Jazz Articles

like 485

Ralph Bowen: Dedicated

by Blaine Fallis
July 2, 2009

Ralph Bowen Dedicated Posi-Tone Records 2009

Tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen's Dedicated is a project that was nurtured and produced by Posi-tone Records' founder Marc Free, who felt that Bowen was under-appreciated by the jazz public at large. Bowen has influenced hundreds of players through his teaching position at Rutgers, and many top jazz players know how skilled he is. Having heard him live several times, Free has long admired Bowen's sound and ...

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Roy Nathanson: Subway Moon

by Mark F. Turner
July 2, 2009

If the expression “renaissance musician" existed in the dictionary, it would probably show a picture of saxophonist Roy Nathanson. The leader of the Jazz Passengers has undergone numerous artistic rebirths throughout his career as a member of The Lounge Lizards, performing with Debbie Harry, Elvis Costello, and Marc Ribot, composing for film and theater, acting, teaching, and even hosting a radio drama. He also holds a degree in poetry, which is put to splendid use on Subway Moon. Inspired by ...

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Andy Milne & Benoit Delbecq: Where Is Pannonica?

by Martin Gladu
July 2, 2009

Andy Milne & Benoit Delbecq Where Is Pannonica? Songlines Recordings 2009

Welcome to the third dimension. The product of their 2008 winter residency at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, Where Is Pannonica? seals the longstanding, twinlike affinity between pianists Andy Milne and Benoit Delbecq in one truly astonishing soundscape. And although Nantes puts itself forward as an answer to the title's inquiry, it's possible the question is instead concerned with identifying ...

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Jake Langley: Here and Now

by Matthew Warnock
July 2, 2009

Here and Now is a hard-boppin' and soulful organ trio release by ex-pat Canadian guitarist Jake Langley, who now resides in New York City. After spending several years touring and recording with the Joey DeFrancesco trio, which was featured on Langley's previous album, Langley has opted to feature another trio on this record. It consists of organist Sam Yahel and drummer Ian Froman, with both musicians bringing a deep sense of groove and high level of creativity to every track. ...

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Rick Germanson Trio: Off the Cuff

by John Kelman
July 2, 2009

With so many mainstream piano trios flooding the market, it's increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's easier when, in the instance of a Brad Mehldau, John Taylor or Enrico Pieranunzi, the artist's voice is so distinctive and approach so readily identifiable that there can be little doubt of its relevance. It becomes a greater challenge with pianists working this space who combine original composition with the Great American Songbook and, occasionally, more contemporary popular sources. Still, ...

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Nick Hempton Band: Nick Hempton Band

by Jerry D'Souza
July 2, 2009

Alto saxophonist Nick Hempton is a funny man. Though not discernable from the picture on the cover of his debut, Nick Hempton Band, his liner notes tell all. Australia-born Hempton landed in New York in the winter of 2004, with the aim of putting a band together. The first pick was easy; he already knew drummer Dan Aran. But Hempton needed to do more than march to the beat of his own drummer. His search continued and ...

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Azure: When She Smiles

by Ian Patterson
July 2, 2009

Azure is a Netherlands-based quartet formed in 2006, and When She Smiles is its second release. Nine original compositions--seven penned by pianist Pierre-Francois Blanchard, and two by guitarist Rogier Schneemann--take the quartet through lyrical terrain. Although there are no overbearing influences on the music, there is a classical jazz overtone to much of the playing, and the ghosts of the Modern Jazz Quartet linger somewhere below the surface. There is also a distinct modernism at the core, and the appeal ...

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Chico Freeman, Air, Walt Dickerson, George Cables: Buried Treasures Now On CD

by Chris May
July 1, 2009

Not to be confused with the Swedish trance and electronica label of the same name, the original Why Not label was an adventurous affair run by the Japanese businessman and jazz fan Masahiko Yuh for a brief but productive spell in the 1970s. With few contacts, but armed with an outstanding pair of ears, a cheque book and a heap of enthusiasm, Yuh travelled to the US in 1975 to record emergent or neglected musicians in Chicago, Philadelphia and Los ...

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Craig Buhler: Skykomish

by C. Michael Bailey
July 1, 2009

On Capistrano Sessions (Discernment Music, 2007), saxophonist/arranger Craig Buhler boldly updated the sound of West Coast Cool, effectively making him the heir proper to composer Marty Paich. Buhler tempers his grip on said inheritance with Skykomish, an effort to add to the new book of jazz standards while suggesting two of his own. An “everyman" musician, he is involved in recording, performance, education, church and local activities in his North West community of Sequim, Washington, where he lives with his ...

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Jack Nimitz: Baritone-in-Chief

by Jack Bowers
July 1, 2009

Baritone saxophonist Jack Nimitz died June 10, 2009 at his home in Studio City, California. He was 79 years old. That's hardly headline news except to a relative handful of jazz enthusiasts who were privileged to hear and appreciate his consummate artistry over the span of more than half a century when Nimitz was at the top of his game.

He was, in fact, playing remarkably well almost to his last labored breath (Nimitz had suffered from emphysema for several ...