Jazz Articles

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Lull: The Zipper

by Glenn Astarita
January 29, 2010

Excitement, expert musicianship and vigor are fused into an adventurous program via these four European instrumentalists, who reunite after life's circumstances separated them approximately four years ago. In practical terms, the group moniker might serve as the antithesis of what the quartet has to offer. Indeed, they are not aiming to lull anyone into some form of cosmic bliss.

The quartet sows the seeds for avant chamber jazz and semi-structured song forms to complement their bustling improv attack. ...

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R.E.M.: R.E.M.: Reckoning-Deluxe Edition

by Doug Collette
January 29, 2010

Has there ever been an American rock band with more natural chemistry than the original four-man lineup of R.E.M.? Listening to both discs of the Deluxe Edition of Reckoning, initially released in 1984, it's hard to think of a group more in tune with itself and its audience at this point in its career than R.E.M.

In his extensive liner notes to the double-disc package, Tony Fletcher makes point after notable point about the quartet's good-natured willfulness, and the iconoclasm ...

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Fringe Magnetic: Empty Spaces

by Chris May
January 28, 2010

Trumpeter Rory Simmons' Fringe Magnetic was a highlight of the F-IRE Collective's festival launching London's smart new concert venue, Kings Place, in late 2008. Now we have the CD, which is released by F-IRE's fraternal co-activists, the LOOP Collective. The distinction between these two collectives, never rigid, is becoming increasingly blurred, as musicians move to and fro between them: see, for instance, the review of the John Turville Trio's Midas (F-IRE, 2010). It's all good.

Fringe Magnetic has ...

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Charlie Banacos: Recollections of a Legend

by Mike Brannon
January 28, 2010

"You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" --Joni Mitchell

“There are a dozen ways to hit a key." --Charlie Banacos

How do you say goodbye to someone who truly changed you; someone who you know caused you to be a better person just for having known them? How do you say goodbye to someone you came to love and respect for their brilliance and sense of humor, who also made you the best musician you could ...

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Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: I Speak Fula

by Chris May
January 28, 2010

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba I Speak Fula Sub Pop! 2010 Much has been made of the symbiosis between traditional Malian and roots North American musics, of which the “desert blues" of guitarist Ali Farka Toure (1939-2006) provides convincing evidence. Any remaining doubts about west African savannah-belt culture as a primary source of blues, country and rock'n'roll styles are blown out of the water by I Speak Fula, the truly awesome second ...

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Hadley Caliman: Straight Ahead

by John Barron
January 28, 2010

Seattle-based saxophonist Hadley Caliman returns to the recording studio with his working band for Straight Ahead, the follow-up to his superb Gratitude (Origin, 2008). Aided by trumpeter/producer Thomas Marriott, pianist Eric Verlinde, bassist Phil Sparks and drummer Matt Jorgensen, the 78-year old Caliman charges head-on through a set of standards, jazz classics and original gems. The disc opens with the listener-friendly “Cigar Eddie," an old school boogaloo--Caliman wrote the tune in the 1960s while living in Los Angeles--with ...

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Guitarist Terrence Brewer Quartet Plays the Douglas Beach House

by Bill Leikam
January 28, 2010

The Terrance Brewer QuartetThe Douglas Beach HouseEl Granada, CaliforniaThe storm had already hit--waves were lashing the boulders along the beach just outside the Douglas Beach House (aka The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society)--when jazz guitarist Terrence Brewer and his quartet (Wayne De La Cruz on the B3 organ, Jim Grantham on sax and Micah McClain on drums) took the stage to a nearly full house. Brewer's playlist came primarily from last year's Groovin' Wes (Strong Brew Music, ...

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Matt Vashlishan: No Such Thing

by John Kelman
January 28, 2010

With more and more young players releasing their debuts, it's no small challenge to filter one's way to the top of the growing pile of CDs released each month. Saxophonist Matt Vashlishan couldn't have chosen a better route than on No Such Thing. Recruiting three-fourths of saxophonist Dave Liebman's stellar group--not just one of jazz's hardest working quartets, but one of its most exciting as well--including Liebman, ever-versatile guitarist Vic Juris, and effortlessly swinging bassist Tony Marino, would be enough. ...

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Take Five With Franck Amsallem

by AAJ Staff
January 28, 2010

Meet Franck Amsallem: Mickey Mac: Franck Amsallem has been a professional pianist and composer for over 30 years. As a leader he has released seven cds, all of which have received rare critical acclaim. His sideman credits have included some of the great names in jazz: Gerry Mulligan, Charles Lloyd, Gary Bartz, Sonny Fortune, Bobby Watson, Jerry Bergonzi, Rick Margitza, Tim Ries, Joe Chambers, Maria Schneider, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Harry Belafonte. He has played many venues throughout the ...

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ROPE: Fabrizio Puglisi / Stefano Senni / Zeno De Rossi: Saints And Sinners

by Mark Corroto
January 28, 2010

All jazz trios are charged with the command to “make it new," and very few accomplish that directive. Some impersonate the giants of jazz, while others play a parody--massacring styles in the name of modernizing the sound. Neither is the case for the trio known as ROPE. Pianist Fabrizio Puglisi, bassist Stefano Senni, and drummer Zeno De Rossi regenerate the music of Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, W.C. Handy, John Lewis, and Bill Frisell with a vitality and passion for trio ...