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John Yao and His 17 Piece Instrument: Points In Time
by Jack Bowers
The insuperable spirit of swinging big-band jazz is everywhere apparent on Points in Time, the seventh recording by New York-based composer, arranger and trombonist John Yao, and the second with his marvelous 17-Piece Instrument, a decade after its well-received debut, Flip-Flop. (See Tao, 2015). As on that earlier album, the playlist consists of seven of Yao's original compositions (and one outlier) written with the band in mind to exemplify in musical terms experiences and emotions Yao has ...
Continue ReadingJohn Yao and his 17 Piece Instrument: Points In Time
by Pierre Giroux
Trombonist and composer John Yao presents a heartfelt and personal retrospective with Points In Time. This ambitious album delves deeply into the emotional and professional journey he has undertaken over the past twenty years in New York City. Leading his precisely coordinated ensemble, aptly called His 17-Piece Instrument, comprised of talented musicians from various points along Yao's timeline. The eight original compositions in this session stem from key moments in Yao's life and artistic development. This work is not just ...
Continue ReadingHendrik Meurkens: The Jazz Meurkengers
by Edward Blanco
When one thinks of the jazz harmonica, two names immediately come to mind, the late great Toots Thielemans and the incomparable Hendrik Meurkens whose new project The Jazz Meurkengers fully captures Meurkens' desire to produce a new and exciting swinging jazz album. While Meurkens learned to play the vibraphone first at the age of sixteen growing up in Germany and still does quite well, it is the harmonica that has become his preferred instrument of choice and the one he ...
Continue ReadingHendrik Meurkens: The Jazz Meurkengers
by Pierre Giroux
Harmonica virtuoso Hendrik Meurkens brought together an outstanding group of musicians in The Jazz Meurkengers, which is a swinging tribute to the allure of hard-bop jazz. Supported by the resourceful and highly adaptable rhythm section of pianist Steve Ash, bassist Chris Berger and drummer Andy Watson, the band was augmented by the impeccable guitarist Ed Cherry on four tracks and bebop tenor saxophonist Nick Hampton on four different tracks giving the ensemble the energy, creativity, and reverence of the jazz ...
Continue ReadingJill McCarron Trio: Gin
by Jack Bowers
Gin, pianist Jill McCarron says of the title of her second recording as leader of the Jill McCarron Trio, refers to the card game of that name, and not to the alcoholic beverage. She balances the joy of winning with the luck of the draw in her entrancing three-part suite. While McCarron leads an admirable threesome (Paul Gill, bass; Andy Watson, drums), this is a trio album with an asterisk, as saxophonist Vincent Herring sits in on four numbers (including ...
Continue ReadingScott Reeves: The Alchemist
by Edward Blanco
Trombonist, composer and band leader Scott Reeves once performed a live concert at the City College of New York with his then quintet, which has now been documented as his newest offering entitled The Alchemist. However, new is not the operative word here, as this musical event took place on May 5th, 2005. While concentrating on compositions and recordings for his jazz orchestra over the last ten years, the pandemic provided Reeves with the opportunity to review the music he ...
Continue ReadingScott Reeves Quintet: The Alchemist
by Jack Bowers
Devastating as it has been, the global Covid-19 pandemic has produced a few upsides as well, one of which is the rediscovery by versatile Scott Reeves of a concert that his quintet performed sixteen years ago, in May 2005, at the City College of New York. With time on his hands as a result of the scarcity of gigs during the pandemic, Reeves visited his archives and found the recording, which he never intended to release owing to audio issues. ...
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