Jazz Articles

like 561

Christian Wallumrod Ensemble: Fabula Suite Lugano

by David McLean
November 19, 2009

Christian Wallumrød has that rare gift of having an instantly recognizable sound. The pianist's music is characterized by unique blend of early music, romanticism, and traditional Scandinavian folk music idioms played with the looseness of jazz and academic curiosity reminiscent of two of his major influences, John Cage and Morton Feldman. Wallumrød has managed to harmonise these contradictory elements to create a wondrously obscure new music. However, the sound is never dependent on the polarity of these oppositions; its existence ...

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"Birth of the Cool:" Bob Perkins Lectures and the Don Wilson Trio Performs

by Victor L. Schermer
November 19, 2009

Birth of the CoolPerformed by The Don Wilson TrioLecture by Bob PerkinsOctober 25, 2009The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsPhiladelphia, PA

This writer could think of no better way to spend an autumn Sunday afternoon than to stroll over to the fabled Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to hear the revered local disc jockey Bob Perkins reflect upon the groundbreaking Miles Davis album, Birth of the Cool, while tunes were performed ...

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The State of Grace 2009: Deanna Witkowski, Ike Sturm and Jeff Baker

by C. Michael Bailey
November 19, 2009

The role of the church, or more specifically, Christianity, in American culture cannot be overestimated even by those who do not subscribe to the Christian faith. One place where art and Christianity intersected long ago was in music. Since the Middle Ages, music has been used as a vehicle of worship (2000 years before this if the “Judeo-" part of the Judeo-Christian heritage is considered). It has manifested equally in the church and concert hall.

Jazz is no stranger to ...

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Steely Dan at Wells Fargo Theater in Denver

by Geoff Anderson
November 19, 2009

Steely Dan Wells Fargo Theater Denver October 29, 2009

Going to a Steely Dan concert is like riding in a luxury car; you know just what you're going to get: a smooth, comfortable ride. There may not be much in the way of surprises, but it sure feels good. That predictability applies even more on the current tour in which the band has been playing some of their classic albums in their entirety. ...

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Mark Moraghan: Moonlight's Back In Style

by Bruce Lindsay
November 19, 2009

Moonlight's Back In Style is a swing album. In fact, according to songwriter Nicky Campbell's liner notes, it's a New Swing album--songs in a classic style but rooted in contemporary experience. Whether this recording heralds a new musical genre or not it's an easygoing and likeable set of songs. Old swing fans should find plenty to enjoy. The genesis of this album warrants some explanation. Mark Moraghan is an actor, well-known in Britain for his work on ...

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Coto Pincheira: The Sonido Moderno Project

by Raul d'Gama Rose
November 19, 2009

Coto Pincheira, as Julio Alejandro Pincheira Cubillos prefers being called, has made an enthusiastic impression with The Sonido Moderno Project, literally, the Modern Sound Project. This virtuoso pianist, to whom clave comes naturally, has attempted to pour this rollicking backbeat into a cauldron set alight by the vast number of Afro-Caribbean metaphors and rhythms. The result is a molten mix that gathers momentum from Cuba and from Chile, as well as half a dozen other South American musical traditions. To ...

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Vince Guaraldi: The Definitive Vince Guaraldi

by David Rickert
November 19, 2009

Many of us were turned on to jazz before we even knew what it was, thanks to Vince Guaraldi. His soundtracks for the Peanuts television specials were a novel idea in cartoon scoring, yet seemed to perfectly fit the deceptively sophisticated adventures of Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. His originals were some of the best jazz to come from the West Coast scene and a tribute to what can happen when a great muse hits a ...

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Gwilym Simcock: Blues Vignette

by John Kelman
November 19, 2009

Around long enough that the phrase “coming late to jazz" is no longer relevant, pianist Gwilym Simcock's star has been rapidly rising on the British scene for the past seven years, as he continues to mine the nexus of a classical upbringing with his more recent “conversion" to jazz. All too often, young artists release albums as leaders before they're ready, but in the case of the still twenty-something Simcock--a member of saxophonist Tim Garland's innovative Lighthouse Trio responsible for ...

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Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart

by Chris May
November 18, 2009

An exemplary adventure in cross-cultural music making, banjoist Béla Fleck's Throw Down Your Heart deserves every bit of hyperbole that is going to be thrown at it. The third volume in Fleck's Tales From The Acoustic Planet series, it's subtitled “Africa Sessions" and finds him in East and West Africa, mostly on field recordings or in improvised studios, playing with musicians from Mali, Madagascar, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon and Gambia. It's simply sublime.

Though the cast ...

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Chuck Anderson: Philadelphia Ace

by Ed Benson
November 18, 2009

[Editor's Note] Chicago-born but long associated with the Philadelphia scene, Chuck Anderson is one of the many guitarists working in jazz who deserves greater recognition. With ten CDs to his name, Anderson has authored over a dozen instructional books, and maintains a busy teaching and consulting business. The developer of the Neo Classical Style of guitar playing, which approaches performing classical repertoire with a pick rather than fingers. Ed Benson's interview, originally published in Just Jazz Guitar magazine, brings well-deserved ...