Jazz Articles

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Ron Horton: It's A Gadget World...

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
December 9, 2009

Preferring tonal clarity and precise lines, trumpeter Ron Horton eschews the extended manipulations frequently associated with contemporary improvisers. But the warm resonance of his sound and the fluidity of his improvisations ensure that he's never stodgy, as evidenced on this fourth CD as a leader. While the title plays with the notion of preoccupation with the latest electronic toys, the music illustrates the enduring pliability and vibrancy of a taut acoustic quartet. Often minimal, the tunes have ...

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Kurt Rosenwinkel: Reflections from Berlin

by Franz A. Matzner
December 9, 2009

Broadly acknowledged as one of jazz's foremost artists, Kurt Rosenwinkel has established a reputation as an innovator and constant seeker on the guitar. He has carved out a unique sound over many years of experiment and refinement and today commands respect for his singular voice as a player and bandleader. As a follow-up to the successful double live album The Remedy (ArtistShare, 2008), Rosenwinkel recently released Reflections (Wommusic, 2009), an elegant collection of standards. Rosenwinkel spoke about this ...

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Ulrich Gumpert / Gunter Baby Sommer: Das Donnernde Leben

by Mark Corroto
December 8, 2009

Collaborations between pianists and drummers often evolve around a unique chemistry creating interesting works of art. Such is the case with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink, Matthew Ship and Guillermo E. Brown, and Louis Moholo-Moholo and Marilyn Crispell. There's also Cecil Taylor and Tony Oxley, Paul Lovens, Jackson Krall or Max Roach). Add pianist Ulrich Gumpert and drummer Günter Baby Sommer to that list.

Maybe the closest comparison that can be made from to the music heard on ...

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Partisans: Blowing a Storm in Cyberspace

by Bruce Lindsay
December 8, 2009

Partisans has been gigging in cyberspace--playing a virtual nightclub in Second Life. Over 13 years and four acclaimed albums, Partisans has developed a strong reputation as one of the most exciting and innovative bands on the British jazz scene. One of the band's strengths is its willingness to keep up to date with technology and experiment with it whenever this might help to expand their work. As a result, the night before saxophonist Julian Siegel and guitarist Phil Robson took ...

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Henry Darragh: Tell Her For Me

by David Rickert
December 8, 2009

By any standard--no pun intended--"Everything Happens To Me" is a terrific song. It has clever lyrics and a catchy melody, and when both are put together each enhances the other. Henry Darragh's version on his debut, Tell Her For Me, is a reminder of this fact; no one writes songs this great anymore.

Darragh is a singer/songwriter with the same vulnerable tenderness in his voice as Chet Baker. He can earnestly croon songs of love gained, love longed for, and ...

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Steven Schoenberg: Steven Schoenberg Live: An Improvisational Journey

by C. Michael Bailey
December 8, 2009

Like the face of Helen launching a thousand ships, for better or worse, Keith Jarrett's 1975 Koln Concert (ECM) inspired a like number of improvisational piano recitals (half of which were ultimately Jarrett's own) and the entire genre of “New Age" solo piano music. This spontaneous creativity is, at best an inspiration, and at worst, a bore. It is emphasized in jazz that musicians must be accomplished on their instruments and able to fully integrate all they know ...

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Bona Makes You Sweat: Ricard Bona at Le Bataclan, Paris

by David Miller
December 8, 2009

Richard BonaBataclanParis, FranceNovember 21, 2009“On va bien s'amuser ce soir." Those were Richard Bona's opening words at the Bataclan, and he and his band did not disappoint. Lots of fun was had by all in attendance. From a critical standpoint, however, one had to wonder if the music was really the focus of the evening. Bona is an absolute monster on the bass. Many in the jazz world are aware of his ...

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Bengt Nordstrom: Creative Addition

by Clifford Allen
December 8, 2009

Reedman Bengt “Frippe" Nordstrom (1936-2000) was both a sort of “enfant terrible" of Swedish jazz and one of the movers and shakers in the early years of Scandinavian jazz. In addition to the reedman's own LPs, his Bird Notes imprint, while virtually unknown outside of Sweden, released tiny batches of recordings by Albert Ayler (Something Different!!!, 1962) and Don Cherry. Nevertheless, recording situations were few and far between outside of a few sideman appearances and rare leader dates during his ...

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Garage a Trois: Power Patriot

by Chris Kompanek
December 8, 2009

The lines between jazz and rock can become blurred inside of a really good groove. That's exactly what happens on Garage a Trois' Power Patriot. In spite of its hokey title with red state overtones, the ten songs it contains are tightly constructed jams composed largely by Mike Dillon and pianist Marco Benevento, whose own trio focuses on indie-rock- based jazz. Upon opening the CD, it's clear that this is not a typical jazz album. The inside cover art is ...

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Ed Palermo: Eddy Loves Frank

by Ken Dryden
December 8, 2009

Since 1994, Ed Palermo has arranged and performed over 200 works by the late Frank Zappa, a brilliant musician whose often controversial lyrics distracted people from his gifts as a composer. Putting together a tightly rehearsed band consisting of New York City-based musicians, Palermo has played his charts in nightclubs around the city for over 15 years, while excelling at putting his personal stamp on Zappa's music in a jazz setting, drawing material from different periods in the rocker's career. ...