Jazz Articles

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Into the Fire: Winter Jazzfest 2010

by Gordon Marshall
January 15, 2010

Winter Jazzfest New York, New York January 8-9, 2010

Fast-forward 30 years from the days in the late 1970s and early '80s when the world-weary wisdom that jazz wasn't a living force anymore was whispered to us--maybe you are getting out of jail, maybe waking from a cryogenic sleep. Before this happened, Mingus had just died, and Miles was out of commission. Now, out free in the world again, you soak up what's new. And it ...

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Nicolas Christian/ Matt Milton/ Eddie Prevost/ Bechir Saade/: A Church Is Only Sacred To Believers

by Mark Corroto
January 15, 2010

Extraordinary free improvisation (and let's face it, the word “extraordinary" is used far too often these days) tends to be sound that reinvents the significance or implications of music. These days, whenever percussionist Eddie Prévost is involved in the process, the extraordinary becomes the custom.

The session in London grew out of Prévost's regular workshop for improvisers, and features fellow Brit violinist Matt Milton, plus Lebanese bass clarinetist Bachir Saade and the French bassist Nicholas Christian. While Milton ...

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Aaron Germain: Before You Go

by John Barron
January 15, 2010

Bassist Aaron Germain has made a point throughout his fifteen-year career as a professional musician to perform in a wide variety of genres. Growing up in Massachusetts and currently residing in San Francisco, Germain infuses the influence of funk, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music to inform a fresh approach to modern jazz. Before You Go features Germain's technical prowess on both upright and electric bass with a stellar crew of sidemen. The disc's ten tracks--all composed by Germain--are high energy romps ...

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Julius Vasylenko: Seeing Stars

by Gordon Marshall
January 15, 2010

Julius Vasylenko has earthy charisma. Because of his accent, people who come into his purlieu immediately assume an association with elite British improvisers. “Did he hang with Derek Bailey?" they wonder...I could say Vasylenko, a multi-reed and saxophonist now based in Boston, was John Butcher's and Evan Parker's kid brother.

However, it feels a bit awkward, as he is like a big brother to me. A brusque, burly gent with curly hair, he has the air ...

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Nicholas Urie: Excerpts From An Online Dating Service

by Eyal Hareuveni
January 15, 2010

Young and gifted American composer/conductor Nicholas Urie had a brilliant idea. Basing his debut suite, Excerpts From An Online Dating Service, on real Internet personal ads collected from cities all over United States and Canada, Urie attempts to transform these coded messages into poetic statements about the current human condition. This is implied by poet and performer Allen Ginsberg's saying that “poetry is everywhere." Urie manages to turn these intimate statements into sympathetic, playful and cleverly orchestrated pieces, but does ...

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A Modest Proposal: Joe Henry's Letter-Writing Campaign Results in Mose Allison's First Record in 12 years

by Jeff Vrabel
January 15, 2010

Joe Henry's strategy for coaxing Mose Allison back to the studio for the first time in twelve years was simple enough: All he had to do was quietly and thoughtfully stalk the jazz icon for a year.

“He kept at it, and kept calling me and emailing and so forth," the 82-year-old Allison said of the courting process by Henry, who received two Grammy nominations this month for his production on Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi and Ramblin' Jack Elliott's ...

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Kristina: Offshore Echoes

by Edward Blanco
January 15, 2010

Oakland singer-songwriter Kristina Smith--who prefers to go by her first name--makes a charming debut with the ambitious Offshore Echoes. Drawing on a multicultural background, she channels music from Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and world rhythms to American music for a varied and rich palette of styles. Kristina is part Angolan, German and Native American (Cherokee Indian), giving her an interesting perspective and a lifetime of multicultural experiences from which to blend different cultural elements and rhythms. The repertoire was a personal choice, ...

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John Zorn: O'o

by Stuart Broomer
January 15, 2010

When John Zorn released The Dreamers (Tzadik) in 2008, it might have seemed like a temporary aberration: Zorn the master of the arbitrary (Cobra), the cutting edge (Torture Garden) and the anarchic (too many projects to mention) had embraced the genres of lounge and 1950s exotica to produce music that, perhaps ironically, approached easy listening, building on the more tuneful elements in his Electric Masada and Morricone projects. It seems the aberration wasn't temporary. On O'o Zorn returns to the ...

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Mike Reed's People, Places & Things: About Us

by Jeff Stockton
January 15, 2010

Mike Reed's People, Places & Things was conceived as a band dedicated to reviving and expanding on aspects of the Chicago jazz scene of the late 1950s, bringing a fresh approach and contemporary ideas to the music of that era. About Us continues in that vein, but as the title states, its focus is more on the band itself. Although led by a drummer, this piano-less quartet puts the dynamics in the hands of saxophonists Tim Haldeman (tenor) and Greg ...

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Ramsey Lewis: Songs from the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey

by Tom Greenland
January 15, 2010

Whether considering his style jazzy pop or popular jazz, Chicagoan Ramsey Lewis has always kept one foot firmly in the jazz mainstream, often tapping to a gospel beat. Here the pianist has recorded an all-original set that will satisfy both audiences by mixing classical elegance with blues preaching. Backed by veteran colleagues, bassist Larry Gray's technical prowess and drummer Leon Joyce's exuberant beats perfectly complement their leader's serene composure.

Culling tunes he wrote for the ballet To Know Her..., and ...