Jazz Articles
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Jan Gunnar Hoff: Magma
by John Kelman
Keyboardist Jan Gunnar Hoff may not have the international visibility of fellow keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft, but with a growing discography dating back to the mid-1990s and including, most recently, the powerfully fusion-esque Jungle City (Alessa, 2009), with fellow countryman/bassist Per Mathisen and ex-Weather Report percussionist/drummer Alex Acuna, that deserves to change. At the core of the eminently accessible yet equally deep Magma is a Norwegian posse that includes drummer Audun Kleive and bassist Bjørn Kjellemyr--two-thirds of guitarist Terje Rypdal's internationally ...
Continue Reading...Paul Meyers: Paul Meyers Quartet featuring Frank Wess
by Bruce Lindsay
Guitarist Paul Meyers' stated intention with Paul Meyers Quartet featuring Frank Wess was to create “a relaxed, straight-ahead jazz CD," and with the assistance of some delightful sax and flute from NEA Jazz Master Frank Wess he has succeeded admirably. The mix of standards and originals is thoughtfully put together and the end result is a feel-good and sophisticated album (which was originally released on Meyers' own PCM label in 2008). This is a rich, accessible recording. ...
Continue Reading...Paul Meyers: Paul Meyers Quartet Featuring Frank Wess
by Raul d'Gama Rose
This record, very simply titled, brings together two fine musicians. One is Paul Meyers, the stylish nylon-string guitarist who adorns the music of Jon Hendricks, and the legendary Frank Wess, a tenor saxophonist and flutist with perhaps the most burnished vocal styles on both instruments. This in itself, achieves a sort of Zen-like Nirvana while soaking in the exquisite exchanges between the two. Then to add the deeply moving, regal baritone of Andy Bey on “Lazy Afternoon" is like a ...
Continue Reading...Zora Young: The French Connection
by Nic Jones
In Zora Young's case the “connection" isn't superficial, and her twenty plus tours of France prove it. Bobby Dirninger is the principal instrumentalist on this album and he's made the journey (or should that be pilgrimage?) only the other way around. It's clear that his transatlantic trips haven't been wasted either, as he provides Young with a backing which is both in the pocket and loose enough to suggest a musician who knows instinctively that there's more to the blues ...
Continue Reading...Four In One: Monk From Four Different Angles
by Dan Bilawsky
Superstitions tend to hold sway over many, otherwise, rational people. Plenty of us avoid walking under ladders, knock on wood and partake in countless other rituals that, while lacking in sound reasoning, certainly make us feel better and bring us comfort in our daily lives. Brides-to-be even fall into this category and believe that it will bring them luck to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue on their wedding day.While each of ...
Continue Reading...Abdullah Ibrahim & The WDR Big Band, Cologne: Bombella
by Raul d'Gama Rose
The emotion of an Abdullah Ibrahim record can be pleasantly overpowering. Bombella, featuring Cologne's WDR Big Band--arranged and conducted by Steve Gray--overpowers with both passion and majesty. From score to large soundstage, Ibrahim translates his regal persona into some of the most memorable music he has ever written, including African Symphony (Enja/JustinTime, 2001), African Suite (Tiptoe, 2001) and Ekapa Lodumo (Tiptoe, 2001). Although the pianist himself cites Senzo (Sunnyside, 2009) as a wellspring for Bombella, listening to this record is ...
Continue Reading...Harry Skoler: Two Ones
by Dan Bilawsky
Two Ones--the title of clarinetist Harry Skoler's fourth CD--clearly alludes to the musical rapport between Skoler and vibraphonist/pianist Ed Saindon, in addition to referencing the way the album is divided into quintet and duo recordings. Skoler and Saindon have been working together for more than fifteen years and have developed a deep musical connection during that time. This album is a faculty-friend affair, with all five musicians on this date being faculty members at the Berklee College of Music, and ...
Continue Reading...High Octane Free Improv: Adam Caine Trio & Vinny Golia/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter
by Clifford Allen
History paints an image of high energy rock music and free improvisation as having very little to do with one another--which isn't surprising considering the fact that heavily-amplified rock power trios were marketed as improvisation-heavy blues for mostly white audiences (giving saxophonist Albert Ayler short shrift). When jazz musicians like drummer Tony Williams and guitarist John McLaughlin opted for rock music and signed to major labels such as Columbia, purists saw it as selling out. This despite the fact that ...
Continue Reading...Phil Kelly & the Northwest Prevailing Winds: Ballet of the Bouncing Beagles
by Dan McClenaghan
Phil Kelly spent four decades working the sunny Los Angeles trenches as a composer/arranger for film and television. He wrote music, as well, for more than five hundred television commercials. That was probably a heck of a nice way to pay the rent and put bread and butter on the table. But since his semi-retirement, he has moved into what surely must be his first musical love: big band writing and arranging.Kelly has produced two previous big band ...
Continue Reading...Dave King: Indelicate
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Indelicate has nothing to do with a musician, who plays one instrument, feeling compelled to make an album playing another--alone, or together with his instrument of choice. It is about expanding the sound canvas by using a palette to create a broader range of tonal color and textures. It really ought to have nothing to do with angst either. In the end it can be driven by an emotional belief or socio-political persuasion that becomes a kind of manifesto. Indelicate ...
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