Jazz Articles

like 309

The State of Harry Allen 2010

by C. Michael Bailey
February 16, 2010

Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen is a keeper of the flame. His understated and well- studied saxophone style covers everyone from Frankie Trumbauer to Coleman Hawkins. He is a scholar of melody and vibe, and has the keen ability to interpret standards with an uncanny and swinging precision that should be used as the standard for jazz saxophone. Allen has many notable releases, including, in 2009-2010, New York State of Mind and his appearance on Nilson Matta's Copacabana.

Harry ...

like 508

Amit Chaudhuri: This Is Not Fusion

by Chris May
February 16, 2010

Being opposed to musical fusion in 2010 is a bit like being opposed to digital technology. It appears rather ridiculous, for the comingling of global musical flavors is now practically the norm. It's not a norm shared by the Calcutta-born novelist and poet Amit Chaudhuri, who takes a contrary tack on This Is Not Fusion.

Chaudhuri is a prominent literary figure in Britain, where he is Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia and a ...

like 500

Take Five With Dylan Kay

by AAJ Staff
February 16, 2010

Meet Dylan Kay: Bandleader and guitarist Dylan Kay was educated at Berklee College of Music, the Guitar Institute and Oxford University. He has studied with some of the world's finest jazz teachers, including Mick Goodrick, Hal Crook, David Tronzo, Tim Miller and Richie Hart. Dylan has performed extensively in Boston, USA and throughout the UK, leading his own bands and performing with others, including working as musical director for US jazz singer Ellen O'Brien. Instrument(s):Guitar.

like 351

Whitney James: The Nature of Love

by Jakob Baekgaard
February 16, 2010

Taking the step into professional jazz singing can be a test, but the challenge is gracefully overcome in this debut, The Nature of Love, by the young female singer Whitney James. In fact, it is hard to believe that this is James' first recording. The sculpted lines of her sensual, smoky voice could be mistaken for those of a seasoned diva who knows exactly when to break into the higher register and how to create intimacy through a whisper.

like 434

The Imagined Village: Empire & Love

by Eyal Hareuveni
February 16, 2010

The English ensemble The Imagined Village fuses the logic of American folk troubadour Woody Guthrie who was quoted as saying “What Goes Around Comes Around." A similar inspiration and motivation drove legendary English folk bands such as Fairport Convention to reinterpret historical ballads and the Incredible String Band to delve into cross-cultural experimentation back in the late 1960s. This ensemble updates and recharges some old and surprisingly recent gems from the rich English folk songbook in a much more multicultural ...

like 236

Rodrigo Amado: Motion Trio

by Glenn Astarita
February 16, 2010

Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado is one of the busier and more productive European jazz improvisers. He follows up his superfine trio release, The Abstract Truth (European Echoes, 2009), with a new and equally explosive rhythm section. Here, cellist Miguel Mira and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini replace eminent improvisers, bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love.

Amado--a prolific artist who often records for the increasingly noteworthy Portugal-based Clean Feed Records amid touring jaunts in the USA--is a formidable player who ...

like 775

Mose Allison: Back in the (Studio) Saddle

by R.J. DeLuke
February 16, 2010

Mose Allison, the singer/songwriter blues/jazz man from the Mississippi Delta, has reached the age of 82. He's packed into that lifetime some 60 years in the music business and on the road. He's still playing more than 100 club and concert dates a year, from New York to California, across the pond in England and elsewhere.He's recorded steadily during those years, his albums all well received in the jazz community by critics and fans alike. But over the ...

like 492

Charlie Mariano: The Great Concert

by John Kelman
February 15, 2010

When expat American woodwind multi-instrumentalist Charlie Mariano passed away in the summer of 2009 at the age of 85, his death--like much of his life--seemed sadly lost in the shuffle in North America. The expat American--who relocated to Europe in the early 1970d-- should have cemented an international reputation with his early alto work with Stan Kenton and pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi; all the more his tenure in German bassist Eberhard Weber's Colours group and Pork Pie, a fusion group with ...

like 1,214

Joe Locke: Versatile Vibes Master

by R.J. DeLuke
February 15, 2010

Jazz has a history of inclusiveness, accepting the influences of music from around the globe. It also knows no boundaries when it comes to instrumentation, accommodating all kinds of axes if they are played in the spirit of jazz. Rufus Harley even brought the unlikely bagpipes into the lexicon, playing the sound of surprise on the cumbersome instrument.

Is it broad enough to welcome its first virtuoso glockenspielist... glockenspieler? ... glockenspielarian? Alas, the world may ...

like 735

Pat Metheny Orchestrion Tour: Soaring in the Netherlands

by Phillip Woolever
February 15, 2010

Pat Metheny Orchestrion Frits Philips Music Center Eindhoven, Netherlands February 12, 2010 How much soul can you get from a solenoid? Plenty, if you're guitarist--and now orchestrion arranger--Pat Metheny.

Soul had been the subject separating hope from hype as Metheny's Orchestrion Tour started to roll across Europe. News coverage of Metheny's recently released album--Orchestrion (Nonesuch, 2010)--provided considerable marketing impetus and Metheny's instincts have taken it from there. This is a ...