Jazz Articles

like 167

Ralph Bowen: Dedicated

by Glenn Astarita
July 16, 2009

Back in the 1980s, tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen was a member of a young and thoroughly hip progressive jazz ensemble known as OTB--Out Of The Blue. Since then, he's been an in-demand session artist. With Dedicated, he garners superb support from a top-flight ensemble, but it's Bowen's dynamic presence and big sound that fully reveal his colossal talents.

Bowen packs a mighty wallop, steeped within his full-bodied tone and muscular phraseology, all spiced with lyrically resplendent theme-building persuasions. ...

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The Paul Dunmall Trio at the Vortex, London

by John Sharpe
July 16, 2009

Paul Dunmall/Nick Stephens/Tony Marsh The Vortex London, England May 19, 2009

British reedman Paul Dunmall breaks bread with a wide range of collaborators. While the ensuing documentation is less prolific than say Anthony Braxton's or Steve Lacy's in either's heyday, there is rarely overlap in personnel on consecutive discs. Saxophone, bass and drums have proved a particularly fertile configuration for Dunmall, borne out by his Deep Joy trio (Duns Limited Edition, 2004) with Paul ...

like 527

Take Five With Domina Catrina

by AAJ Staff
July 16, 2009

Instrument(s):Left-handed acoustic guitar, high-strung acoustic guitar, virtual instruments (basses, percussions, ethnic instruments, etc) triggered from M-Audio oxygen-8 keyboard into MacBook using Apple loops (usually modified in some way), Indonesian flute (suling), soprano recorder, alto recorder.Teachers and/or influences? I spent six or seven months from September '86 studying guitar at the Musicians' Institute. Studied there with various jazz and fusion greats--Joe Diorio, Scott Henderson, Jamie Findlay and Frank Gambale, but humbly do not consider these giants as ...

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Bob Albanese Trio: One Way/Detour

by John Patten
July 16, 2009

In 2008, pianist Bob Albanese took his trio into a studio to do an unplanned recording while performing in Florida, spinning a collection of first and second takes with saxophonist Ira Sullivan that became One Way/Detour.

As a composer, Albanese uses rhythm to lay the groundwork for his compositions. He builds on spare harmonic and modal ideas, which are bolstered by steady support from Tom Kennedy on bass and Willard Dyson on drums, to create solid original works. ...

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Molde Jazz: Day 2, July 14, 2009

by John Kelman
July 16, 2009

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 Arve Henriksen / Marilyn Mazur / Tomasz Stańko Molde Jazz Molde, Norway July 14, 2009 For the uninitiated, it can be somewhat disorienting to leave a concert at 10 at night and find it still daylight outside; even more disconcerting when an outdoor show complete with gut-punching bass begins an hour later. In most cities ...

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Ornette Coleman's Meltdown is the Best Ever

by John Eyles
July 16, 2009

Ornette Coleman's Meltdown London June 12-21, 2009 Ever since it was announced in late March that Ornette Coleman was to curate the 2009 Meltdown festival at the South Bank, Coleman seemed to dominate the capital. The festival's trademark image of a young Coleman soulfully eyeballing the camera was everywhere, on larger-than-life posters in the London underground, in adverts in papers and magazines, on flyers and handbills, and online. It was mesmerising and inescapable. But ...

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Umbria Jazz: Days 1-3, July 10-12, 2009

by Michael J. West
July 15, 2009

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 | Days 7-10 “You know," said one American tourist to his friend as he walked past the tents on the first day of Umbria Jazz, “Ever since we got here last week this is all we've heard anyone talk about."

Small wonder. The 10-day, citywide festival is more than just the biggest thing that Perugia, the capital of the small Italian region of Umbria, sees every year. The dozens of artists and hundreds ...

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Glenn White: Sacred Machines

by Jay Deshpande
July 15, 2009

New York-based saxophonist Glenn White presents a set of eloquent and somewhat haunting tunes on Sacred Machines. The machines herein are a platform for the strong soloists in the ensemble, but the album's unity comes from a common palette that transcends the bandleader's harmonic tendencies (White wrote six of the disc's seven songs). Sacred Machines presents a pleasant interplay between able musicians, in a firm, stylistic environment. Although there is a degree of variation between the tracks--"Triality" ...

like 895

Molde Jazz: Day 1, July 13, 2009

by John Kelman
July 15, 2009

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

Arve Henriksen Cartography / Bugge Wesseltoft Molde Jazz Molde, Norway July 13, 2009

Descending by plane into Molde airport, it's difficult not to be in awe of the geography surrounding this small town of 25,000 people. Depending on the source, Molde is surrounded by anywhere from 87 to 222 mountains; of course, much of ...

like 262

Baptiste Trotignon: Share

by Raul d'Gama Rose
July 15, 2009

At first blush, one thought and just one thought rattles around in the mind: “Can Bill Evans never rest in peace?" But then the music of “Samsara," the second track on the lovely Share wafts into the inner ear.

With flugelhornist Tom Harrell and Mark Turner wailing on tenor saxophone, Share's main protagonist, Baptiste Trotignon, plays rapid trills beforesettling down and applying a remarkable dynamic to his piano solo. Withdrawing the emotion of the song into a virtual ...