Jazz Articles

like 282

Take Five With Frank Barton

by AAJ Staff
February 14, 2010

Meet Frank Barton:Active in music since the 1980s, Frank is currently recording and playing music in Hawaii. In 2009, he recorded “Kodiak Shoreline" in Alaska- a collection of original instrumental compositions. He is the electric guitarist for the New York based band Funky Blue Muskrats--playing a mix of original material and songs by artists including the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix--and in 2008 he performed live with the Kodiak Rock All Stars in Alaska. Instrument(s):

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Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Forty Fort

by Raul d'Gama Rose
February 14, 2010

Several wonderful things distinguish Mostly Other People Do The Killing (MOPDtK) from almost any other band playing today in the long shadows of Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman. These are, in no particular order: a wild humor; an extreme sense of the angular melody; brave harmonies; and a leaping sense of rhythm. None of these pay any direct obsequiousness to the so-called jazz idiom, but they do not have to. The trance-like omnipresence of the drums throughout Forty Fort makes ...

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Kyoko Oyobe Trio: Cookin' At Smalls

by Jerry D'Souza
February 14, 2010

Kyoko Oyobe brings an eclectic presence to her music. As a composer, she finds inspiration in mainstream jazz to which she adds her own classical music perspective. As a pianist, she condenses her thoughts and then lays them out impressively. She does not lose her sense of place or time when doing so, and her instincts are strong enough to let the tunes flourish and make their presence felt.

When Oyobe moved to New York she established herself performing in ...

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Clogs: Veil Waltz

by John Kelman
February 14, 2010

It's been four years since last hearing from Clogs, the quirky neoclassical quartet founded by Padma Newsome. This is the longest gap in the group's decade-long history, largely predicated when the Australian violinist/violist decides to come in from the Outback to reconvene with guitarist Bryce Dessner, bassoonist Rachael Elliott and percussionist Thomas Kozumplik, Americans all. The good news is that this inveterate group--often lumped in with groups like Rachel's and Bell Orchestre, with whom Clogs performed during its last tour ...

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WWOZ: Thirty Years of "Bringing New Orleans Music to the Universe"

by Wade Luquet
February 13, 2010

In a small office just off of the main studio, music director Scott Borne sits among stacks of boxes containing 25,000 CD's with a machine that picks up a CD from a stack, copies it and then digitizes it. The music from that CD will now be safely housed on a server in the second floor studio and offices of public radio station WWOZ located in an historic building on the river in New Orleans. Just in case, the digital ...

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Torben Waldorff: American Rock Beauty

by Mark F. Turner
February 13, 2010

Capitalizing on the continued formula of a cohesive unit and compositions, centered not only around progressive musicianship but also melodic identity, American Rock Beauty further illuminates the dynamism of guitarist Torben Waldorff. Expanding on 2008's well-received Afterburn (ArtistShare), Waldorff confines himself to a stereotypical jazz idiom; his compositional ventures explore American rock, hard-hitting fusion, and poignant lyricism. His potent group continues to feature the pliant rhythm section of bassist Matt Clohesy, drummer Jon Wikan and formidable saxophonist ...

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Grateful Dead: Road Trips Vol.3 No.1

by Doug Collette
February 13, 2010

Grateful Dead Road Trips Vol.3 No.1 Grateful Dead Productions 2009

The Grateful Dead's archive series Road Trips begins its third year somewhat, but not wholly, as it began. Like the first edition, Vol.3 No.1 is another excerpt from the time of keyboardist Brent Mydland's membership of the band. Steve Silberman, in his wide-ranging essay in the liner booklet, reaffirms the high level of inspiration Mydland brought to the group, more validation of which appears ...

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Nils Petter Molvaer: Hamada

by Chris May
February 13, 2010

Despite ample evidence to the contrary, for many people trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær is synonymous with understated, electronica-drenched, ambient music. The perception gets stronger the further the Norwegian's name travels from its home turf, despite his record company's best efforts. In 2006, Sula Records released the fierce, high temperature An American Compilation, partly to increase Molvær's profile in North America, partly to define it more accurately. To little avail. Beyond his core audience, the trumpeter continues to be known as ...

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Take Five With Skii Harvey

by AAJ Staff
February 13, 2010

Meet Skii Harvey:Skii Harvey has been a life long singer/songwriter. Her voice has stopped the likes of Sting and Ricky May in their tracks but it is her songwriting that she holds most dear. Her second album Foolish Girl is a true journey, a journey in music and the story of a journey in life. A smooth blend of NuJazz with a rock/soul edge.Instrument(s):Singer/songwriter. I knew I wanted to be a musician ...

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N. Glenn Davis: Come Right In

by John Patten
February 13, 2010

The N. Glenn Davis Quartet resurrects the sound of classic bebop on Come Right In, presenting a set of 10 tunes arranged by Davis, three enhanced by saxophone giant Phil Woods.

Woods plays magnificently on two Davis originals--the opening “A Different Day" and “Just a Tadd," as well as “If You Could See Me Now." Never at a loss for the right phrase or variation, his playing flows through several choruses on each tune. Woods may ...