Jazz Articles

like 408

Joe Zawinul: Money In The Pocket

by Chris May
February 4, 2010

Recorded in late 1965, while keyboard player Joe Zawinul was still a member of saxophonist Cannonball Adderley's band, Money In The Pocket is a remarkable album--remarkable in that gives absolutely no hint of the shape shifts that would transform Zawinul's work a few years later. The first of three albums he recorded for Atlantic, it's a conventional mix of mid-1960s hard bop and soul jazz. Trumpeter Miles Davis' revolutionary In A Silent Way (CBS), recorded in early 1969, which featured ...

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February 2010

by AAJ Staff
February 4, 2010

Jack DeJohnette BirdlandNew York, NY January 5, 2010When Jack DeJohnette hires double-neck guitarist David “Fuze" Fiuczynski and acclaimed altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa as the frontline in his new quintet, he's probably signaling an intention to shred. The legendary drummer did exactly that when he debuted the new Jack DeJohnette Group at Birdland (Jan. 5th), completing his lineup with George Colligan (now living in Winnipeg) on keyboards and longtime associate Jerome Harris on bass. This was ...

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JD Walter: Live at the 55 Bar

by Victor L. Schermer
February 4, 2010

JD Walter is an outstanding contemporary vocalist with six superb CDs already to his credit. Strongly influenced by Betty Carter and Milton Nascimento--themselves true originals--Walter is a dedicated artist who has stretched the singer's palette, increasing the range of vocalizations and emotions available for interpretation and improvisation. In Live at the 55 Bar, representing sets that were recorded at Greenwhich Village's famed 55 Bar in New York City, Walter capitalizes, in particular, on his skillful use of sound-synthesizing devices.

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Jesper Bodilsen: Short Stories For Dreamers

by Jakob Baekgaard
February 4, 2010

One of the major musical events of 2009 was the international breakthrough of Italian pianist Stefano Bollani's Danish trio with bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund. The release of Stone in the Water (ECM, 2009) underlined Bodilsen's unlimited potential, who not only played meticulously, but also contributed two of the album's most beautiful compositions, “Orvieto" and “Edith."

On Short Stories For Dreamers, released on the Danish Stunt label, Bodilsen is on the top of the bill, but the album ...

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Marc Copland: Alone

by Edward Blanco
February 4, 2010

Pianist Marc Copland goes it Alone with his first solo album on the German Pirouet label and the follow-up to his highly regarded Hatology solo disc, Time Within Time (2005). Alone follows the last of his New York Trio recordings Night Whispers (2009), where the pianist was joined by bassist Drew Gress and drummer Bill Stewart; and his most recent duet of 13 soft impressionistic pieces with fellow Pirouet recording artist, bassist Gary Peacock, Insight (2009). After performing with the ...

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Pat Metheny: Orchestrion

by Nenad Georgievski
February 4, 2010

In Pat Metheny's career, stylistic shifts and sudden breaks from the norm occur more often than not. Even though it is evident that he is rooted in jazz, his music encompasses so much more. With the exception of few records, Metheny has been playing it pretty safe for some time now, sticking to his own personal vision of variations on the Americana/jazz theme. Pat Metheny Group's The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005) and his jazz trio's Day Trip ...

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Frank Glover: Politico

by AAJ Staff
February 4, 2010

First released independently but now re-released by Owl Studios, classically trained clarinetist Frank Glover's Politico is a smashing debut; an atmospheric, concatenated narrative.

The clarinet is a peculiar wind instrument with a smooth, sometimes guttural sound that's either loved or hated. Not as bold as a trumpet, it could get overwhelmed in a quartet setting, or at least take a back seat, as it does sometimes in a classical Philharmonic orchestra. Not so with Glover's hands ...

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Nellie McKay: Normal As Blueberry Pie - A Tribute To Doris Day

by Andrew Velez
February 4, 2010

Listening to Normal As Blueberry Pie, one might say Nellie McKay is not a traditional jazz singer, whatever that is. In the case of this “Tribute to Doris Day," she's just good and also a lot of fun. Musically, McKay's voice can be feathery at times and, like Day, she has perfect pitch and an optimistic delivery that sounds effortless. All but one of the songs are drawn from the hundreds that Day recorded, from her big band days to ...

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Ullmann / Swell Quartet: News? No News!

by John Sharpe
February 4, 2010

In these days of global jazz alliances, the partnership of downtown trombonist Steve Swell and German reedman Gebhard Ullmann won't raise too many eyebrows. More noteworthy is its endurance, spanning some six years since its auspicious inception with Desert Songs and Other Landscapes (CIMP, 2004). Swell is also a fixture in Ullmann's Basement Research band, another combo that shows similar staying power. News? No News!, a studio date on Berlin's Jazzwerkstatt imprint, constitutes a worthy successor to the CIMP, featuring ...

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Dave Douglas: Constellations

by Martin Longley
February 4, 2010

This reissue harks back to a time when trumpeter Dave Douglas seemingly operated within a more extreme zone of jazz improvisation. When this 1995 set was recorded at Radio DRS in Zurich, the trio had been together for three years, Douglas having built up a tight bond with guitarist Brad Shepik and drummer Jim Black but such a lightning closeness didn't tend to occlude the threesome's unique playing characters. To compartmentalize loosely each member's area of expertise ...