Jazz Articles

like 301

Rhodri Davies / Michel Doneda / Louisa Martin / Phil Minton / Lee Patterson: Midhopestones

by John Eyles
September 11, 2009

This album was recorded in January 2009 in the church of St. James the Lesser, in the village of Midhopestones near Sheffield, South Yorkshire--hence, its intriguingly uplifting title (incidentally, its track titles refer to other villages or features nearby). Maybe that recording location explains the sense of tranquility and beauty that pervades the music here. It seems as if all five players were on their best behavior as they were in church; everyone gets along well together; there is no ...

like 274

Mose Allison at Nighttown

by Matt Marshall
September 11, 2009

Nighttown Cleveland Heights, Ohio August 29, 2009

Mose Allison sings for survivors. He always has. He sings easy, buoyant blues in a lackadaisical style. His voice, while rubbed at the edges from more than 50 years on the road, is still crisp with vaudevillian nonchalance. He accompanies himself with confident, insistent piano vamps drawn as much from Wagner as Waller, and his solos are constantly inventive and invigorating while never straying from the familiar. Moreover, ...

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The Aggregation, Under the Direction of Eddie Allen: Groove's Mood

by Edward Blanco
September 11, 2009

Trumpeter, composer, educator and band leader Eddie Allen is a very busy New York artist currently leading a quartet, quintet, a Latin/Brazilian group and the seventeen-piece big band, The Aggregation, the latter debuting with Groove's Mood. Allen which claims to have one goal: “To have the listener in a finger-snappin,' head bobbin,' toe-tappin,' feel good mood from beginning to end." With ten pieces of blues, samba, and shuffle to ballad, spiritual and R& B classics, including instrumentals as well as ...

like 664

John Hebert

by A. Henkin
September 11, 2009

John Hebert is the answer to the sad trivia question, Who is the last bassist to play with pianist Andrew Hill? That final performance came on Mar. 29th, 2007 at Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan in a trio with drummer Eric McPherson; Hill would die just over three weeks later. For the New Orleans-born Hebert, being part of the bass lineage of Hill, a pantheon that has included Richard Davis, Ron Carter, Reggie Workman and even Hebert's teacher from William ...

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Roger Rosenberg: Baritone Madness

by John Coltelli
September 11, 2009

It was a late morning in a junior high school located in Long Beach, New York when a lonely, rarely used baritone saxophone chose an adolescent student named Roger Rosenberg as its sole and rightful owner. Moved by his music teachers' offer that whoever was willing to learn the instrument could own it, the youthful student approached the large, foreboding hunk of brass, got behind it and mysteriously felt quite comfortable and at home with it. “I jumped on the ...

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Horace Tapscott: The Dark Tree

by Troy Collins
September 10, 2009

Due to his limited exposure outside of his native Los Angeles, pianist Horace Tapscott was largely unnoticed by the mainstream jazz press throughout his lengthy career. A galvanizing force in the Los Angeles scene, Tapscott co-founded the Underground Musicians Association (UGMA), later known as the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA) in 1961, which eventually lead to the formation of his Pan-African Peoples Arkestra. Beyond the valiant support of Nimbus Records, little documentation of Tapscott's oeuvre exists, other ...

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Matt Wilson: Leaving a Mark

by Matt Wilson
September 10, 2009

Often times just being in the right place at the right time will provide us with moments that inspire us for a lifetime. We should all be grateful for the moments where someone has done or said something that leaves a mark on our lives. Here are five “leave a mark" moments in my musical life I would like to share. As a kid, I remember seeing a profile of Count Basie on 60 Minutes. I ...

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Eric Revis Quartet at the Jazz Gallery: Old-Time Rhythms

by Eric Benson
September 10, 2009

Eric Revis QuartetJazz GalleryNew York, NYAugust 28, 2009 I don't imagine the Eric Revis Quartet was assembled with reconciliation in mind, but to a hobbled veteran of the Jazz Wars--the squabbles and skirmishes over the music's boundaries that raged throughout the '80s, '90s, and early aughts--the lineup would look like an improvising West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Bassist Eric Revis, the group's leader, is best known for his longtime collaboration with Branford Marsalis, one of jazz's grumpy ...

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Lee Konitz & Martial Solal: Star Eyes 1983

by Glenn Astarita
September 10, 2009

This CD reissue of the original vinyl release signifies a timeless program between two giants of modern jazz. French pianist Martial Solal and American alto saxophonist Lee Konitz are two stylists who merge years of experience for a collaboration of synergistic interplay, serving as a motivating factor here. Solal's legendary performances with Django Reinhardt and other luminaries of the day, set a foundation for a career that has spanned decades, performing with the crème de la crème of jazz artists. ...

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Mary Ellen Desmond and Her Quartet at Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia

by Victor L. Schermer
September 10, 2009

Mary Ellen Desmond and QuartetChris' Jazz CafePhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaAugust 22, 2009

A late August thunderstorm and drenching rain didn't keep the faithful from coming out to hear Philly favorite vocalist Mary Ellen Desmond and her group perform at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Center City, for which they were rewarded with a lively and sophisticated performance by the main attraction and her sidemen, consisting of saxophonist Larry McKenna, pianist Tom Lawton, bassist Lee Smith, and drummer Byron ...