Jazz Articles about Alan Ferber

About Alan Ferber

Interview

Alan Ferber: Enneadic Endeavors

by Dan Bilawsky
July 20, 2023

When Alan Ferber was first finding his way as a Californian-turned-New Yorker near the dawn of the new millennium, he didn't know many people on his adopted scene. So logically, he used composing--for nonet, among other configurations--as a means for networking and fostering connections. “I don't like cold calling people; I just like to put projects together to meet people," shares the three-time Grammy-nominated trombonist, bandleader, composer, arranger and educator. Nearly two decades later, Ferber found himself ...

Album Review

Eunmi Lee: Introspection

Read "Introspection" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 19, 2023

Korean-born, New York-based pianist and composer Eunmi Lee opens her debut record, Introspection with her original composition, “Gimmick." And, if there is a gimmick, it sounds as if it might be her strong compositional voice and her way with an arrangement. The tune features Alan Ferber on trombone, saxophonist John Ellis, a guitar, bass and drums rhythm section, and Lee in the piano chair. In spite of the album's title, this opener is a bright, sassy roller. Maybe the gimmick ...

Liner Notes

Jennifer Wharton: Not a Novelty

by Dan Bilawsky
March 3, 2023

The eponymous debut from Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm broke the mold. There are no two ways about it. And while some may look at a statement like that and cry hyperbole, history begs to differ. With rare exception, the bass trombone—a horn forever typecast as an anchor—has been marginalized. So the idea of an ensemble featuring that denizen of the depths—a band playing music specifically commissioned to hinge on it, highlight it, and showcase the playing of one of its foremost ...

Album Review

Jon Gordon: Stranger Than Fiction

Read "Stranger Than Fiction" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
November 19, 2021

Più noto come eccellente sax contralto e leader di un apprezzato quartetto, Jon Gordon torna a incidere un disco orchestrale per la ArtistShare, dopo l'album Evolution del lontano 2009. Registrato nel mezzo della pandemia, con tutte le difficoltà e restrizioni che sappiamo, il nuovo lavoro rinnova la collaborazione col trombonista e arrangiatore Alan Ferber che partecipa al progetto nel triplice ruolo di co-produttore, arrangiatore di un brano ("Havens") e solista di trombone. Il medio organico include anche il clarinetto basso ...

Album Review

Jon Gordon: Stranger Than Fiction

Read "Stranger Than Fiction" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
October 9, 2021

Saxophonist Jon Gordon's superb 13th release as a leader, Stranger Than Fiction, consists of 10 cinematic and captivating originals. Gordon leads a large ensemble of mostly Canadian musicians through his vibrantly textured compositions. The focus is more on dynamic interplay of different band members and orchestral segments than on individual expressions. There are, however, brilliantly virtuosic soloists who seamlessly emerge out of these vividly ebullient works making them even more electrifyingly alive. Opening with delightfully dissonant staccato woodwinds ...

Album Review

Jon Gordon: Stranger Than Fiction

Read "Stranger Than Fiction" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
September 20, 2021

New York-bred alto saxophonist Jon Gordon has come a long way since he was hailed as something of a prodigy in the mid-1980s and earned first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1996. The music performed by Gordon's nonet on Stranger Than Fiction, we are told, “reflects [his] realization that reality takes twists and turns [that are] far more unpredictable than any author would dare write." There are indeed many twists and turns—most ...

Album Review

Brian Woodruff Sextet: A Centering Peace

Read "A Centering Peace" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
July 31, 2021

The title of this release by drummer Brian Woodruff suggests a set of meditative, spiritually-focused jazz by his long-standing sextet. While that may be the underlying theme of the disc but only a couple of tracks have that actual sound. The others go off in several different directions. The album is dedicated to Woodruff's spiritual advisor, Monsignor Edward Straub, and the title track was written to celebrate his 75th birthday and his 50th Anniversary in the priesthood. It ...