Jazz Articles
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Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio: Jet Black
by Dan McClenaghan
The January 2024 release of Jet Black starts the year out right. It is the Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio's sophomore recording, presenting the Japanese pianist in one of her most compelling modes of expression: the piano trio. This is not foreign territory for her. She headed up a superb threesome with drummer Jim Black and bassist Mark Dresser from 1997 until 2009, crafting gems like Illusion Suite (Libra Records, 2004) and Trace A River (Libra Records, 2008). As in any ...
Continue ReadingJohn Dikeman, Pat Thomas, John Edwards, Steve Noble: Volume 2
by John Sharpe
An incendiary outfit returns for a second volume (perhaps the second set?) of free jazz mayhem from London's Cafe Oto, recorded in February 2019. It comprises four players, each with a big sound, regardless of amplification, and a big personality to match--Amsterdam-based American John Dikeman, on tenor saxophone, and the British threesome of Pat Thomas (hailed by drummer Tyshawn Sorey as one of the best in the world, following their duet in the 2023 London Jazz Festival) on piano, John ...
Continue ReadingLina Allemano, Thomas Agergaard & Bacchanalia Orchestra
by Maurice Hogue
Canadian trumpeter Lina Allemano says she started writing canons as a fun and challenging compositional game of sorts; eventually the fun and games morphed into her latest album, Canons , where she's accompanied by a varying cast of characters. On the track chosen for this show Lina is joined by trombonist Matthias Müller. Danish saxophonist Thomas Agergaard found his inspiration for Narrrations in the uncertainty of recent observations about UFOs, while Amsterdam's Bacchanalia Orchestra undoubtedly just looks at the name ...
Continue ReadingRandom Acts of Roach, Knoel Scott, Jimmy Rowles
by David Brown
This week, we'll kick off our celebration of the Max Roach Centennial with a weekly set titled Random Acts of Max Roach; the show will also include a pair of tunes featuring saxophonist Knoel Scott of the Sun Ra Arkestra, jazz interpretations of Neil Young songs, and a set showcasing pianist Jimmy Rowles. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from ...
Continue ReadingIrreversible Entanglements: Open The Gates
by Chris May
The title track from Ornette Coleman-Quartet-with-vocals Irreversible Entanglements' 2021 album, the band's last on International Anthem before moving to Impulse!. The kind of music we need more than ever in 2024 as hate-fuelled authoritarianism advances towards the US presidency. ...
Continue ReadingThe Keith Jarrett Trio: Ten Essential Recordings
by Karl Ackermann
The Keith Jarrett Trio, or The Standards Trio, as it later became known, with Gary Peacock on double bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, is one of the most celebrated and influential jazz trios of all time. The group was formed in 1983 but Jarrett and DeJohnette had been collaborating since the late 1960s when they performed together in Miles Davis' band. The early version of the Jarrett trio featured Charlie Haden on bass, with Peacock coming in at the ...
Continue ReadingJohn Beasley, Jose Gola & Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez: El Trio Live in Italy
by Glenn Astarita
El Trio Live in Italy features the impressive line-up of Grammy Award-winner John Beasley on keyboards and synthesizers, José Gola on electric bass, and Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez on drums. Described as a “dream threesome" of renowned musicians, this album is a product of their summer tour of Italy in 2022. The album's essence is a journey of three friends allowing the music to guide them. All three artists have a rich history, having toured with the maestro of Afro-Cuban ...
Continue ReadingKinga Glyk: Real Life
by Mike Jurkovic
Throughout daredevil bassist Kinga Głyk's Real Life there are several moments which border menacingly on mainstream Euro-pop and wanna-be fusion. Fortunately those (intentional or unintentional?) moments are heavily outweighed and outnumbered by thrillingly incandescent moments which lend themselves to that old catch-all street phrase of the '60s, '70s, and '80s: “Man this is some really high powered s**t!" Because Real Life is high powered. And should be. Maybe that is the lesson to be learned from listening--live life ...
Continue ReadingNew Year, New Releases, Part 2 -- Review of 2023 Recordings & More
by Mary Foster Conklin
The first broadcast of 2024 includes new releases from Mark Winkler plus a single from Rachel Z, Part 2 of my favorite recordings of 2023 with birthday shoutouts to Naama Gheber, Myra Melford, Carol Sudhalter, Georgia Mancio, Christine Tobin, Susannah McCorkle and Rachel Z, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire.Playlist Lakecia Benjamin “Jubilation" ...
Continue ReadingCharlotte Keeffe Right Here Right Now Quartet: Alive! In The Studio
by John Sharpe
One of the finest up and coming trumpeters on the UK scene, Charlotte Keeffe's résumé includes an ever increasing circle of collaborators including bassist Olie Brice, reedman Colin Webster and multi-instrumentalists Alex Ward and Martin Archer (the latter also boss of the Discus imprint). For the second album from her Right Here, Right Now Quartet, comprising guitarist Moss Freed, bassist Ashley John Long and drummer Ben Handysides, she aims to replicate a live set in the studio. If this is ...
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