Jazz Articles

like 229

The Trio: "Live" @ Charlie O's

by Dan Bilawsky
February 28, 2010

High-brow concept albums and lofty recording projects seem to come out every day and many people tend to get hung up on ideas, overlooking the fact that actual musicianship is also central to the art of creating music of substance. Sometimes, some of the most satisfying musical moments simply arrive when like-minded musicians sit down and play together. This would appear to be the case with “Live" @ Charlie O's. Drummer Peter Erskine, bassist Chuck Berghofer, and pianist Terry Trotter ...

like 338

Claudio Roditi: Simpatico

by Larry Taylor
February 28, 2010

Fresh off his 2009 success with the Grammy-nominated Brazilliance x4 (Resonance), Claudio Roditi has released the stand-out Simpatico. As well as his peerless skills on trumpet, this CD shows off his writing talent with several originals in a samba/bossa groove, as well as some solid straight-ahead tunes.

From the Brazilian jazz tradition, Roditi has established himself as one of today's top players and leaders. His style easily integrates post-bop elements and Brazilian rhythmic concepts. He plays throughout with ...

like 564

Larry Ochs: The Celestial Septet & We All Feel The Same Way

by Marc Medwin
February 28, 2010

ROVA Sax Quartet/Nels Cline SingersThe Celestial SeptetNew World Records2010 Jones JonesWe All Feel The Same WaySoLyd2010 The synchronicity and boundless energy that separate great groupwork from everything else pervades these two new additions to multi-instrumentalist and composer Larry Ochs' already formidable discography. He has always negotiated the permeable boundaries between improvisation and composition with ...

like 326

Pete Lockett's Network of Sparks featuring Bill Bruford: One

by John Kelman
February 28, 2010

Released in 1999 on the obscure Melt 2000 label, Bill Bruford's reissue of fellow percussionist Pete Lockett's One continues the now retired drum legend's campaign to release and/or reissue works focusing on the clearly infinite rhythmic, melodic and textural potentials of all-percussion ensembles. One follows the World Drummers Ensemble's world-centric A Coat of Many Colors (Summerfold, 2006) and New Percussion Group of Amsterdam's near-classical Go Between (Summerfold, 2007), which reissued a 1987 EG Records date. For fans of Bruford 's ...

like 395

Bill McHenry: Bloom & Narrow Margin

by Martin Longley
February 28, 2010

Ben Monder/Bill McHenryBloomSunnyside Records2010 Andrew GreenNarrow MarginMicrophonic2009 Brooklyn tenor man Bill McHenry can teeter on the lip of sonic extremity, but he's also well-versed in the art of post-Coleman Hawkins full-bodied-ness. These albums reveal him in two remarkably contrasting modes. McHenry's Bloom duo disc with guitarist Ben Monder is completely dedicated to mood and ...

like 168

Marion Brown: Why Not?

by Jerry D'Souza
February 28, 2010

Alto saxophonist Marion Brown came off playing with John Coltrane on Ascension (Impulse!, 1965) when he recorded two albums for ESP Disk. On the first, his eponymous 1966 release, the music was fiery and free-wheeling, underscoring Brown's presence as a potent improviser.

His second, Why Not?, saw him take a more altruistic approach. He moved away from the semantics of the first album, where he used two bassists--Ronnie Boykins and Reggie Johnson--to a conventional quartet with bassist Norris “Sirone" Jones, ...

like 544

Marilyn Lerner: Arms Spread Wide & Ugly Beauties

by A. Henkin
February 28, 2010

Marilyn Lerner/Ken Filiano/Lou GrassiArms Spread WideNo Business2009 Marilyn Lerner/Matt Brubeck/Nick FraserUgly BeautiesActuelle2009 A quick perusal of Canadian pianist Marilyn Lerner's website presents a musician whose projects are both typically and atypically diverse. Usually range demonstrates itself in working with a large pool of other musicians; Lerner certainly has that, whether it is with the ...

like 282

Globe Unity: Holland

by A. Henkin
February 28, 2010

Ab Baars/Ig Henneman/Misha MengelbergSliptongWig2009 Wolter WierbosDeiningDolFijn2009 Michiel BraamNon-Functionals!BBB2009 Dutch jazz has been around since the 1920s and changed radically in the aftermath of World War II and Nazi Occupation. Today, there is great variety and vibrancy in this country of just over six million people's jazz ...

like 439

Piano & Violin: Jorge Lima Barreto/Carlos Zingaro; Borah Bergman/Stefano Pastor & Minamo

by Marc Medwin
February 28, 2010

Jorge Lima Barreto/Carlos ZingaroKits 2Numerica2009 Borah Bergman/Stefano PastorLive at TortonaMutable2009 MinamoKuroi Kawa--Black RiverTzadik2010 Here are three very different takes on the traditional grouping of piano and violin and, despite 'free jazz' tendencies, all are rooted in the romantic chamber music originally associated with the pairing. The ...

like 531

Basoons: EA Silence; Patrick Bebelaar/Joe Fonda/Mike Rabinowitz; Katherine Young & Daniel Smith

by Fred Bouchard
February 28, 2010

EA SilenceCono di Ombra e LuceAmirani2009 Patrick Bebelaar/Joe Fonda/Mike RabinowitzThe Four O'Clock SessionDML2009 Katherine YoungFurther Secret OriginsPorter2009 Daniel SmithBlue BassoonSummit2009 Illinois Jacquet and Yusef Lateef have played and recorded on bassoon--that cantankerous double-reed beast--with swing and conviction. How's ...