Jazz Articles

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Rob Mazurek Quintet: Sound Is

by Nic Jones
June 16, 2009

On the surface, cornet and keyboard player Rob Mazurek doesn't seem to have a lot of time for the past. His commitment to music outside of any overt “jazz" continuum helps keep him fresh and avoid the sterility of a neo-conservative stance, so that even when the experimental nature of the music misfires, the degree of commitment still shines through.

All of this is apparent when his cornet comes to the fore on “The Earthquake Tree," where soloist and band ...

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Jake Hertzog: Chromatosphere

by John Patten
June 16, 2009

Jake Hertzog's Chromatosphere (That's Out Records, 2008) presents the brilliant young guitar picker at his best in a talented combo of New York sidemen. At 22, Hertzog is just beginning his career, and the release--his first--is clearly intended to draw attention and establish his name, with strong compositional statements and clever covers of classic tunes.

Hertzog leans towards modern harmonies. It's not clear if he can play a dominant chord without something getting diminished or augmented, ...

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Bill Bruford: The Summerfold and Winterfold Collections

by Phillip Woolever
June 16, 2009

Drummer Bill Bruford announced his retirement from live performance in March 2009, and coincident with the release of his autobiography, Bill Bruford: The Autobiography (Jawbone Press, 2009), he has provided a treasure of remarkable composition and improvisation with these intriguing time-capsule tidbits. Another name for the collections, which chronicle the majority of Bruford's musical exploits from 1978 through 2008, could be “Seasons of Excellence." Bruford first found fame in the early 1970s with Yes, and soon afterwards ...

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New Classics: Mark Soskin Quartet with Ravi Coltrane at the Kitano Hotel

by Warren Allen
June 16, 2009

Mark Soskin Quartet with Ravi Coltrane The Kitano Hotel New York, NY May 2, 2009

Mark Soskin is one of the more underrated pianists working today. Perhaps best known for his sideman work alongside greats like Sonny Rollins and Herbie Mann, Soskin combines an always melodic approach with a rich vocabulary that draws on a wide range of influences.

On May 2, he brought a new quartet--featuring Ravi Coltrane on sax, Jay ...

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Rob Parton: Rob Parton Quartet

by Edward Blanco
June 16, 2009

Chicago trumpeter Rob Parton has been leading his phenomenal JAZZTECH Big Band for the better part of two decades now, but it was four years of quartet gigs at the Catch 35 Restaurant and Club in Chicago that inspired Rob Parton Quartet. Parton began performing at the club in 2005 with his favorite longtime drummer Bob Rummage and pianist Laurence Hobgood, who has since relocated to New York and been replaced by Steve Million. The quartet now features Million, Rummage ...

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Bobby Broom: Plays For Monk

by Mark Corroto
June 16, 2009

Monk lives! Perhaps it can be said that Thelonious Monk has had many lives. Ever since the unique pianist established his repertoire in the 1940s and '50s musicians have, probably beginning with saxophonist Steve Lacy, taken up the task of covering the now infamous music. With Plays for Monk, guitarist Bobby Broom delivers one of the finest Monk tributes to be released in quite some time.

Best known for his work with Sonny Rollins, the saxophonist asked Broom ...

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Andy Narell and Relator: University of Calypso

by Woodrow Wilkins
June 16, 2009

It almost seems required in many cases, that jazz artists incorporate other styles into their music, whether it is blues, R&B, pop, classical or Latin. Half a century ago, jazz and calypso were fused together for the first time, and now Andy Narell and modern-day calypso legend Relator revisit that relationship with University of Calypso. Narell is perhaps the world's foremost steel pan artist, making a career of working this instrument into the realm of jazz. His studio ...

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The Making of Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense

by Eric Benson
June 15, 2009

On an August morning in 1958, a 33-year-old photographer named Art Kane gathered 57 jazz musicians together on the steps of a Harlem brownstone. The resulting picture, known as “A Great Day in Harlem," appeared in the January 1959 issue of Esquire and has become the most famous image in jazz history. The photograph lacks the emotional intimacy of many famous jazz portraits--Coltrane at the Vanguard, contemplative with sweat on the brow; Miles in the studio, hungry behind great bug ...

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Gerald Cleaver / William Parker / Craig Taborn: Farmers by Nature

by Ian Patterson
June 15, 2009

Truly improvised music is, like the depths of the great oceans, a place where few have really ventured, and it remains a largely unexplored world. On Farmers by Nature pianist Craig Taborn, drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist William Parker are like cartographers of the unknown, diving deep into the world of improvised music. Guided by each others' rhythms, their ear is their compass, plotting a course through unfamiliar soundscapes which can be both intimidating and awe-inspiring.

So tentatively does the ...

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Rob Burger: City of Strangers

by Warren Allen
June 15, 2009

Whether in his playing as a founding member of the chamber jazz Tin Hat Trio, or in his sideman appearances with everyone from Iron & Wine to Laurie Anderson, Rob Burger brings an exotic and evocative touch to his music. John Zorn has featured Burger's accordion and/or piano on many soundtrack albums, and Burger's City of Strangers reflects that influence. These are simple melodies which blend blues, folk, exotica, world, electronica, jazz and ambient influences into 31 lush film cues. ...