Jazz Articles about Alex LoRe

About Alex LoRe

Album Review

The Seth Weaver Big Band: Truth

by Jack Bowers
May 8, 2020

Truth, the debut album by New York-based trombonist / vocalist Seth Weaver, has its ups and downs, most of which involve the leader himself. The “ups" enter the picture thanks to Weaver's five far-better-than-average compositions, the “downs" whenever he chooses to sing, as he does on three of eight numbers. Luckily, the pluses far outweigh the minuses, thanks in large measure to Weaver's admirable ensemble, a number of first-rate soloists and the above-mentioned compositions, which herald Weaver as a talented ...

Album Review

Alex Goodman: Impressions in Blue and Red

Read "Impressions in Blue and Red" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann

by Friedrich Kunzmann
April 5, 2020

One thing's for sure: there's a whole lot of music to be heard on Alex Goodman's new double album Impressions in Blue and Red. At 27 tracks and a running time of over 100 minutes, the Canadian jazz guitarist has taken a stand when it comes to quantity on his newest album. Any concern that the quality could suffer as a result is extinguished after the first few bars into the opener. Divided over two different sets according to the ...

Album Review

Alex Goodman: Impressions in Blue and Red

Read "Impressions in Blue and Red" reviewed by Rob Shepherd

by Rob Shepherd
March 26, 2020

For most, there is a clear divide between musical and visual arts. But for individuals with chromesthesia, a condition where one sees colors when they hear a particular sound, the two can prove inseparable. Throughout history, many jazz musicians have exhibited chromesthesic symptoms, including Marian McPartland, James Francies, and drum legend Elvin Jones. Duke Ellington saw dark blue burlap when he played a D note and light blue satin for a G. Another, guitarist Alex Goodman, shares his experience on ...

Album Review

Annie Chen: Secret Treetop

Read "Secret Treetop" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
February 4, 2020

Nel suo secondo album la cantante cinese Annie Chen compie un bel passo avanti, imboccando un percorso più complesso ed eclettico, anche se meno accattivante rispetto all'esordio di Pisces The Dreamer. Se in quel disco del 2014 esprimeva la sua adesione ai classici modelli del canto jazz qui Annie sperimenta una sintesi tra jazz moderno e modelli vocali e strumentali di provenienza orientale. Scelte condivise da un organico culturalmente eterogeneo, comprendente il chitarrista polacco Rafal Sarnecki, il violinista giapponese Tomoko ...

Album Review

Alex LoRe And Weirdear: Karol

by Dan Bilawsky
August 21, 2019

To simply read about it, Karol—saxophonist Alex Lore's third album in total and first on the Challenge imprint—might seem weighted by its conceptual underpinning. Aiming to integrate “elements from Eurocentric and Black American music traditions," LoRe takes most of his inspirational cues from classical composers. Said ideal, for many, would simply lead to either academic exercise or quaint “swinging the classics" scenarios. LoRe doesn't succumb to either fate. Instead, he operates by his own rules and runes, using the seed ...

Album Review

Lucas Pino's No Net Nonet: That's a Computer

Read "That's a Computer" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
May 21, 2019

Lucas Pino is a New York-based tenor saxophonist who leads the No Net Nonet, a band that fits snugly into the jazz tradition but displays its own style of creativity. Despite what this CD's title suggests, this group's music is full of emotion and warmth. That is evident from the outset with “Antiquity," written by alto saxophonist Alex LoRe; this is a floating melody that meshes undulating lines of tenor, piano and guitar together within a cocoon of ...

Album Review

Lucas Pino: That's a Computer

Read "That's a Computer" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
February 19, 2019

Dal 2013 il sassofonista e compositore Lucas Pino dirige il suo “No Net Nonet" esibendosi tutti i mesi allo Smalls Jazz Club di New York, senza trascurare altre scritture. L'organico è nato nel 2009, da allora ha cambiato solo un componente e la regolarità del rapporto spiega la coesione e l'equilibrio evidenziati in questo terzo album. Recentemente il look di Pino è molto cambiato: il giovanotto modello anni cinquanta, con capelli corti ben pettinati, occhiali alla Cary ...