Jazz Articles

like 186

Fred Anderson: 21st Century Chase

by Mark Corroto
October 15, 2009

To quote Roger Daltry of The Who, from 1965:

Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation) And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) This is my generation. This is my generation, baby.

It's not likely that anyone was thinking about the line, “I hope I die before ...

like 436

Indianapolis Jazz Festival: Day 1, September 26, 2009

by AAJ Staff
October 15, 2009

Day 1 | Day 2 The Indianapolis Jazz FestivalIndianapolis, IndianaSept. 26, 2009With two outdoor stages at The Lawn at White River State Park, the heavy clouds blowing across the sky brought just the right amount of the tension to the mix for the final weekend of the Indy Jazz Festival. The weather reports were conflicting, the skies threatened occasionally, but in the end it all came together for an exciting two days of music.

like 332

Jonathon Haffner: Life on Wednesday

by Dan McClenaghan
October 15, 2009

Alto saxophonist Jonathon Haffner's band on Life on Wednesday puts up a united front, sounding as integrated as the internal workings of a utilitarian, high horsepower industrial machine. But that machine has some grit in its innards on the set's opener, “Time Time," with a rasp of Wayne Krantz' metallic guitar paired with Craig Taborn's Wurlitzer meshing into a dense groove from the dual drums ofJochen Rueckert and Kenny Wollesen, alongside bassist Eivind Opsvik.Indeed, the hard metal, industrial ...

like 449

Indianapolis Jazz Festival: Day 2, September 27, 2009

by AAJ Staff
October 15, 2009

Day 1 | Day 2 The Indianapolis Jazz FestivalIndianapolis, IndianaSept. 27, 2009Day Two of the Indy Jazz Fest at the White River State Park dawned with anticipation, everyone looking forward again to be pulled into the flow of the music. Cooler than Saturday, the weather still held against the vagaries of the local forecasts.High school jazz bands, first on the roster for the day, usually present one of three possible extremes. One, ...

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Heath Brothers: Endurance

by Larry Taylor
October 15, 2009

The Heath family is illustrious in jazz. Percy and Jimmy got their starts in the late forties, a part of the emerging jazz scene in New York. The oldest, Percy on bass, became part of the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1952 and stayed with the legendary group for over forty years. Jimmy on reeds, meanwhile, has led and performed with the greats over the years. He has a substantial reputation as composer, arranger and educator. Albert “Tootie," several years the ...

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The Manhattan Transfer: The Chick Corea Songbook

by Jerry D'Souza
October 15, 2009

The first edition of Manhattan Transfer was formed in 1969 by Gene Pistilli, Tim Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, and Pat Rosalia, splitting after one album. Hauser reformed the band in 1972 and, with Janis Siegel, Laurel Masse, and Alan Paul, established the group in New York, playing several club dates. The Manhattan Transfer (Atlantic, 1975), on which they used jazz musicians including Zoot Sims, was a success, but they moved away from jazz after that to seek a more ...

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Chicago Jazz Philharmonic: Collective Creativity

by Edward Blanco
October 15, 2009

The long awaited debut by the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Collective Creativityhas been described as a “genre-blending" piece of work, combining the percussive elements of jazz with the graceful sophistication of classical music, fused in one big band/symphonic project. Under the direction of conductor and producer Orbert Davis, the CJP is a 55-plus piece symphonic jazz orchestra established as a “501 ( c ) 3" not-for-profit organization, from an invitation by The Chicago Jazz Institute to Artistic Director Davis, providing world-class ...

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David S. Ware: Shakti

by Russ Musto
October 15, 2009

David S. Ware's Shakti, his first release since the dissolution of his longstanding quartet, is an outstanding addition to the saxophonist's already extraordinary discography. Ware is reunited with bassist William Parker (a member of the earlier quartet, who goes back to Ware's very first recordings as a leader), with veteran Warren Smith seated in the drum chair formerly occupied by Susie lbarra, Marc Edwards, Whit Dickey and Guillermo E. Brown and, perhaps most notably, idiosyncratic guitarist Joe Morris taking on ...

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Industrial Jazz Group: Leef

by Matthew Miller
October 15, 2009

It's hard to take anything about the Industrial Jazz Group for granted. Even the LA-based ensemble's name is misleading to the point that its leader, Andrew Durkin, feels the need to address it in the header of the group's website. “So we're not really industrial. Were The Beatles really insects?" As explanations go--humorous as they might be--it rings a little hollow. It does, however, speak volumes about IJG and its singular approach to music-making. Just when you think you've got ...

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Roberto Magris / Big Band Ritmo Sinfonica Citta di Verona: Restless Spirits

by Raul d'Gama Rose
October 14, 2009

Even if pianist and composer Roberto Magris could have performed Restless Spirits with a small ensemble, he probably would not have done so. Here is the conundrum: might Magris have created this music in a large ensemble because he intended it to reflect a secret narrative that ponders the journey of the soul? The trick is to follow the sequence of the repertoire. This is a musical suite, which could very well have been cleverly developed to mirror that dramatic ...