Jazz Articles

like 371

In Europe: London, Paris & Brussels

by George Kanzler
August 15, 2009

Coleman Hawkins In Europe: London, Paris & Brussels Impro Jazz 2008

In the '20s, Coleman Hawkins (1904-69) established the tenor sax as a prominent soloing option in jazz, creating the first template for the dominant sound of the instrument. The powerful tone, deep swagger and churning rococo harmonic attack of his approach continued to be an influence long after it was eclipsed by the smoother, thinner toned, more rubato style of Lester ...

like 249

Take Five With Julie Charnet

by AAJ Staff
August 15, 2009

Meet Julie Charnet: I have performed as a duo in restaurants, sang with a big band, and have been invited to sit in by some of the finest musicians. As for my style, I like to swing and flow but when the mood turns dark I will shuffle, shake, and chase away trouble. I like to entertain and to be entertained through all of life's stories. If a song hits you the right way you know it's a great ...

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Mark Lockheart: In Deep

by John Kelman
August 14, 2009

It's been four years since saxophonist Mark Lockheart's best-of-year Moving Air (Basho, 2005). Contrasting Moving Air's organic multi-tracking, In Deep goes for purer in-the-moment territory, with a traditional trumpet/sax/piano/bass/drums quintet that's anything but conventional.

Lockheart's ability to evoke a multiplicity of images with his music has been a marker with groups including his 11-piece Scratch Band and the Big Idea sextet that he formed to perform the more complex layering of Moving Air. On In Deep ...

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Renaud Garcia-Fons: La Linea del Sur

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 14, 2009

What would happen if the dense yet lyrical imagery of Garcia Lorca's Romancero Gitano was woven into the aural tapestry of bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons' offering, that traverses Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and America? A bewitching mix of flamenco, Arabic, jazz and Latin-American music would collide, resulting in a perfect offering such as La Linea del Sur. This imaginary journey through the global south is truly mesmerizing. From a compositional point of view, there is something ...

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David Berger Octet: I Had the Craziest Dream

by Jack Bowers
August 14, 2009

David Berger Octet I Had the Craziest Dream Such Sweet Thunder 2008

Composer / arranger / scholar / historian / educator David Berger, who uses groups of various sizes to adorn his musical framework, has chosen an octet to record I Had the Craziest Dream, subtitled The Music of Harry Warren. If you're thinking “Harry who?," think instead “Chattanooga Choo-Choo," “Lulu's Back in Town," “There Will Never Be Another You," “At Last," ...

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Tafillalt: Tafillalt

by Eyal Hareuveni
August 14, 2009

This innovative alt-klezmer/alt-Jewish music ensemble represents the growing interest of John Zorn's Tzadik label in the Israeli Jewish music scene. Tafillalt fits into the Radical Jewish Culture series of the label, not only by exploring and interpreting ancient and modern Hebrew prayers--songs in adventurous and compelling new soundscapes--but also because of the group's multicultural improvisational attitude that borrows from neighboring cultures, Muslim and Christian musical traditions, and consciously references them.

The three members of Taffilalt-- vocalist/percussionist Yair Harel, violist/vocalist Nori ...

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The Art of Listening: A Sense of Place

by AAJ Staff
August 14, 2009

By Gerry Hemingway I am writing to offer my insights about the experience of listening from the perspective of being a musician. The art of listening is, of course, a somewhat open-ended topic that, for the sake of this article, will concentrate primarily on a few points of what I have observed and can articulate verbally about on the experience of music and sound for me as a player and creator of composed and improvised music. I am ...

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Take Five With Terran Doehrer

by AAJ Staff
August 14, 2009

Meet Terran Doehrer: Terran Doehrer started/founded the Balkan Rhythm Band(tm) in 1980 to accompany a dance ensemble he was in. The BRB released the 1983 award winning LP, Jazziest Balkan Dance Band Around (Flying Fish Records FF315). The first player Terran added to the band was harmonicists/pianist Howard Levy. Terran then brought in two singers (Pam Gellen and Flo Fooden) and another reed player (Don Jacobs). Howard suggested some players he knew (Pat Fleming, Sandra Korelc) and they suggested others ...

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Hatfield and the North: Hatfield and The North / The Rotters Club

by John Kelman
August 14, 2009

Amongst the more revered of 1970s Canterbury bands--including Egg, Soft Machine, Caravan, Gilgamesh and Gong--Hatfield and the North has always occupied a special place in the hearts of fans of this distinctly British amalgam of complex progressive music, singular lyricism and self-directed humor. A band that was seemingly over before it began, Hatfield and the North represented a major step forward for all its members; a group that seamlessly blended jazz-like improvisational abandon with detailed composition, occasional pop tendencies and ...

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Talking Cows: Dairy Tales

by Bruce Lindsay
August 13, 2009

When a jazz ensemble calls itself Talking Cows, the temptation to make comments about its moo-sic or its horn section is almost too great. But the temptation should be resisted, because this particular group brings much more to the contemporary jazz scene than an opportunity for cheap puns. This Dutch quartet's second CD--the follow-up to Bovinity (Morvin Records, 2006)--is full of inventive music, played with enthusiasm, technical skill and a sense of humor. Talking Cows was formed ...