Jazz Articles about Avery Sharpe

Avery Sharpe: Legends & Mentors

by Budd Kopman
March 26, 2008

There are those who take jazz to be part of a larger racial identity, and hence define its characteristics within that framework. Others, however--while not neglecting jazz's origins--point to its essence being individual expression, with the main rule being that there are no rules. The tension between the two viewpoints is palpable; but in the end, if the listener can hear the player's message, the music fits Duke Ellington's category of “good." Bassist Avery Sharpe's Legends & ...

Avery Sharpe: Legends and Mentors

by Troy Collins
March 25, 2008

Over the last three decades bassist Avery Sharpe has been a stalwart sideman to some of the biggest names in jazz. Legends and Mentors is an homage to three of his closest colleagues, pianist McCoy Tyner and saxophonists Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef.

As McCoy Tyner's principle bassist for the past 20 years, Sharpe has appeared on over twenty records with the pianist. Recording extensively with Yusef Lateef in the 1990s, he made his recording debut with Archie ...

Avery Sharpe Trio: Dragon Fly

by Germein Linares
June 27, 2005

Bassist Avery Sharpe, a long-time collaborator with legendary pianist McCoy Tyner, releases Dragon Fly on his own JKNM Records. Joined by pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs, drummer Winard Harper, and two special guests, Chico Freeman and Jeri Brown, the album prominently features Sharpe's multiple skills as leader and soloist. The album's opening number, “Oh No!", sounds very much like Oscar Peterson's trio, with Gumbs' frenetic piano anchored nicely by Sharpe and Harper. The second tune, “Swingfield," a dedication to his hometown ...

Avery Sharpe Trio: Dragon Fly

by Jerry D'Souza
March 7, 2005

Avery Sharpe is probably best known as the bassist in the McCoy Tyner trio. But he should be known as a remarkable leader and composer with some notable releases to his credit. If that latter trait has been overlooked to an extent, now is the time to stop and pay attention. Sharpe's new trio recording is filled with a beautiful lyricism that brings the art of the trio full centre. And if that were not enough, he goes ahead to ...

Avery Sharpe: Dragon Fly

by AAJ Staff
February 16, 2005

Listening to Dragon Fly is an exercise in frustration, plain and simple. Avery Sharpe's trio outing with guests, coming on the heels of his warm three-part Extended Family series, promises to be an engaging trip through varied styles and moods--but it would be immeasurably better if he could back off now and then, quit doubling lines, or step out of the spotlight for a minute or two. That's an exaggeration, of course. But Sharpe's forward presence and self-indulgence goes so ...

Avery Sharpe: Dragon Fly

by John Kelman
February 9, 2005

Best-known for his longstanding relationship with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Avery Sharpe has released three albums to date that feature him mixing it up with a sounds ranging from gospel/groove to straight-ahead. But while he has made his name in Tyner's piano trio format, Dragon Fly is the first time Sharpe has explored that configuration for a project of his own.

To some extent Sharpe is all about contrast. “Oh No!'? starts with a complex head carried in unison by ...

Avery Sharpe and John Blake Duo: Epic Ebony Journey

by C. Michael Bailey
September 1, 2001

The Jazz Violin Recast.

There is a powerful earthy ambience to bass/violin duet environment of Epic Ebony Journey. Bassist Avery Sharpe provides thick, pulsing chords beneath the humid flight of John Blake's violin. This landscape is best detected in the disc's closer, the Isham Jones standard, “There is No Greater Love". Here Sharpe lays out the groundwork for Blake's flight of fancy, and then they trade places. This fertile and virile spirit permeates the remainder of the recording also. Epic ...