Jazz Articles

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SFJAZZ Collective: Live 2009

by John Ferrell
December 26, 2009

From its formation in 2004, SFJAZZ Collective has demonstrated a unique ability to showcase individual talent while simultaneously maintaining a unified ensemble sound. Live 2009 is a magnificent representation of this delicate balance. The Collective's 2009 tour featured compositions by pianist McCoy Tyner arranged by members of the collective, and one original composition by each player.

The arrangements portray the diverse styles and musical backgrounds of the Collective's members, while keeping the spirit of the original recordings. Pianist Renee Rosnes' ...

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Evan Parker Residency with McPhee, Shipp, Zorn, Courvoisier, et al. at The Stone, NYC

by Gordon Marshall
December 26, 2009

Evan Parker Residency The Stone East Village, Manhattan New York, New York October 1-16, 2009

Rivaled only, in recent memory, by Cecil Taylor's 1988 “Kongresshalle" collaborations in Berlin,* Evan Parker's residency at The Stone in East Village, Manhattan was, like those, a string of assorted and inventive pairings. In this case the participants were largely fixtures of the “downtown scene," the term given to a loosely associated scattering of Manhattan jazz, and ...

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Gong: 2032

by Chris M. Slawecki
December 26, 2009

Forty years have passed since Gong united in Paris, one of the cultural aftershocks of the city's student riots in May 1968. 2032 brings them back from the future and splashes them down in the instrumental jam-band scene that they originally helped create with their unique blend of progressive rock and jazz instrumentals, experimental electronics, eastern/western fusions, and self-depreciating humor. “2032 is the year that the Planet Gong makes full contact with the Planet Earth, and a major new chapter ...

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Peter Bernstein

by A. Henkin
December 26, 2009

Last month, Peter Bernstein arrived at Smalls, armed with his guitar and a small amp, to play an intimate solo gig. The crowd was a good one for an early evening set on a Wednesday and was bolstered by the presence of legendary trombonist Roswell Rudd. As the Yankees were winning the World Series a borough away, Bernstein was deciding tunes on the spot, running through pieces like “It Could Happen To You" and Monk numbers like “Light Blue" and ...

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Terry Clarke: It's About Time

by Jerry D'Souza
December 26, 2009

Drummer Terry Clarke has had a long and illustrious career. Born in Vancouver, Canada, Clarke moved to San Francisco in 1965 to play with John Handy III. Jazz at the time was not an all-encompassing passion, and when the opportunity to play with pop vocal group The Fifth Dimension came about, he took it. Five years later in 1970, he moved to Toronto. From then on he has been a ubiquitous presence on over 400 recordings, playing with the likes ...

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Organamix: Groovin' at Groove Junction

by Ian Patterson
December 25, 2009

The Hammond organ is 75 this year. The classic Hammond B3 model has had an illustrious half century and the story of jazz is studded with famous practitioners. Since the B3 came off the production line in the 1970s it has been replaced by clone-wheel models using advanced sound modeling technology, which have the advantage of being much easier to transport than the 250kg B3 and accompanying rotor speaker. Importantly, as the B3 becomes a museum piece the sound thankfully ...

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The Marcus Shelby Orchestra Plays the Douglas Beach House, Half Moon Bay California

by Bill Leikam
December 25, 2009

Marcus ShelbyDouglas Beach HouseSan FranciscoNovember 15, 2009Fifteen jazz musicians gathered onstage at the Douglas Beach House (home to the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society) November 15 to perform numbers from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn as well as original compositions by the orchestra's band leader, Marcus Shelby. The compositions were part of the yet-to-be-completed series of tunes inspired by the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement. Not only did ...

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Bill Dixon: Tapestries for Small Orchestra

by John Sharpe
December 25, 2009

Back in 2007 Firehouse 12 Records announced itself in an audacious declaration of intent with release of Anthony Braxton's 9 CD+DVD box set Nine Compositions 2006. Now in a move of similar ambition the label has gone someway to redressing the imbalance in composer/trumpeter Bill Dixon's recorded output, with this handsome two CD + DVD set which is undoubtedly one of the events of the year. It follows hot on the heels of two other important orchestral works in a ...

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FMP Records: A Snapshot of German Jazz History

by Clifford Allen
December 25, 2009

Much like in the United States, the jazz revolution in Europe was at the hands of not only a group of very forward thinking musicians, but also some incredibly vanguard record labels. One crucial difference, however, is that in Europe, some of the most important labels were collectives partly instituted by the musicians themselves, as well as their close sympathizers. In England were Incus and Ogun, in Holland was the Instant Composers' Pool (ICP), and in Germany the new music ...

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Grateful Dead: Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings

by Doug Collette
December 25, 2009

Grateful Dead Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings Grateful Dead Productions 2009

There's an uncommon clarity to every aspect of Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings. David Fricke's essay captures the essence of the activities, even if he overreaches a bit in his description of the sensation. The photos in the booklet and cigar box graphics are of a band in good health and high spirits (no gray hair in an array of hirsute ...