Jazz Articles about Alvin Queen

Alvin Queen: The Jazzcup Café Blues

by Pierre Giroux
January 6, 2025

Alvin Queen, the legendary drummer who astounded audiences as a child prodigy when he sat in with John Coltrane at Birdland at age twelve, delivers a riveting live performance from Jazzclub Domicile in Pforzheim, Germany, in May 2019. In this eight-track session, Queen is accompanied by Jesse Davis on alto sax, Danny Grissett piano, Dezron Douglas bass, along with percussionist Cesar Granados on a couple of tracks. The set list is a satisfying mix of the familiar and the fresh, ...

Cornelia Nilsson, Monika Herzig, Alexis Cole, Alvin Queen and more

by Benjamin Boddie
August 14, 2024

Today's Music--Right Now! ... Fantastic music by Cornelia Nilsson, Monika Herzig, Alexis Cole, Alvin Queen, Jan Harbeck, Synia Carroll, Robby Ameen, Anthony Branker, Karrin Allyson, Stuart Mack, Louis Hayes, Veronica Thomas, Jon Lee, Yuto Ito, Randy Weinstein, Patrick Wolff, Jared Hall, Milton Suggs, Mariah Parker, Etienne Charles and more. Playlist Cornelia Nilsson “Saturn's Return" from Where Do You Go? (Stunt Records) 00:00 Monika Herzig “Run The World (Girls)" from All In Good Time (Acme Records) 5:52 Enrico Granafei ...

Miles Davis, Art Farmer & Sheila Jordan

by Joe Dimino
June 12, 2019

From a cat that was born with jazz in his blood originally from the Bronx and now living in Switzerland since 1979, that was drummer Alvin Queen with the cut Sushi off a very well received 2019 CD Tribute to OP. The album plays respects to his old friend and mentor Oscar Peterson. We go from there delving into stories and the music from his life from the legends like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Elvin Jones and Art ...

Alvin Queen at The Turning Point Cafe

by David A. Orthmann
July 14, 2009

Alvin Queen The Turning Point Cafe Piermont, NY June 22, 2009

A couple of minutes into Shirley Scott's “There's Blues Everywhere," Alvin Queen's medium tempo shuffle beat had a galvanizing effect on his band as well as the normally decorous audience at The Turning Point Cafe. Throughout the fifty minute set, which encompassed a brash rendition of Horace Silver's “Nutville," a ballad treatment of the standard “Old Folks," and a wickedly fast version of ...

Alvin Queen: Jammin' Uptown

by Jerry D'Souza
July 12, 2008

Back in 1985, drummer Alvin Queen put together a band of American musicians to record Jammin' Uptown for his Nilva Records label. Queen, who was living in Europe, visited the United States to play live concerts and to record. This band reflected his vision as he brought together young musicians Terence Blanchard (trumpet) and Robin Eubanks (trombone) along with veterans John Hicks (piano) and Manny Boyd (tenor, alto and soprano sax) with Ray Drummond (bass) as the bridge. ...

Alvin Queen: The Move, The Groove and The Beat

by Maxwell Chandler
October 2, 2007

There are two types of great drummers in jazz, the impeccable time keepers and the ones who bring something more to both the instrument and the pieces/groups in which they appear. Alvin Queen is of the latter group, possessing a casual grace and instantly recognizable sound. He is in a direct line of artistic descendants from other great skin-men including Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones and Max Roach. All About Jazz contributor Maxwell Chandler sat down with Queen to ...

Alvin Queen: I Ain't Looking at You

by Larry Taylor
September 2, 2007

Drummer Alvin Queen is a virtual dynamo. On I Ain't Looking At You, he generates an explosive fusion of down-home blues and dynamic straight-ahead arrangements from his ensemble of young jazz stars.

Joining him are stratospheric trumpeter Terrell Stafford and creative Bird-influenced alto player Jesse Davis. Making sure the soulful quotient is high, guitarist Peter Bernstein and Hammond B-3 organist Mike LeDonne round out the quintet.

Queen got his start in the sixties, playing ...