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Tony Malaby: The Cave of Winds
by Mark Corroto
Saxophonist Tony Malaby releases a 21st century version of Sonny Rollins' The Bridge (RCA Victor, 1962). During Rollins' three year voluntary hiatus from performing in the later '50s, he took to practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge near his Lower East Side neighborhood. Malaby, a resident of Jersey City in 2020, was also on a hiatus of sorts, an involuntary one. The pandemic had cancelled all performances, so he took to practicing under a turnpike overpass and soon invited other musicians ...
Continue ReadingDiego Pinera: Odd Wisdom
by Phillip Woolever
In certain musical occasions the essence of time is more vividly pronounced than others. That equation is often pronounced clearly in the technique of how a drummer applies various rhythms, and the resulting effect those metrics have on a song or project. Drummer Diego Pinera is a widely travelled percussionist from Uruguay, currently based in Berlin. His second release on the German-based ACT label demonstrates a vast range of compositional skills recorded during one brief, extremely productive session ...
Continue ReadingGreat New Guitar Music
by Bob Osborne
It's all about guitars on this show with fantastic new albums featuring six strings. Thumbscrew return with their sixth album and Mary Halvorson is continually inventive with her approach to the instrument in a jazz context. There's also a debut from Mike Freedman, ground breaking sounds from Johnathan Kane and Dave Soldier, and the New York sounds of Justin Rothberg. Reza Khan, also with a sixth album, delivers a great new set of tunes, while Charlie Apicella interprets classic jazz ...
Continue ReadingKristiana Roemer: House of Mirrors
by Jerome Wilson
Kristiana Roemer is a young German singer whose voice has a lilt and plush texture reminiscent of Annette Peacock. On this, her first album, she uses her intriguing sound in the service of both conventional jazz tunes and floating, airy pieces which border on art songs. Most of the material here is her own writing, though some lyrics derive from others' poetry. In addition, she proves her jazz bona fides by including familiar tunes by Stanley Turrentine and Charles Mingus. ...
Continue ReadingPablo Ablanedo: Christreza
by Glenn Astarita
This LP clocks in at around 38-minutes and is a bit of a tease since it progresses rather quickly and may leave many listeners wanting more. Here, Argentine-reared pianist/composer/educator Pablo Ablanedo's compositional gifts often take on cinematic film scoring intonations and developments, executed with jazz luminaries who the artist met while attending the Berklee College of Music in 1999. Owing to his heritage, the leader infuses subtle Latin jazz foreground grooves into several movements, whereas the opener “La ...
Continue ReadingJulia Karosi: Without Dimensions
by Jerome Wilson
Julia Karosi is a Hungarian vocalist and composer who, in this set, leads her group through sparkling music steeped in the traditions of her country's folk music and two of its most prominent 20th century composers, Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly. She interprets the work of both men as well as playing her own original music. Karosi largely sings wordlessly on this disc, her clear, soprano voice whirling and soaring over the electric soundscapes of Ben Monder's guitar ...
Continue ReadingMonder / Malaby / Rainey: Live At The 55 Bar
by Mark Corroto
It is almost certain that guitarist Ben Monder was uncertain just what was likely to result from building a trio with saxophonist Tony Malaby and drummer Tom Rainey. Recorded at the threshold of the COVID-19 shutdown during Monder's monthly Tuesday residency at New York's The 55 Bar, this fully improvised “Suite 3320" can easily be taken as a prophecy of New York's and the World's pandemic lockdown. Is it the growing sense of dread that informs the performance ...
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