Jazz Articles

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Rakalam Bob Moses: Father's Day B'hash

by Lyn Horton
February 3, 2010

Accepting the offer of a fellow instructor at the New England Conservatory for free studio time, drummer Rakalam Bob Moses assembled a band of evolving musicians and longtime collaborator Stan Strickland (tenor saxophonist and clarinetist), to record, on June 16, 2006, Father's Day B'Hash. Moses proposed ideas for saxophonists Strickland, Ommudra Thomas Arabia, Nick Videen, Luis Rosa and Petr Cancura, violinist Andrei Matorin, bassist Justin Purtill and trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud yet asked that free expression be the guiding force.

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Bill Bruford: The Autobiography Excerpt: Chapter 10: Is it different, being in jazz?

by Bill Bruford
February 2, 2010

[Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from Bill Bruford's The Autobiography, first published in 2009 by Jawbone Press, but receiving the deluxe treatment in two very limited edition hardcovers by England's Foruli Limited Edition Books and Records in the fall of 2011. In his book, the veteran drummer--beginning in art rock bands including Yes and King Crimson but, over the a 40-year career, gradually moved towards where he wanted to be all along: jazz--describes his own experiential differences straddling ...

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Forbes Graham: Magenta Haze

by Gordon Marshall
February 2, 2010

Forbes Graham isn't hell-bent on taking the jazz world over by fiat. Then again, a sterling tone like Louis Armstrong's, a sense of stride and a sidewinder sleekness position him to do so. He brings spot-on timing, inherited from his key precursor, Don Cherry, into the icy age of post jazz--and swings, too, situated comfortably within the classic idiom.It is a prismatic phenomenon, his playing. Shades and tints channel through his trumpet, an ever-shifting panoply--not so ...

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Phil Kelly and the NW Prevailing Winds; Eric Essix and the Night Flight Big Band; University of North Texas Two O'Clock Lab Band

by Jack Bowers
February 2, 2010

Phil Kelly & the Northwest Prevailing Winds Ballet of the Bouncing Beagles Origin Records 2009

The Ballet of the Bouncing Beagles, Marius Nordal writes in the liner notes to composer / arranger Phil Kelly's latest recording, “was inspired by an actual photograph of Phil's two beagles jumping up in the air together in his backyard." Brushing aside the source, what is important is that “Beagles" is a brilliant chart--as are all the others on ...

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Roscoe Mitchell / David Wessel: Contact

by John Sharpe
February 2, 2010

While esteemed reedman Roscoe Mitchell has appeared in any number of challenging settings, this marks his first documented encounter with electronics. Not that this is a recent move, more that the fruits of his collaboration with David Wessel have not seen the light of day until now. They first met back in 1968 when Mitchell, along with other members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, moved into the house next door to Wessel's California home. Over the years projects included ...

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Joe Locke at Dizzy's in NYC, January 26, 2010

by Ernest Barteldes
February 2, 2010

Joe Locke Dizzy's Club New York, New York January 26, 2010

Columbus Circle and Central Park South were the backdrop for Joe Locke and his band (Geoffrey Keezer: piano; George Mraz: bass; Clarence Penn: drums; Kenny Washington, vocals) as they began their six-day residence at Dizzy's Club in New York City, coming not long after the release of the vibraphonist's For The Love Of You (Koch, 2009).

After a brief introduction, the band ...

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Marion Brown: Why Not?

by Raul d'Gama Rose
February 2, 2010

Marion Brown is often referred to as America's greatest unknown musician and this he very well is. His output has been small, but his wonderful alto horn can be heard on some of the finest records made--notably on Archie Shepp's Fire Music (Impulse, 1965) and with John Coltrane on Ascension (Impulse, 1965). And then there have been his own fine recordings for ESP Disk, including Why Not? which is being re-released on the forward-thinking label for the first time since ...

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Komeda Project: Requiem

by Eyal Hareuveni
February 2, 2010

Komeda Project's Requiem is released 40 years after the untimely death of the great Polish composer and pianist Krzysztof Komeda, best known for his original soundtracks to Roman Polanski's films Knife in the Water and Rosemary's Baby, as well as his work with great Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. The European-American Komeda ensemble--pianist/arranger Andrzej Winnicki, trumpeter Russ Johnson, saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna, and the new rhythm section of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Nasheet Waits--succeeds in updating Komada's compositions by reaching into ...

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Antoinette Montague: Behind the Smile

by Woodrow Wilkins
February 2, 2010

With every smile is a story. Singer Antoinette Montague explores this concept with Behind the Smile, a collection of 13 songs that represent things that have influenced the smiles in her life. A native of Newark, New Jersey, Montague has performed at a variety of venues, including Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Jazzmobile's Summer Breeze concert series and the Zebra Room in Harlem's Lenox Lounge. Accompanying her on this effort are woodwind player Bill Easley, pianist ...

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Soren Bebe Trio: From Out Here

by Jakob Baekgaard
February 2, 2010

Like the derelict buildings that are placed in the background on the cover of From Out Here, Danish pianist Søren Bebe's music carries the timely imprint of a melancholy longing that arises from neglect and the sense of a void that can't be filled. But it is also imbued with sweetness and nostalgia, another aspect of historical time. Bebe previously released Searching (Music Mecca, 2008), with bassist Niels Ryde and drummer Anders Mogensen; here the trio refines ...