians to put together an album that simply grooves hard all the way to the final chord. Reminiscent of Jimmy Smith and Charles Earland, LeDonne plays with conviction and soulfulness on an album that sounds more like a jam session than a studio release.

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Kirk Knuffke: Amnesia Brown

by Troy Collins
March 12, 2010

Brooklyn-based trumpeter Kirk Knuffke's sophomore effort, Amnesia Brown is a far more esoteric affair than his conventional piano-less quartet debut, Big Wig (Clean Feed, 2008). Eschewing a traditional rhythm section, Knuffke is joined by fellow members of Butch Morris' Nublu Orchestra--legendary Downtown stalwarts Doug Wieselman (on clarinet and electric guitar) and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Through sixteen brief cuts, the trio waxes and wanes from contemplative to impassioned, bounding effortlessly from one mood to the next.

Swinging without constraint, ...

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Curtis Clark, Marilyn Lerner and Chad Taylor: Chasing the Piano

by Clifford Allen
March 12, 2010

November 15, 2010 will mark the 75th anniversary of the first recorded jazz piano-trio session, with pianist Jess Stacy, bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Gene Krupa recording for UK Parlophone ("Barrelhouse" and “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise").

Certainly much has happened in jazz and improvised music since that date, but the piano trio has endured as a popular and very fruitful format. Bill Evans perfected a certain model of harmonic-rhythmic interplay that was, perhaps, much more ...

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Chuck Anderson: Freefall

by Victor L. Schermer
March 12, 2010

Jazz guitarist Chuck Anderson might not be known to a wide audience despite his obvious skills to fascinate. The reason may be that the 62-year old artist's career was extensively disrupted by the theft of his Gibson L5 guitar and a severe case of obstructive sleep apnea that left him feeling like a zombie. When craftsman Eric Schulte offered to reconstruct the L5 and Anderson also found effective treatment for his sleep apnea, he was able to resume his performing ...

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Take Five With Philipp Zarfl

by AAJ Staff
March 12, 2010

Meet Philipp Zarfl: Born 1991 in Wolfsberg/Austria, Philipp started playing trombone at the age of 13 in the local music school. Currently (from 2007 on) he has studied with Andi Mittermayer at the Conservatory in Klagenfurt/Austria. Instrument(s): Trombone, Arrangement, Composition. Teachers and/or influences? My influences are Bill Holman, Phil Kelly, Frank Rosolino, Charlie Parker, Conrad Herwig, Steve Davis, Miles Davis, Michael Gibbs, Kai Winding, Sammy Nestico, Hank Levy, Bob Brookmeyer, ...

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Allison Miller: Boom Tic Boom

by Mark Corroto
March 12, 2010

Just say yes to records led by drummers. Why? Because drummers may rarely be the leaders or composers, but they're always the soul of any good recording. Where's Coltrane without Jones, or Jarrett without DeJohnette? Nowhere. That's why, when a session is commanded by a percussionist, as is Boom Tic Boom by drummer Allison Miller, there is reason to revel.

Miller has held the drum chair for jazz artists such as Marty Ehrlich, Steven Bernstein, George Garzone, Rachel Z, to ...

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Pablo Held: Music

by Dan Bilawsky
March 12, 2010

Using the word “music" as an album title can be viewed as a bold and defining statement . . . or a simple word choice. Whether Held wanted to raise some eyebrows here or he was simply choosing an album title doesn't matter . . . but the music does! Held's original works defy easy description. He doesn't write short, snappy heads and songs that are built on predictable harmonic movement, featuring chorus after chorus of solos. His music is ...

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Part 8 - Knitting Factory rolls out Fela Kuti reissue program (continued)

by Chris May
March 11, 2010

Part 7 of The Afrobeat Diaries reviewed the first three discs in Knitting Factory's launch batch of Fela Kuti reissues, the six-disc “Chop 'N' Quench" batch. The first three discs span the years 1964-72, and follow Kuti's music as it evolved from the highlife-jazz hybrid of the mid 1960s to the almost fully formed Afrobeat of the early 1970s. Part 8 reviews the three discs comprising the second half of the “Chop 'N' Quench" batch, taking the ...