Jazz Articles

like 1,276

David Sylvian: Manafon

by John Kelman
December 6, 2009

David Sylvian Manafon samadhisound 2009 Since first emerging as the lead singer of 1980s synth pop group Japan, singer/multi-instrumentalist David Sylvian has turned, in many ways most surprisingly, into one of pop music's most intrepid explorers. As early as his first solo album, the crooner with a distinctive and intentioned vibrato has been connected with the experimental and jazz scenes, with trumpeters Jon Hassell, Mark Isham and Kenny Wheeler appearing on Brilliant Trees (Virgin, 1986). ...

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Jakob Bro: Balladeering

by Jakob Baekgaard
December 5, 2009

Throughout the process of recording Balladeering, Danish guitarist Jakob Bro was followed closely by filmmaker Sune Blicher, who documented the sessions, which took place at the famous Avatar studios in New York, capturing the poetry of the music in pregnant images. A recurrent motif in the movie is musicians engrossed in listening, and this particular framing also finds its way into the photos by Robert Lewis that grace the album, becoming a metaphor for the music itself and the spirit ...

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Mike Barone Big Band / North Texas Two O'Clock Lab Band / John Daversa Big Band

by Jack Bowers
December 5, 2009

Mike Barone Big Band Flight of the Bumblebee Rhubarb Recordings 2009

Flight of the Bumblebee is composer/arranger/trombonist Mike Barone's fifth big band album in as many years, and one can always deduce beyond the shadow of a doubt that he has some fresh and engaging insights to share. Barone's purpose isn't to overwhelm but enlighten, and what better way to edify than to open with a splendidly remodeled version of “Bumblebee." Yes, that “Bumblebee," ...

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Panos Vassilopoulos / Costa Anadiotis / Pericles Trivolis: The Acoustic Sessions

by Bruce Lindsay
December 5, 2009

The Acoustic Sessions is the brainchild of drummer and producer Panos Vassilopoulos. The CD/DVD package offers some straight-ahead interpretations of jazz standards, played with skill and energy by the Athens-based trio. The album features arrangements of 7 familiar--indeed, over-familiar--tunes. There's no denying the quality of the selected tunes, but they have been recorded on many previous occasions and these versions take no chances with the compositions despite the musical talents of the players, especially pianist Costa Anadiotis. ...

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Strike Up the (Unsung) Bands

by Jack Bowers
December 5, 2009

The big band era is known for producing a number of enormously successful ensembles whose leaders were household names: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson, then on through Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, the brothers Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie and, later, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich, among others. As everyone knows, big bands have by and large faded into the sunset, and ...

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Acuna/Hoff/Mathisen: Jungle City

by John Kelman
December 5, 2009

While some accuse the musical innovations taking place in Scandinavia as diluting “America's art form," there's plenty of evidence to the contrary. Many of the artists regularly stretching jazz's boundaries by introducing outside references can play in the tradition; they just choose not to. With Finding Nymo (ACT, 2009), Norwegian trombonist Helge Sunde and his Ensemble Denada incorporated elements of modern technology, traditional music and cinematic Zappa-esque classicism, but swung hard--and with conviction--in the best tradition of American big band ...

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Take Five With Kelley Suttenfield

by AAJ Staff
December 5, 2009

Meet Kelley Suttenfield:Kelley Suttenfield is a vocalist in the neo-classic jazz tradition, delivering soulful interpretations of lyrics over a smooth, swinging beat.With a diverse repertoire ranging from Brazilian standards to the Beatles and beyond, Kelley's music is known for creating an evocative mood that clearly resonates with her audience. Kelley performs regularly in New York City and, on occasion, her former stomping grounds in Virginia, as well as overseas in Copenhagen, Denmark.She received a ...

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Wouter Hamel: Nobody's Tune

by Guy Zinger
December 5, 2009

Wouter Hamel is a young vocalist of Dutch origin, touring the world successfully with his laidback and velvety sound. He surrounds himself with pop harmonies and rhythm lines, bridging the gap between jazz and pop in his own special way. Nobody's Tune, his second CD, is a cross between the musical fields of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Apple, 1967) and a young crooner, with Hamel phrasing his songs and producing his lovely voice in a modern ...

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Bing Crosby: The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56)

by Michael Steinman
December 5, 2009

When contemporary culture acknowledges Bing Crosby at all, it is as a relic of ancient pop, his musical conservatism epitomized by “White Christmas." Happily, a new seven-disc Mosaic Records set reminds us that Crosby always swung without strain. In the mid-1950s, when he had apparently been eclipsed by Sinatra, then by Elvis, Crosby was still singing splendidly. The often high-level melodrama of his early records had given way to a masterful casualness.

The 160 tracks in this set ...

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Diva Jazz Trio: Never Never Land

by Elliott Simon
December 5, 2009

Since its beginnings in 1992, drummer Sherry Maricle's Diva Jazz Orchestra has evolved into one of the best big bands in the world. An all-female multicultural orchestra, it produces some of the most joyful big band music around and nurtures powerful and creative mainstream instrumentalists. A spinoff quintet, Five Play, showcases these instrumentalists in a more intimate setting but it is Diva's rhythm section that allows for continued creativity in a genre that can be sorely lacking in such. It ...