Jazz Articles

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Take Five With Bill Hart

by AAJ Staff
August 29, 2009

Meet Bill Hart:Born and raised in Canada, Hart started playing guitar at nine years old. He moved to the United States at the age of thirteen and was playing professionally by sixteen years old. His first professional experience was playing with his rock band in a pit for theater shows, featuring shows like Rocky Horror Picture Show and Little Shop Of Horrors. Influenced by rock and blues and fascinated by jazz he went to study at Musicians Institute ...

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Frantisek Uhlir: Double Bass Session

by Jerry D'Souza
August 29, 2009

Jazz at Prague Castle was initiated in February 2004 by the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus. The series of performances has featured some big names from that country including bassist Frantisek Uhlir, who had previously released the live Jazz at Prague Castle 2006 (Multisonic, 2006), featuring a trio and a guest appearance by trumpeter/flugelhornist Dusko Goykovich. On Double Bass Session, Uhlir comes up with the interesting concept of having five bassists in the band for a unique structure. ...

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A Camera's Eye View: Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2009

by Bill King
August 29, 2009

Festival International de Jazz de Montreal Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 1-12, 2009 There is something truly empowering situated behind the lens of a camera waiting with expectation for the moment when the soul, mind and body of an artist strike bare wires and something electric unexpectedly happens. Privately, ownership of that moment belongs to the artist--publicly, documentation of that juncture is in possession of the person behind the lens. Where it goes after ...

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Brett Favre Isn't The Only Comeback Kid

by Jack Bowers
August 28, 2009

The ink was barely dry on last month's report that trumpeter Rob Parton had decided to break up his superlative Chicago-based JazzTech Big Band after more than twenty years at the helm before Parton was back with a brand new ensemble, one whose purpose, he says, “is to mirror that of the European Radio Orchestras where new music is the focus rather than that of the repertory bands that are so popular in the U.S." In making the announcement, Parton ...

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Duke Jordan: In Copenhagen

by Chris Mosey
August 28, 2009

Irving Stanley “Duke" Jordan, pianist in legendary altoist Charlie Parker's classic quintet, recorded this solo album late in life. It shows he had lost none of the qualities that led Bird to pick him to take part--along with trumpeter Miles Davis, bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Max Roach--in such landmark recordings as “Bird of Paradise," “Dewey Square," “Dexterity" and “Embraceable You." It also shows that, as a composer, Jordan still had the chops that gave birth to ...

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The State of the Tenor 2009: AJ Kluth and Ricky Sweum

by C. Michael Bailey
August 28, 2009

Saxophonists AJ Kluth and Ricky Sweum look more like the backfield from Friday Night Lights than they do jazz musicians. But jazz musicians they are, playing what may be heard as the logical, evolutionary result of post-bop: a dry ice eutectoid of smooth, free, avant-garde, cool and modal jazz. Their music is characterized by open composition with knotty, complex melodies. The fresh faces of Kluth and Sweum show a positive future for jazz and its continuing development on their respective ...

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Roberta Gambarini: So In Love

by C. Michael Bailey
August 28, 2009

In his book The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide, music writer Scott Yanow presents a list of the 30 most important jazz singers. One name most likely to join that group, Yanow believes, is that of Roberta Gambarini. Very quickly, this talented Italian singer has established herself as an artist to be considered seriously in the same manner that Anthony Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett, is considered.

Born in Torino, Italy, Gambarini came to the United States in 1998 ...

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Big Train: Travels

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 28, 2009

The title of the record may seem innocuous, even a tad trite (journeys across musical landscapes and that kind of stuff)... But then by the sound of it Big Train is more than a couple of journeymen. This is a duo that is rattling against convention. Pianist, Jeremy Bacon and tenor and soprano saxophonist Justin Flynn have undertaken these musical Travels forging a powerful partnership with bassist, Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jeff Ballard. The result is more than a meeting ...

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The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide

by Jim Santella
August 28, 2009

The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide Scott Yanow Softcover; 280 pages ISBN: 978-087930-825-4 Backbeat Books 2008

Anyone ever asked you to list your favorite CDs for a desert island stayover? What would Tom Hanks and Wilson listen to if they had had the foresight to be prepared for their long vacation? The trouble with these desert island picks is that they can become out-of-date before they're even published. ...

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Iris Ornig: New Ground

by Jim Santella
August 28, 2009

Double-bassist Iris Ornig leads a mainstream ensemble on New Ground, controlling the session's mood from the bottom and ensuring that melody flows casually. Trumpet, guitar and vocalists alternate feature roles that give the session variety. Best is her trio on “Caravan," where the bass assumes a seat-of-the-pants foundation that energizes and dresses up an old standard with class.

Trumpet and guitar come together on “New Ground" to give the quintet stepwise depth and rainbow harmony. Each instrumental voice ...