Jazz Articles

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Hamid Drake & Bindu: Reggaeology

by John Sharpe
March 2, 2010

For the first two minutes of atmospheric discourse between the twin trombones of Jeb Bishop and Jeff Albert, and the human beatbox that is Napoléon Maddox, you would be forgiven for thinking that Hamid Drake's Reggaeology was an ironically titled free improv set. But that impression doesn't last. Infectious riddims kick in, based on Bob Marley's “One Drop," and from that point on it's a joyous ride.

As the third disc from the drummer's leadership vehicle, Bindu, Reggaeology continues the ...

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XFest 2010: Real Time Together

by Gordon Marshall
March 2, 2010

Various Artists XFest 2010 119 Gallery, Lowell, Mass. February 26-28, 2010

Call it XFest. Curated by musician Walter Wright and held annually at his 119 Gallery in Lowell, Mass, the pace of it couldn't be closer or faster. Within its three days of rapid-fire sets, musicians who have never played together before and sometimes never met, somehow find common ground--or scintillatingly conflicting ground.

Experts might argue that the best performances rise out of extensive, ...

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Orrin Evans: Faith In Action

by Bruce Lindsay
March 2, 2010

Faith In Action is Orrin Evans' first album on Posi-Tone Records and serves to further enhance the reputation of this New York-based pianist. The album is, in part, a tribute to and interpretation of the music of his friend and mentor, saxophonist Bobby Watson, who contributes five of the twelve tunes. It's a fine tribute, indeed, and demonstrates Evans' own talents as a player and interpreter. Evans' own compositions have immediate impact--especially the opening “Don't Call Me ...

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Pablo Held: Music

by Dan McClenaghan
March 2, 2010

German piano prodigy Pablo Held debuted as a leader with Forest of Oblivion (Pirouet Records, 2009), an album of surprising depth, suffused with a romantic European feeling. Subtle and smooth-flowing, it was full of nuance and smoldering interludes that would, at times, burst into roaring percussive flames. Held was only 21 years of age at the time of this tremendous debut, but his stand-above-the-crowd talent was obvious.Music, the artist's sophomore effort, carries on in the same thoughtful vein. ...

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Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Forty Fort

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 2, 2010

The experience of listening to the highly gifted quartet Mostly Other Do the Killing (MOPDtK) is like taking a ride on roller-coaster while drunk, but still trusting your life in the hands of a wild driver who often has some epileptic fits. It is fun, no doubt; a wild fun, like going to a circus. But after the surprise is over, and MOPDtK continues to surprise with every new release, it's a dizzying experience that can require rest from such ...

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Alberto Pinton / Jonas Kulhammar / Torbjorn Zetterberg / Kjell Nordeson: Chant

by Stuart Broomer
March 2, 2010

This beefy quartet was drawn from existing Stockholm bands by baritone saxophonist/clarinetist Alberto Pinton at the suggestion of Clean Feed producer Pedro Costa. As bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg describes it in his liner note, it's half of his octet, half of tenor and baritone saxophonist Jonas Kullhammar's quartet, half of Kullhammar and drummer Kjell Nordeson's quartet Nacka Forum and more than half of Pinton's quintet. The group that emerges from three days of live recording in Coimbra, Portugal is a free-bop ...

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John Scofield: Shinola

by Tom Greenland
March 2, 2010

John Scofield is documented in his pre-Miles Davis period on Shinola, a 1981 date with Steve Swallow (electric bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). The guitarist's distinctive style is highly developed even at this stage in his career, combining elements of rock and rhythm 'n' blues with post-bop leanings and an uncanny, 'left-handed' lyricism, all colored with a lightly distorted, subtly phase-shifted tone, his legato lines embellished with bent notes, picked octaves and sweet 'n' sour cluster chords. ...

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Jeb Patton: New Strides

by Elliott Simon
March 2, 2010

Jeb Patton has a working association, as does bassist David Wong, with the remaining Heath brothers and drummer Albert “Tootie" and saxophonist Jimmy both make guest appearances on the pianist's latest album. Drummer Pete Van Nostrand rounds out this efficient piano trio on the Heath-less tunes and, while it is clear that Patton is definitely in charge, the band swings with unitary precision. Part of the new breed of pianist that really came of age in the '90s, Patton is ...

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"Chaography": A New Kind of Jazz Film To Be Made

by R.J. DeLuke
March 1, 2010

Who wants to see a movie about jazz musicians that tells a good story, accurately portrays the lives of musicians and contains good, happening music?

Show of hands not necessary. Skepticism understood, based on past history.

Yet that's exactly the lofty goal of young filmmaker Doug Chang, a jazz fan who is hoping to start filming the project by mid-2010 or so. The story will be fiction, but loosely based on five jazz icons. The music ...

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12 Points! Jazz Festival, Stavanger, Norway: Europe's New Jazz

by Ray Comiskey
March 1, 2010

Unless you're into the downtown jazz scene in Gothenburg, chances are that the name Naoko Sakata won't mean a thing to you. And Mari Kvien Brunvoll? Again, you wouldn't have a clue unless you had your ear to the ground, figuratively speaking, in Molde, home of Norway's best-known jazz festival. Or Trio VD? They're named after Valentine's Day, which is rather more romantic than a social disease, though their music is decidedly unsentimental. They come from Leeds, in the UK, ...