Jazz Articles

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Yaron Herman Trio: Muse

by Chris May
July 19, 2009

Muse is Yaron Herman's fourth album and with it the Israeli-born/French-based pianist continues his steady progress towards a mature post-Keith Jarrett, post-Brad Mehldau style and the certainty of world ranking. Still in his late twenties, Herman set out his stall with the piano/drums duo album Takes 2 To Know 1 (Sketch, 2005), which was followed by a solo set, Variations (Laborie Records, 2006), and most recently a trio plus electronica album, A Time For Everything (Laborie Records, 2007). The new ...

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Opening Night: The Tim Hagans Quintet at Birdland

by Ralph A. Miriello
July 19, 2009

Tim Hagans Quintet Birdland New York, NY July 8, 2009

Established as the “Jazz Corner of the World" in 1949, Birdland is the quintessential jazz club in New York City. Tim Hagans, the hi-powered trumpeter, and his quintet began his run of four consecutive nights at the club on a Wednesday night in July. At the start of his first set, he acknowledged his appreciation for the club, its history and its savvy audience. ...

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TransAtlantic Collective: Traveling Song

by Bruce Lindsay
July 19, 2009

In recent years jazz groups have begun to give themselves names that give nothing away about their composition or style. The TransAtlantic Collective bucks the trend with a name that offers a more helpful description of itself: a group of musicians from the USA, Britain and mainland Europe. American saxophonist Patrick Cornelius, British trumpeter Quentin Collins, Estonian pianist Kristjan Randalu, UK-based American bassist Michael Janisch and drummer Paul Wiltgen from Luxembourg were college friends whose occasional get-togethers have blossomed into ...

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Unexpected Moments in New Orleans with Tom McDermott

by Wade Luquet
July 19, 2009

Tom McDermott Donna's New Orleans, LA July 2009

I love unexpected moments in New Orleans. The best thing about these moments is that they happen so often. New Orleans is often called “the biggest small town on earth." You just never know who you are going to meet or what you are going to see or hear, and that's exactly what happened on a recent balmy July night.

Stopping in Donna's on Rampart Street ...

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Take Five With Curtis Andrews

by AAJ Staff
July 19, 2009

Meet Curtis Andrews: Drummer/percussionist/composer Curtis Andrews strives to create, assemble, mix and discover. Schooled in the jazz tradition, he prefers to take his music beyond that and has studied intensely, the music of Ghana and India. As a result, his debut album The Offering of Curtis Andrews is unlike anything you may have heard.Instrument(s): Drum set, mrdidangam, mbira, various African percussion.Teachers and/or influences? Teachers: Don Wherry, Trichy Sankaran, Kwasi Dunyo, Ledzi Agudzemegah, Avu Adukpo, ...

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Gato Barbieri: In Search of the Mystery

by Warren Allen
July 19, 2009

This is not dinner music, nor is it Last Tango in Paris, though there are actually hints of tango flitting around the mix. This is Gato Barbieri with a little extra scream in his step, moving out in the free vein of the '60s avant-garde--loud, brash, unpolished and unapologetic. Showing the influence of his work with Don Cherry, Barbieri brings tons of energy to this 1967 ESP session, which finds him conversing with an unusual sparring partner in Calo Scott, ...

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Tower of Power: Great American Soulbook

by Woodrow Wilkins
July 19, 2009

For more than 40 years, Tower of Power has been thrilling audiences with its brassy sound. Whether as a stand-alone act or backing up another group, this 10-piece ensemble has crossed many genres, including blues, pop, jazz, funk, rock and soul. Having worked with such a diversity of acts as Aerosmith and Spyro Gyra, the band has accumulated an extensive repertoire. Now, tapping into a recent trend of artists remaking old hits, Tower of Power puts a slight ...

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Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood: Live From Madison Square Garden

by Doug Collette
July 18, 2009

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live From Madison Square Garden Reprise Records 2009

The garish pseudo psychedelic cover graphics of guitarist Eric Clapton and keyboard player and guitarist Steve Winwood's Live From Madison Square Garden package mislead. These recordings taken from a three night run at the hallowed venue in 2008--included in almost identical form on a double audio CD set and the first disc of the double DVD set--are not an exercise in ...

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Mike DiRubbo: Repercussion

by C. Michael Bailey
July 18, 2009

The immediate appeal of alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo's Repercussion is the replacement of the piano by the vibraphone as the rhythm section's harmony instrument. Guitar-based and piano-less rhythm sections have made their way into the mainstream, leaving the vibraphone-based rhythm section still a novelty.

DiRubbo is certainly not the first to employ such a format. Trombonist Grachan Moncur III's Evolution (Blue Note, 1963) had Bobby Hutcherson on vibes with no piano and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery's Veneration: Live at Smoke (Savant ...

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The Bill Evans Trio: Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings June 1980

by Doug Collette
July 18, 2009

The extent to which Bill Evans' studio and live recordings have been recorded, archived and released is a testament to the deserved reverence the late pianist has elicited. Originally available only in a limited run, Turn Out the Stars-The Final Village Vanguard Recordings June 1980 is further evidence of that devout respect.

Far more lavish (and sturdy despite the individual digipaks inside)) than the accompanying box, the essays written by Bob Blumenthal and Harold Danko are extensive in their detail ...