Jazz Articles

like 926

Arturo O'Farrill: Upholding the Latin Tinge

by R.J. DeLuke
June 22, 2009

Arturo O'Farrill, an extraordinary pianist, admits he came out of the bebop school of playing, a Bud Powell disciple, and his strong chops would attest to that. He didn't pursue the music of his father—the great Chico O'Farrill—in his younger days, but he came upon it as he studied the music. He came to not only appreciate it, but his excellent bands embody it.He's led two Latin big bands, one celebrating his father's music (the Chico O'Farrill Afro ...

like 735

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2009

by Gary Firstenberg
June 21, 2009

If you want to experience music as wide and as deep as the mighty Mississippi River, it is best to go right to the source. In the lush surroundings of the oldest horse racing track in The Big Easy, the 40th Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival celebrated a diverse assortment of music, and provided an international audience with a far-flung array of Louisiana culture--it was the best attended festival since Hurricane Katrina. For the most part, ...

like 352

Seabrook Power Plant: Seabrook Powerplant

by Troy Collins
June 21, 2009

Seabrook Powerplant is the long awaited debut of Brandon Seabrook as an ensemble leader, one of the most impressive young guitarists to arise from the verdant Brooklyn scene. Despite his relatively limited discography, the New England Conservatory graduate has been active since the mid-1990s, as a member of Radical Jewish Culture pioneers Naftule's Dream, the eclectic Beat Circus and more recently, in collaboration with Peter Evans, Jessica Pavone, Jeremy Udden and other like-minded peers.

Splitting his time equally ...

like 283

2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

by Joel A. Siegel
June 21, 2009

The 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival marked the return of pre-Katrina level attendance. Despite the national recession, the festival announced sales of more than 400,000 tickets for the seven-day event over two weekends. As usual, producer Quint Davis did a masterful job blending the various musical components, including New Orleans jazz, national jazz acts, blues, rhythm & blues, gospel, folk, rock, cajun, zydeco, and international artists with a link to New Orleans.Also as usual, Mr. Davis endured ...

like 485

John Hebert: Byzantine Monkey

by Nic Jones
June 21, 2009

Bassist John Hebert was a member of guitarist Mary Halvorson's trio that put out the memorable Dragon's Head on Firehouse 12 in 2008, while Michael Attias has recorded with guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil on Opium (2002) for CIMP, one of the most rewarding titles of the last ten years. This program thus has a lot to live up to.

If the instrumental line-up suggests free-bop in the mode of early Ornette Coleman then prepare to have that expectation dashed. Hebert clearly ...

like 326

Jane Bunnett: Embracing Voices

by Raul d'Gama Rose
June 21, 2009

Saxophonist/flautist Jane Bunnett's Embracing Voices honors the human voice with unbridled intensity and features brave rhythmic, melodic and harmonic explorations. The record features fourteen instruments that swathe the heavenly choiristics of Grupo Vocal Desandann, the legendary ten-person a capella ensemble that celebrates a Haitian legacy. The choral group employs dense harmonies, intricately woven into call-and-response segues and contrapuntal structures that makes Desandann one of the most distinctive 10-voice choirs in music. Stately basses grind con arco together with the trill ...

like 338

Endgrain

by Manus McDaid
June 21, 2009

Jazz music is much like the sea, with surface tensions failing to corroborate the underlying mutinous vibe--and you can drown in it. Meet Paco Pastorals for example: piccolo jazz-moister extraordinaire and great entrepreneurial genius of late. Late-night drinking sessions of old; way back before the newer, rather ambiguous although legal, 24/7 binge promos, though!Enter the valiant-vainglorious: Victor, in propria persona ex-naval functionary sea-dog struggling on the dry, dry land whilst, rather shakily trying to balance the log in ...

like 173

Dave Fox Group featuring Bruce Eisenbeil: Home Again

by Eyal Hareuveni
June 21, 2009

The third release of the Dave Fox group, augmented now by avant-guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil, presents free improvised music at its best. This is adventurous music that's raw, muscular, unstructured, intense, idiosyncratic in its risk-taking approach but still cohesive in a unique way.

The group is comprised of North Carolina's Greensboro College music educator Fox (here on Fender Rhodes, Hohner clavinet, grand piano and Hammond B3 organ) and New York-based Eisenbeil on guitars--quite often processing their sound--alongside Fox's musical partners, bassist ...

like 303

Chad McCullough: Dark Wood, Dark Water

by John Barron
June 20, 2009

Seattle trumpeter/composer Chad McCullough makes his recording debut as a leader with Dark Wood, Dark Water, a diverse sextet outing featuring eight original compositions and a fresh take on the Lennon/McCartney classic “Blackbird." Along with the all-star rhythm section of pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Jeff Johnson and Drummer John Bishop, McCullough is joined by saxophonists Mark Taylor and Geof Bradfield.

McCullough proves a thoughtful improviser with technique to spare. His soloing on the opening “Three Pillars" and “Blackbird" builds from ...

like 223

Phish: Live at Hampton Coliseum, March 2009

by Doug Collette
June 20, 2009

Nearly four and a half years after what was meant to be its final concert in Coventry, Vermont, Phish made a resounding return to the stage in Hampton, Virginia in March of 2009. Clearly well-practiced as it navigated its way enthusiastically through some of the most challenging and familiar material in its repertoire, the Vermont quartet reestablished itself as the standard by which jamband musicianship is measured.

At the same time Phish maintained its cutting edge within contemporary culture by ...