Jazz Articles

like 797

Nicole Henry: Giving It All

by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
October 14, 2009

Inspiration usually comes by surprise. Jazz vocalist Nicole Henry can tell us all about it. Sometimes we know there is a certain direction we want to go, but can't figure out what the road looks like. And for a brief, terrifying and always meaningful minute of our lives, we stand in a crossroad to nowhere, wondering what will come next. And that is when it happens. Inspiration comes rushing in, like a blurry shade of blue passing you by. If ...

like 149

It's The Drummer, Stupid

by Mark Corroto
October 14, 2009

If you're a jazz misanthrope you probably think first to “shoot the pianist," a saying taken from the Francois Truffaut film of the same name, Tirez sur le pianiste. Truth be told, the most effective way to pull the plug on a jazz band, a very good jazz band, is to take out the drummer. An adept drummer can be the dominant voice in the band, like Elvin Jones, or the batterie could be a colorist like Paul Motian or ...

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The Hashem Assadullahi Quintet: Strange Neighbor

by Glenn Astarita
October 14, 2009

Oregon-based musician and educator Hashem Assadullahi introduces a wealth of attention-grabbing points of view into this quintet date, featuring eminent trumpeter Ron Miles. It's a democratic, group-focused modus operandi, spinning with variable harmonic and rhythmic underpinnings, where Assadullahi is more concerned with compositional depth and use of space. Still, the soloists receive ample breathing room to improvise and engage in thematic expansion.

On “Hypothesis B--The Wildflower," the quintet merges a sense of quietude via Justin Morell's simple guitar ...

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Al Orkestra: Where Are We Now?

by John Kelman
October 14, 2009

Sometimes the best music comes from the most unexpected places. British ex-pat Joe Higham has been living in Belgium for 20 years--first studying, now teaching and gigging with a cadre of undervalued Belgian players. Plenty of artists cite a collection of influences, but this saxophonist/clarinetist and his Al Orkestra concoct a truly wonderful mélange, with touchstones ranging from progressive rock and the British Canterbury scene, to the trippy jazz of Sun Ra and the freer tendencies of the late Elton ...

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Kalle Kalima and his Dance Suite for Domesticated Animals, Helsinki

by Anthony Shaw
October 14, 2009

UMO Jazz Orchestra and Kalle Kalima Korjaamo, Helsinki September 25, 2009

When a guitarist attempts to compose for big band, there's an expectation of strong rhythmic motifs, but when the musician concerned is as suffused in contemporary idioms as is Kalle Kalima one gets much more. The big band in question is Finland's best (and only fulltime) brass ensemble in the country, the UMO Jazz Orchestra of Helsinki playing here under Kari Heinilä.

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Fred Anderson: 21st Century Chase

by Jerry D'Souza
October 14, 2009

Fred Anderson celebrated his 80th birthday in March 2009, performing with long time friend and collaborator Kidd Jordan (tenor saxophone), Jeff Parker (guitar), Harrison Bankhead (bass) and Chad Taylor (drums) at his celebrated Chicago club, The Velvet Lounge.

Anderson has not recorded much in the past few years, and so every recording by him is an event. Here it becomes all the more vital, standing as a testament to the power that he and Jordan can still invest ...

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Darius Jones: Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)

by A. Henkin
October 14, 2009

Darius Jones sounds like it could be the name of an itinerant preacher or maybe a character in a Flannery O'Connor short story. Neither is actually that much of a stretch after hearing the alto saxophonist's debut as a leader, Man'ish Boy. Throughout run the concurrent threads of celebration and foreboding that exist in the rural south from whence Jones hails. Readers may know Jones best for his work in the two-sax onslaught known as Little Women ...

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Wessell Anderson: Warm It Up, Warmdaddy!

by Terrell Kent Holmes
October 14, 2009

Alto saxophonist Wessell Anderson is a traditionalist who clearly enjoys upending tradition. On Warm It Up, Warmdaddy! several of the songs rework the harmonic structures of some cherished standards and their titles are the work of someone who embraces the classics without taking them too seriously. The mischief begins with “What Is Dat Thang?," a riff on “What Is This Thing Called Love." Anderson lays down high-energy, upper register lines over a dynamite vamp by the rhythm ...

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Stefano Bollani / Jesper Bodilsen / Morten Lund: Stone In The Water

by John Kelman
October 13, 2009

Serendipity can be a wonderful thing. Invited to perform with 2002 JazzPar prize-winner, trumpeter Enrico Rava, pianist and fellow Italian Stefano Bollani first encountered bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund when they were proposed as the rhythm section for the Danish award show and a brief tour. The chemistry was on such a deep level that Bollani, Bodilsen, and Lund decided to continue as a trio. Seven years and two albums on the Danish Stunt label later, Stone In ...

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Jonathan Kreisberg: Unearthed

by Matthew Warnock
October 13, 2009

The world of jazz guitar has long been filled with some of the most storied names in jazz history. Artists such as Charlie Christian, Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny and John Scofield have all become recognized as some of jazz's greatest innovators and most prolific performers.In a day and age when it seems that jazz, and jazz guitar, has been through just about every transition, amalgamation and innovation possible, there are still new voices emerging to take ...