Jazz Articles

like 276

Michaela Rabitsch / Robert Pawlik Quartet: Moods

by Jim Santella
August 26, 2009

From Vienna, Austria, trumpeter Michaela Rabitsch and guitarist Robert Pawlik lead a fine quartet steeped in the jazz tradition while offering a fresh voice for the evolving worldwide jazz scene. Communicating naturally with any audience, they interpret ten original songs on Moods while stirring the pot with a hearty, foot-tappin' thrill that's driven by the ensemble's convincing jazz and blues.

Ten years of performance and three CDs together have created a tight unit that thrives on beauty of ...

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9th Annual Satchmo Summerfest Heats Up New Orleans

by Sandy Ingham
August 26, 2009

Ninth Annual Satchmo SummerFestNew Orleans, LouisianaJuly 30-August 2, 2009

Sauntering down Frenchmen Street in New Orleans late on the night of July 31, I thought: I am indisputably in the right place, at the right time, mingling with more happy people per square foot than could be found anywhere else in the world.

The occasion was the annual Satchmo Summerfest Club Strut, one of the greatest parties in this great party town. If you think ...

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Fred Hess Big Band: Hold On

by Troy Collins
August 26, 2009

Originally from Abington, Pennsylvania, tenor saxophonist Fred Hess has resided in Denver, Colorado since 1981. Though Denver is not often considered a hotbed of progressive jazz, Hess, as founder of the Boulder Creative Music Ensemble and Denver's Creative Music Works Orchestra, has fashioned an alternative to the East Coast/West Coast paradigm. With 14 albums as a leader to his credit, Hess and his regular collaborators have documented a fertile body of work, with many tunes from his burgeoning songbook featured ...

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John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble: Eternal Interlude

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 26, 2009

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble Eternal Interlude Sunnyside Records 2009

The music on Eternal Interlude by drummer John Hollenbeck cannot be described in one word, but if it could that word would be “poignant." But of course, one word is not enough, so in settling for two, those would be “poignant" and “challenging." But then two words appear so insufficient, and the search widens and reveals, perhaps, an additional word to go with ...

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Take Five With Actual Proof

by AAJ Staff
August 26, 2009

Meet Actual Proof:Actual Proof is a fusion quartet based in Charlotte NC. Main Instruments are vibes and malletkat. The group draws on jazz, funk, and world-beat to create a unique approach to jazz-fusion.

Instrument(s):Vibes, keys, drums, bass.Teachers and/or influences?Gary Burton, Joe Locke, Steve Smith.I knew I wanted to be a musician when...I listened to some early Pink Floyd, ("Echoes," I think) and got very ...

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Tom Beckham: Rebound

by Woodrow Wilkins
August 26, 2009

In the simplest terms, to rebound is to bounce back. Many people associate it with a statistic in basketball, or the recovery from heartbreak. Musically, it describes what happens when a mallet strikes a vibraphone, or the bouncing off of ideas during improvisation. Tom Beckham does both with Rebound. Beckham is a Maryland native and a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. A sideman for 20 years, he's performed with musicians such as Seamus Blake, Donny McCaslin, ...

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Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson: Warm It Up Warmdaddy!

by Bruce Lindsay
August 25, 2009

Wessell “Warmdaddy" Anderson has been playing alto saxophone professionally for over 20 years, much of the time with the Wynton Marsalis Sextet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, but has only four albums to his name as a leader. Warm It Up Warmdaddy! is a re-packaging, by Nu Jazz Records, of his self-released 2006 CD, Space. As his nickname suggests, Warmdaddy's sax playing has a rich and welcoming ton,e and coupled with the equally warm and swinging styles of ...

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Part 1 - Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70: Alagbon Close / Why Black Man Dey Suffer

by Chris May
August 25, 2009

This is the first in a series of articles which will chronicle significant recordings, people and events in the story of Afrobeat, from its inception until the present day. First up, Alagbon Close by Fela Ransome Kuti (as he then was) and Africa 70 (as it then was), the 1974 album which marked a watershed in the development of the music. Now in its 25th anniversary year, Alagbon Close is less widely celebrated than ...

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Emile Parisien Quartet: Original Pimpant

by Jean-Marc Gelin
August 25, 2009

It's almost incongruous to write about Emile Parisien's Original Pimpant, considering the importance of its collective dimension. This is not only about the soprano saxophonist's quartet. Parisien--young prodigy, pupil and proof of the good reputation of France's Marciac jazz school--is not looking for individual recognition here. His is a distinctive approach that's about a collective construction of music; about bringing the purpose of music together, a bit like a theater company writing, staging and performing together.

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Najee: Mind Over Matter

by Jeff Winbush
August 25, 2009

A fixture on smooth jazz radio since his debut album Najee's Theme (EMI, 1986), at this point in his career Najee is more consistent than innovative. He's a worthy inheritor of the title Grover Washington Jr., held as master saxophonist of the genre but, with a few rare exceptions such as Songs From the Key of Life (EMI, 1995), he hasn't strayed far from his usual smooth jazz and funk territory. Najee has a pleasant tone and style to spare, ...