Jazz Articles

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Stade: Freewheel

by Mark F. Turner
July 28, 2009

The relationship between electronics and acoustic instruments has evolved since Miles Davis' groundbreaking Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969), with artists continuing to manipulate technologies within their current environments. These lines are becoming increasingly blurred on recordings such as Opsvik and Jennings' A Dream I Used To Remember (Loyal Label, 2009) and Humcrush's Rest at Worlds End (Rune Grammofon, 2008). Further proof of this techno-improv pandemic is witnessed in Stade's Freewheel, yet another brilliantly creative duo featuring keyboardist Pierre ...

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Desmond at the Curtis Arboretum: A Great Taste of Philly Jazz on a Summer Evening

by Victor L. Schermer
July 28, 2009

Mary Ellen Desmond Curtis Arboretum Philadelphia, PA July 12, 2009

If you want a picture-perfect setting with a “soiree" feeling for a jazz group, the Curtis Arboretum is it. Located in the Philadelphia suburb of Wyncote, PA, it was created by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, in honor of her father Cyrus Curtis, founder of the famed Curtis Publishing Company. Frederick Law Olmstead was responsible for the landscaping who was also the iconic designer of ...

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Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Infernal Machines

by David Rickert
July 28, 2009

What's a guy to do when he has aspirations to form a big band in this day and age? Certainly the odds are against him; for one thing, there isn't much of a market for it, and the cost of taking that many musicians on the road (much less paying them) can be cost prohibitive. But if you're Darcy James Argue, you say to hell with it and form a big band anyway. The result is the Secret Society and ...

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Kat Walker: Jazz Skat Gumbo

by C. Michael Bailey
July 28, 2009

At first brush, Kat Walker's Jazz Skat Gumbo appears to be just one more collection of jazz standards sung by one of the deluge of singers streaming into the already crowded jazz vocals market. Kat Walker indeed sings the standards, but she and her band hail from New Orleans, a fact that adds a decidedly Southern richness and complexity to the performances. This does not manifest as an incorporation of Dixieland elements, but rather an earthier, peatier quality to the ...

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Mark O'Leary / Matthew Shipp: Labyrinth

by Glenn Astarita
July 28, 2009

Like impressionist painters, guitarist Mark O'Leary and pianist Matthew Shipp execute a colorific sequence of abstracts, consisting of semi-structured theme-building developments and free-form dialogues. With blitzing firepower, the duo also fuses nuance and temperance into the big picture. They dish out linear, micro-motifs amid subtle shadings, and fragmented exchanges, but O'Leary ups the ante during several movements via his dark-toned, breakneck single note licks.

Shipp's flickering progressions and rhythmically inclined block chords offer a fertile underpinning throughout. They ...

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Take Five With Jim Miller

by AAJ Staff
July 28, 2009

Meet Jim Miller:Administrator of ElectroJazz Music (BMI, 1980); founded Encounter Records in 1986 and Dreambox Media in 1995, resulting in Philadelphia Magazine's choice award for 1999 Best of Philly Jazz Record Label; Produced Evelyn Simms' On My Own, awarded Best Jazz Recording of 1989 by the Philadelphia Music Foundation.Currently working and recording with Tyrone Brown (former bassist for Max Roach), the Jim Ridl Trio, the Tom Lawton Quintet, MONKadelphia and the Denis DiBlasio Quartet / Quintet. ...

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Umbria Jazz: Days 7-10, July 16-19, 2009

by Michael J. West
July 27, 2009

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 | Days 7-10 The final days of the 2009 Umbria Jazz Festival were an extravaganza of sorts for lovers of the piano. Topping the must-see list was avant-garde innovator Cecil Taylor, giving a solo concert on Friday at Teatro Morlacchi; but Ahmad Jamal and McCoy Tyner also appeared, and for those with an ear to sophisticated pop music, Burt Bacharach also performed his compositions on piano.

The AACM Great Black Music Ensemble performed its ...

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John Patitucci Trio: Remembrance

by Chris May
July 27, 2009

It's true what they say: you can't judge an album by looking at the cover. Contrary to the mood suggested by the title and the monochrome sleeve shot of an autumnal city park, bassist John Patitucci's Remembrance is a warm and perky affair. The album is Patitucci's salute to some departed heroes--saxophonists John Coltrane, Joe Henderson and Michael Brecker, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Ali Farka Toure--along with a live one, saxophonist Sonny Rollins. There are poignant ...

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Mia Vermillion: Alone Together With the Blues

by C. Michael Bailey
July 27, 2009

Mia Vermillion has a big vocal presence. She sings with the wild abandon of Janis Joplin controlled by the fluid precision of Bonnie Bramlett, the gusto of Big Mama Thornton, and the blues foundation of Bessie Smith. She infuses her singing with more humidity than Ma Rainey and more sex than Lena Horn.

Tacitly a blues singer, Vermillion's repertoire on Alone Together with the Blues is more diverse than the straight 12-bar variety. Joined by master slide guitarist Orville Johnson, ...

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James Carney Group: Ways & Means

by Matt Marshall
July 27, 2009

It's good to see the jazz community is not shying away from pressing political and social issues of the day. Guitarist Brad Shepik, with his Human Activity Suite (Songlines, 2009), and drummer Alex Cline, with Continuation (Cryptogramophone, 2009), have both made musical pleas for the environment in 2009, following in the socially conscious footsteps of Max Roach, Charles Mingus and Charlie Haden, among others.

With Ways & Means, keyboardist James Carney aggressively confronts this century's first major economic crisis. Conceived ...