Jazz Articles

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Tomasz Stanko Quintet: Dark Eyes

by David McLean
November 5, 2009

Tomasz Stanko Quintet Dark Eyes ECM Records 2009

It has been a regular event at the ECM label for artists to change line-ups after three albums. After a trio of releases with the prodigiously talented pianist Marcin Wasilewski--(Soul of Things (ECM, 2002), Suspended Night (ECM, 2003) and Lontano (ECM, 2006)--Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko debuts a new and exciting quintet. Dark Eyes is a collection of smoky compositions that evidence Stanko's continuing interest ...

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Let's Party: Anthony Wilson Trio, Joel Frahm & Bruce Katz, James Carter et al.

by J Hunter
November 5, 2009

Just because summer is long gone doesn't mean the other three seasons have to be a marathon of dreariness. The calendar's got plenty of reasons to party--Christmas, New Year's Eve, or (for college students) the odd Tuesday that needs freshening up. It's only logical that parties need party music, so here are three “musical guests," all of them featuring keyboard icon Jimmy Smith's favorite party favor, the Hammond B-3 organ.

Anthony Wilson Trio Jack of ...

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Olaf Rupp / Marino Pliakas / Michael Wertmuller: Too Much Is Not Enough

by Nic Jones
November 5, 2009

This guitar, bass and drums trio has clearly moved beyond the power trip that such a line-up might imply. In doing so they have entered what, on the basis of this release, is a kind of nihilistic phase in which the power stems from collective endeavor, as opposed to any conventionally virtuosic approach.

This isn't necessarily a good thing, especially when much of the resulting music's impact is subcutaneous. An insidious sound lies beneath the skin of “Stoppare," even while ...

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Nellie McKay: Normal As Blueberry Pie

by Matt Marshall
November 5, 2009

Nellie McKay Normal As Blueberry Pie Verve 2009

Singer, musician, composer Nellie McKay has often--perhaps too conveniently--been compared to legendary big band singer and movie star Doris Day, to whom she pays tribute with this album. And certainly, McKay has played off Day's cotton-candy image all along, from the perky sunshine pose in front of urban blight on the cover of her debut album, Get Away From Me (Sony, 2004), to the large orchestrations ...

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Brian Groder: Groder & Greene

by Mark Corroto
November 5, 2009

Trumpeter Brian Groder has a talent for creating combinations of players to achieve certain musical outcomes. This instinct is especially important when the territory traversed is free jazz , where the mixtures of players are indispensable if the music is to be coherent. On Groder & Greene, the free jazz is indeed cogent and compelling.

This disc follows Torque (Latham Records, 2006), where Groder was paired with free jazz legend/octogenarian Sam Rivers. Here he invites Burton Greene, the Chicago jazzman ...

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Led Bib: Sensible Shoes

by Jerry D'Souza
November 5, 2009

An education can be an asset in more ways than one. Drummer/composer Mark Holub formed his band Led Bib in 2003 as part of his M.A. at Middlesex University in London, England. The initial line-up was fluid, settling down to the current one with Liran Donin (bass), Toby McLaren (keyboards), Pete Grogan (saxophone) and Chris Williams (saxophone) in 2004. From then on the band established a reputation for its quirky, off-kilter brand of music, drawing from the portals of jazz, ...

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Take Five With Ade Ishs

by AAJ Staff
November 5, 2009

Meet ade ishs: Ade Ishs (IPA: ʌdÉ iʃ) is a songwriter and a pianist currently residing in Melbourne, Australia. He was born in 1978 in Bandung, Indonesia. His playing style revolves around contemporary jazz, classical, and meditative. He has been compared with Lyle Mays, Keith Jarrett, and Dave Grusin.His latest album release is Visions, containing unique solo acoustic piano tracks, blending jazz and classical music. It is a fitting accompaniment for relaxation, meditation, reading, and inspiration-seeking. ...

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Komeda Project: Requiem

by Jakob Baekgaard
November 4, 2009

There's an awareness which is located deep within human nature that we're subject to both positive feelings as well as destructive impulses: Love and death, Eros and Thanatos, exist side by side. All great art is a mirror of the human condition and nobody understood better than the Polish composer and pianist Krzysztof Komeda that life as well as music is composed of light and darkness.

The dual nature of Komeda's music is captured perfectly in one of his masterpieces, ...

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John Law: Deeper into the Music

by Jakob Baekgaard
November 4, 2009

Classical music and jazz are often perceived as two radically different art forms that cannot be merged. Historically, the idea of a so-called “third stream" that is able to combine the language of jazz and classical music into a coherent whole has proved rather difficult to translate into praxis, and yet it is undeniable that a bond, however fragile, exists between the two musics. This was evident from the very beginning, with pianist Scott Joplin's ambition to create a musical ...

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Theo Croker Quintet at House of Blues & Jazz in Shanghai

by Jenn Chan Lyman
November 4, 2009

Theo Croker Quintet House of Blues & Jazz Shanghai, China October 26, 2009

On Monday nights House of Blues & Jazz offers a rarity on the Shanghai jazz scene: original music. Tunes written by the players on stage are a special treat when you've been around town listening to covers of standards for the past couple of months. No better place than the o.g. House, where the sound will most likely be supreme ...