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Lucas Pino: Covers
by Jack Bowers
Covers is a quartet date in which New York-based tenor saxophonist Lucas Pino “covers" half a dozen generally pleasing songs written by his contemporaries, alongside one each by Charlie Parker ("Relaxin' at Camarillo") and Duke Pearson ("New Girl"). Pino's smooth, articulate tenor saxophone is reinforced by guitarist Alex Goodman, bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Allan Mednard. This represents something of a departure for Pino who usually records with larger groups--including his No Net Nonet--and seldom covers other ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf: Architecture of Storms
by Jack Bowers
It's hard to become bored or complacent when listening to Architecture of Storms, alto saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf's second album as leader of the twenty-member Assembly of Shadows orchestra. Every song is quite different from the others, and every one has its moments of shapeliness and charm. Le Boeuf arranged every number and composed all but Justin Vernon's “Minnesota, WI" and the album's nameplate, which he co-wrote with poet Sara Pirkle, he asserts, “on a brooding stormy ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows: Architecture of Storms
by Angelo Leonardi
Remy Le Boeuf è uno dei nomi emergenti nell'ambito dell'arrangiamento e della conduzione orchestrale. Dopo il sorprendente Assembly of Shadows del 2019, il sassofonista e bandleader californiano (a New York dal 2004) torna con la sua orchestra irrobustita nel numero e nella qualità dei singoli componenti. Tra i nuovi ingressi troviamo in particolare il trombettista Mike Rodriguez e il sassofonista Dayna Stephens, che caratterizzano un paio di brani, anche se il lavoro di Le Boeuf è prettamente ...
Continue ReadingMareike Wiening: Future Memories
by Mark Corroto
It is interesting that in today's creative music world, a jazz drummer cannot just be a jazz drummer. There are so many great drummers that they have to also be composers, band leaders, and sometimes van drivers. A short list includes Tyshawn Sorey, Allison Miller, Ches Smith, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Add to that list Mareike Wiening, the German-born artist with (now) deep New York roots. Her release Metropolis Paradise (Greenleaf Music, 2019) brought her music critical attention and acclaim, ...
Continue ReadingAlex Goodman: Impressions in Blue and Red
by Angelo Leonardi
Con questo splendido doppio album, Alex Goodman esce dal limbo dei talentosi chitarristi emergenti per entrare a pieno titolo tra i solisti e compositori più interessanti del jazz contemporaneo. Era proprio ora. All'età di 34 anni, con sette dischi da leader e prestigiosi premi internazionali (tra cui la vittoria al Montreux International Jazz Guitar del 2014), il chitarrista e compositore canadese ottiene i meritati riconoscimenti della critica con un'opera particolarmente matura. Un concept album che vuol associare ...
Continue ReadingAmanda Tosoff: Earth Voices
by Dan Bilawsky
Building off the lure of language planted in Amanda Tosoff's Juno-nominated Words (Empress Music Group, 2016), this sixth album from the Toronto-based composer and pianist waves poetic in wondrous fashion. Pairing different guest vocalists and collections of musicians with personalized takes on Parnassian beauty of varied sorts, Tosoff cements the bonds between earthly voices and heavenly sounds with a questioning spirit. The list of subjects and styles, both in words and music, varies widely on this playlist. ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows: Assembly of Shadows
by Angelo Leonardi
Dopo aver debuttato in veste di leader nel 2019 con il ricercato album Light as a World (un sestetto con, tra gli altri, Aaron Parks e Walter Smith III) il 33enne sassofonista e compositore d'origini californiane, presenta un ambizioso progetto orchestrale comprendente la suite “Assembly of Shadows," un'altra sua composizione ("Strata") e una riscrittura di “Honeymooners" di Ornette Coleman. Prima di questi lavori ha condiviso la leadership del gruppo Le Boeuf Brothers col suo gemello Pascal. La ...
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