Jazz Articles
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The Five Corners Quintet: Trading Eights
by Ludovico Granvassu
The Five Corners Quintet was a Finnish combo that doubled as both launchpad and meeting point--bringing together up-and-coming players and established figures alike, with veteran Eero Koivistoinen as well as younger musicians including Timo Lassy (saxophones), Jukka Eskola (trumpet and flugelhorn), Kim Rantala and Mikael Jakobsson (piano), Antti Lötjönen and Tapani Nevalainen (bass), and Teppo Mäkynen (drums and bandleading). Many of them today enrich the We Jazz Records roster. Their debut album--aptly titled Chasin' The Jazz Gone By ...
Continue ReadingSilke Eberhard Trio: Being-A-Ning
by John Sharpe
Adventurous German saxophonist Silke Eberhard has long favored the trio format as a proving ground, even as she splits her time with her larger Potsa Lotsa ensemble, and other projects. With bassist Jan Roder and drummer Kay Lübke, she has cultivated a rapport that feels both intuitive and restless. Being-A-Ning, the group's fifth release--each one bearing the word “being" in its title--reaffirms that bond while pushing it forward. Although all three principals are well-versed in convention, rather than confining their ...
Continue ReadingJane Ira Bloom, Kieran Brown, Charlie Parker & Sheila Jordan
by Joe Dimino
Our journey into the 921st episode of Neon Jazz begins with the incomparable Sheila Jordan--a legend whose fearless spirit and boundless artistry will forever echo through jazz. She left us on August 11, 2025, at the age of 96, after a life lived with unmatched courage, grace, and musical brilliance. In her honor, we open with “Comes Love" from her long-lost 1960 session, a reminder of her timeless voice and devotion to the art form. From there, we celebrate her ...
Continue ReadingLady Day Reimagined: Stella Heath’s Jazz Story
by Steven Roby
Vocalist Stella Heath describes Billie Holiday the way a director describes a great actor--precise about choices, attentive to subtext, and focused on how a story resonates in the room. “Stories are front and foremost for me," she says. Heath's connection to Holiday starts with feeling. What drew her in wasn't just her timbre or repertoire, but the uncanny way Holiday “makes you feel a song." Heath perceives emotional accuracy--how a single line can convey witness, tenderness, or a ...
Continue ReadingThe Summer Knows (un été 42)
by Artur Moral
Not so young, but still foolish: arduous is the path chosen by pianist, composer and singer Franck Amsallem, a lesser-known figure--outside his immediate performance circle--even among some of the jazz world's most avid and encyclopedic enthusiasts. Nevertheless, this musician's name should appear in that roster of outstanding French baby boomer keyboardists mentioned in Pierre de Bethmann: Sharing a Musical Breakfast in Lyon. There are several reasons for this unintentional and unfair ignorance: his current thematic approach, formalized in ...
Continue ReadingDino Saluzzi: El Viejo Caminante
by Doug Collette
El Viejo Caminante is a natural and logical extension of Dino Saluzzi's Albores (ECM, 2020). On that solo album, the bandleader used his instrument (the bandoneon--an accordion-like instrument with origins in Germany) to mesmerize and during this companion piece/sequel, Saluzzi's interplay with his two bandmates is comparably hypnotizing. As such, the album belies the translation of its title “The Old Wanderer." Understated as is the flow of energy on cuts such as “La Ciudad De Los Aires Buenos," ...
Continue ReadingJovino Santos Neto Quarteto: Mais Que Tudo: Live at Kerry Hall 1995
by Bruce Phares
Sit down. Put on the best earphones you've got. A seatbelt wouldn't hurt, either. Get ready to be blown away. From the opening salvo of Jovino Santos Neto's dazzling composition “Metamorph," you're about to be taken on a musical journey of intense elation, abandon, and passion, engaging and urgent in all aspects, through the many twists and turns of what now is considered a legendary concert; the first time Seattle ears were given a chance to hear these amazing songs ...
Continue ReadingChes Smith: Clone Row
by Glenn Astarita
Ches Smith, the San Diego-born Sacramento-raised drummer who studied philosophy at the University of Oregon before diving headfirst into the Bay Area's experimental music scene, has long been one of modern jazz's most restless spirits. His deep resume includes work with Marc Ribot, Tim Berne, John Zorn, Mary Halvorson and Nels Cline, cementing his reputation as a first-call rhythmic architect for the avant-garde and progressive jazz. Following his acclaimed ten-piece ensemble album Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic, 2024), Smith took a bold ...
Continue ReadingRico Jones: The Spiritual Sax Of Bloodlines
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines on tenor saxophonist Rico Jones.Rico's new album BloodLines (Giant Step Arts), captures something you don't hear much anymore--a live recording that feels like a complete story. Recorded at Brooklyn's Ornithology Jazz Club, it's five original compositions that explore his multicultural heritage, from his Indigenous and Latino roots to his deep connection with Black American musical traditions.Based in Harlem, Rico's already performed with Esperanza Spalding at the Blue Note and co-led the first ...
Continue ReadingRodney Crowell: Airline Highway
by Doug Collette
The best entries in Rodney Crowell's twenty-plus entry discography emphasize simplicity in material, musicianship and production. As such, Airline Highway has much in common with But What Will the Neighbors Think (Warner Bros., 1980) and The Chicago Sessions (New West, 2023). Unlike (too) many contemporary country artists, Crowell does not affect a pose. Instead, he proffers himself as an intelligent and discerning soul who has learned much from living life to the fullest (without belaboring the specifics).Layered arrangements ...
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