Jazz Articles

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November 2009

by AAJ Staff
November 8, 2009

Muhal Richard Abrams and Fred AndersonCommunity Church of New YorkNew York, NY October 16, 2009Muhal Richard Abrams and Fred Anderson are not quite of the same island. The same Chicago archipelago, sure, but Anderson has more hovered around than been an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). He was there at the beginning, but has largely followed his own path and in fact he and Abrams (one of ...

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Take Five With Justin Kauflin

by AAJ Staff
November 8, 2009

Meet Justin Kauflin:At the piano, Justin Kauflin has an improvisational zeal matched by a technique that is equal parts lyrical and emotional. His sound can be best described as dynamic and vibrant, with a genuine sense of feeling and appreciation for the soulful essence in jazz music. Although classically trained, Justin prefers the improvisational opportunity jazz provides, which is readily apparent in his mastery of the piano. His musical style reflects a steadfast, day-to- day trust in God, ...

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Carlos Zingaro: Spectrum

by Stuart Broomer
November 8, 2009

A group made up entirely of strings might initially suggest chamber music, but this all-European trio produces music that crosses many boundaries, not so much to create music that's eclectic but to define its own terrain. Portuguese violinist Carlos Zingaro is a well-known exponent of free improvisation while the bassist Wilbert De Joode has served as foundation in a broad spectrum of Amsterdam-based bands from jazz to free improvisation. But what most defines this group's original sound is the presence ...

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Underground Horns: Funk Monk

by Elliott Simon
November 8, 2009

Alto saxophonist Welf Dorr has spent the last several years putting his own unique spin on the brass band, an instrumental lineup that is usually found in NYC crossing jazz with Balkan music. Although Dorr does look to Serbia for part of his musical muse he also draws heavily on a host of things including Afro-Cuban rhythms, funk and Thelonious Monk; thus the title of this release from his Underground Horns. Tubaist Joe Keady, who must have ...

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Jesse Elder: The Winding Shell

by Ian Patterson
November 7, 2009

What is clear from one listen to The Winding Shell is that pianist Jesse Elder is a composer/arranger of some ambition. Changing time signatures and the harmonizing of alto and tenor are features of the music, as are interesting percussive dynamics and contrasts between softly voiced and more animated passages. Lively charge and pregnant pause coexist with absorbing juxtaposition in music where improvisation and structure strike a fine balance. Throw in some truly fine sax playing from four talented, distinctive ...

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Murcof, Hamiet Bluiett, Broadcast and Joshua Redman

by Martin Longley
November 7, 2009

Murcof(le) Poisson RougeOctober 14, 2009 Murcof, whose real name is Fernando Corona, hails from Tijuana. His distinctive form of minimalist electronica lately seems to be moving closer towards classical music, and simultaneously becoming even more skeletal in nature. He's been active for nearly a decade, and has evolved from a minimal house pulsation towards collaborative works with massed strings and operatically-trained voices, inhabiting spaces where (sometimes) nothing much happens. It seems like the ...

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Hot Club of San Francisco: Hot Club Cool Yule

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
November 7, 2009

The liner notes imply that this is the Christmas album Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli might have made, had they made one. Certainly the The Hot Club of San Francisco is a virtuosic group that specializes in conjuring that era (see their masterful Bohemian Maestro for a recent example). But there's a wealth of delicious humor here that goes beyond anything that legendary pair ever produced.

For instance, check out the inspired derangement of “Djingle Bells," and “Don Rudolfo" (as ...

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Live Guitars From New York: Chris Brokaw, Alan Licht, Elliott Sharp, Sonny Landreth & Daniel Johnston

by Martin Longley
November 7, 2009

The Chris Brokaw Guitar Triowith Alan Licht/Greg Kelley/Sean MeehanThe Knitting FactoryOctober 8, 2009The new Knitting Factory is a transplant from the old downtown Tribeca location to this new space in Brooklyn's Williamsburg district. It might seem superficially out-of-the-way, but it's only two stops on the subway out of Manhattan, followed by a five-minute stroll.

It's more intimate but also more unified, as there's a large soundproofed window allowing a view from ...

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The Sax Pack: The Pack Is Back!

by Jeff Winbush
November 7, 2009

If The Pack is Back is a slight improvement over the 2008 debut from The Sax Pack “supergroup" of Kim Waters, Jeff Kashiwa and Steve Cole, it's because they sound more comfortable playing together, trimmed of frills and excesses that made the first album a sloppy affair.However, don't think this is a dramatic departure from the usual clichés of the smooth jazz genre. This is pretty standard fare, but with more inspired playing--probably because the trio composed all ...

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Revolutionary Ensemble: Vietnam and Beyond the Boundary of Time

by Clifford Allen
November 7, 2009

It could easily be argued that the “loft jazz" era of the '70s was a direct product of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), both in its moral structure and its eventual fragmentation. Loft spaces, artist-produced concerts and artist-owned labels were self-reliance projects, a cornerstone of the AACM. Furthermore, the relocation of many AACM musicians to New York necessarily changed the sonic waters, toward spaciousness and somewhat chamber music-like aesthetics in the bustling free music of lower ...