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The Irv Grossman Sextet: Sound Advice
by Pierre Giroux
Trumpeter Irv Grossman has assembled a stellar sextet that delivers a compelling session of straight-ahead jazz steeped in tradition and camaraderie under the title of Sound Advice. Surrounding himself with a dream team of musicians, including tenor saxophonist Sam Dillon, alto saxophonist Andrew Gould and, on several tracks, trombonist Jimmy O'Connell. The horns are supported by an unflagging rhythm section of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Todd Coolman and the irrepressible Billy Drummond on drums. The album's repertoire consists of charts ...
Continue ReadingIlya Osachuk: The Answer
by Neil Duggan
Canadian bassist Ilya Osachuk is positive proof that the jazz education system in Canada and the US is in fine shape. Born in Winnipeg, Osachuk graduated from the University of Manitoba's Desautels Faculty of Music in 2021 with a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Performance. He then moved to New York and gained a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the Juilliard School in 2023. studying bass under Ben Wolfe and Gerald Cannon and composition and arranging under Andy ...
Continue ReadingTim Lin: Empathy
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Tim Lin, still fresh enough on the scene to be described as a “young lion," tips his horn to a number of his mentors on Empathy, his second album as a leader, following 2021's Romance on Formosa. As on that earlier album, Lin, a first generation Taiwanese-American (from Fremont, CA), has chosen a charming blend of standards and jazz staples to complement a lone original composition, “Fourth Right," by the superb pianist Andy LaVerne. And as before, Lin plays ...
Continue ReadingSkip Grasso: Becoming
by Jack Bowers
If guitarist Skip Grasso's name was not so prominently displayed on the album cover, a listener would be hard-pressed to ascertain that Becoming was his gig. Yes, Grasso does bring a lot to the table, but no more than pianist Anthony Pocetti, bassist Harvie S or drummer Billy Drummond who together round out Grasso's impressive quartet. Grasso has chosen an interesting title for the album, as “becoming" can mean “a process of change" or “gee, that looks ...
Continue ReadingElectric and Eclectic
by Patrick Burnette
The newest of the new. That's what our podcast brings you, sometimes, anyway, and this episode features four bangers from brand-spankin' 2022. Three of the four offer some “fusion" elements of one kind and another, and the other Mike keeps at arm's length because it edges him into the Jackie attack zone, and long-time listeners know that's not where he likes to be. Also, the boys threaten to eat Pandas, so there's that.Playlist Discussion of Joy Lapps' album ...
Continue ReadingBilly Drummond and Freedom of Ideas: Valse Sinistre
by Jack Bowers
As one of the world's foremost jazz drummers, Billy Drummond manages to keep busy--so much so that Valse Sinistre, recorded in November 2021, is his first album as leader in more than twenty-five years, following the critically acclaimed Dubai from 1996. This time around, Drummond is at the helm of his Freedom of Ideas quartet: Micah Thomas on piano; Dezron Douglas on bass; and Dayna Stephens on saxophones. Even though he is the nominal leader, Drummond doesn't ...
Continue ReadingVicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Richard J Salvucci
Who knew “Del Sasser" had lyrics? Part of the joy of listening to new recordings is finding such things out. And Vicki Burns does a convincing job of it. In this intriguing compilation of standards--yes, musicians can record from the Great American Songbook (GAS) without disgracing themselves, no matter what anyone says--bop heads and originals, Vicki Burns acquits herself admirably. She is solid evidence that the singer makes the song, rather than the other way around. ...
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