Jazz Articles

like 343

Jesse Stacken / Kirk Knuffke: Mockingbird

by Martin Longley
November 15, 2009

This album's subtitle is The Music of Thelonious Monk & Duke Ellington, and it's refreshing to find the two pianist/composers united in a single conception, pointing out that they probably have more similarities than differences. This selection's other strong point (and this is all before its players even strike a note) is that the repertoire avoids almost all of the accustomed tune choices. From Monk, there's “Light Blue," “Teo," “Reflections" and “Bright Mississippi." From Ellington (and Billy Strayhorn), “Such Sweet ...

like 334

Gene Segal: Hypnotic

by Mark F. Turner
November 14, 2009

Born in Russia and raised in New York by immigrant parents, Gene Segal brings a defined presence along with some formidable skills. A one-time student of guitarists Scott Henderson and Joe Diorio, his voice encompasses a rock and blues aesthetic with impressive technique via his lessons with jazz masters Vic Juris and John Abercrombie. Yet preconceptions should be thrown out the door, because Hypnotic is a definitive debut of Segal's sharp abilities s a leader, composer, and performer. ...

like 324

John Zorn: Femina

by Mark Corroto
November 14, 2009

John Zorn returns to his famous “file card" technique of composing with Femina, a disc he wrote and conducts with an all-woman lineup, dedicated to women in the arts. Among those honored here are Meredith Monk, Simone de Beauvoir, Frida Kahlo, Madame Blavatsky, Isadora Duncan, Hélène Cixous, Gertrude Stein, Abe Sada, Sylvia Plath, Louise Bourgeois, Margaret Mead, Loie Fuller, Dorothy Parker, Yoko Ono and the moon goddess En Hedu'Anna.

Zorn first released Spillane (Elektra, 1988), a tribute to ...

like 267

Scott Feiner At Smoke Jazz Club

by Ernest Barteldes
November 14, 2009

Scott Feiner & Pandeiro Jazz Smoke Jazz Club New York, New York November 4, 2009

Quite a few fans and critics seem to have a misconception of Scott Feiner's Pandeiro Jazz project. Because he lives in Rio de Janeiro, plays the pandeiro and often includes compositions by Brazilian songwriters like Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Gonzaga, many are quick to label his work as “Brazilian jazz." However, listening to him ...

like 433

King Crimson: Red (40th Anniversary Series)

by John Kelman
November 14, 2009

With numerous “definitive" editions already out, what can one more kick at the can of progressive rock progenitor King Crimson's discography offer? Plenty. With the entire Crimson catalog being remixed, remastered, and offered as CD/DVD-A sets that include stereo and 5.1 surround remixes in MLP Lossless, PCM Stereo, and DTS 5.1 formats, based on the first two 40th Anniversary Series releases--1975's Red and 1969's seminal In the Court of the Crimson King--they've simply never sounded this good. With added audio ...

like 206

Revolutionary Ensemble: Vietnam

by Jerry D'Souza
November 14, 2009

The seeds for the Revolutionary Ensemble were sown when Sunny Murray introduced violinist Leroy Jenkins to Sirone. The two found common musical ground that took off from several genres and became encapsulated in one body. At first they worked with Frank Clayton, but the drummer was ultimately replaced by Jerome Cooper.

Vietnam is the group's first recording. Divided into two parts the music moves across a wide expanse. Fluidity and fractured movement are put into a melting pot. What emerges ...

like 316

Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core: Stone Shift

by Kurt Gottschalk
November 14, 2009

Larry Ochs, best known for his work with the long-standing ROVA saxophone quartet, has been working an unusual and satisfying side project for close to a decade. His Drumming Core, founded in 2000, is a trio with two drummers dedicated to exploring American field hollers and Asian chants. The first two CDs were rewarding, if more as an opportunity to hear Ochs as the sole melody instrument than for the East-meets-West concept. But for their third release, Ochs has expanded ...

like 255

Donal Fox: The Scarlatti Jazz Suite Project

by Greg Thomas
November 14, 2009

The Scarlatti Jazz Suite Project commences with a short aria in G minor by Domenico Scarlatti, the famed baroque composer of over 550 sonatas for harpsichord. Pianist Donal Fox evinces an elegant pianissimo touch, setting the stage for the title composition, which refracts another Scarlatti theme into a 3/4 romp, with repeating motifs that build tension. Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist John Lockwood accentuate the pulse, joined by vibraphonist Warren Wolf, who lends rhythmic assent and ...

like 950

Lizard (40th Anniversary Series)

by John Kelman
November 14, 2009

Often forgotten and sometimes maligned, Lizard is a King Crimson classic that's waited to be found for nearly 40 years. When it was first released in 1970, it was quickly overlooked as a transitional album between the group that recorded/released/toured its seminal debut, In the Court of the Crimson King (DGM Live, 1969) and the Crimson incarnation that would hit the road in support of Islands (DGM Live, 1971) a little over two years later. Lizard was never toured, but ...

like 1,521

In the Court of the Crimson King (40th Anniversary Series)

by John Kelman
November 14, 2009

It was, quite simply, a sound that shook the music world. When King Crimson emerged from the dust of the considerably more oblique and largely absurd trio of Giles, Giles and Fripp--whose one release, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (Deram, 1968), was aptly titled--nobody could have anticipated that this group would literally change the face of the pop world, and almost single-handedly define a new musical genre: progressive rock. Crimson co-founder/guitarist Robert Fripp has, with a number ...