Jazz Articles about Boris Kozlov

About Boris Kozlov

Album Review

Altin Sencalar: Natural Rhythm

Read "Natural Rhythm" reviewed by Andrew Schinder

by Andrew Schinder
May 28, 2026

Rising trombonist Altin Sencalar has positioned himself at the top of a new generation of trombone virtuosos. The trombone may not have the widespread popularity of its brass brethren, but is nevertheless a deeply compelling and versatile instrument. Sencalar has, over the past decade, proven himself as one of the instrument's finest practitioners. Having studied with, and then worked for, trombone star Michael Dease, he combines deep respect for the instrument's legacy with a raw need to muscle it into a ...

Album Review

Trombocalist Big Band: The Vigil and the Sleeping Giant

Read "The Vigil and the Sleeping Giant" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 18, 2026

Even those whose batting averages are high are not immune from life's unforeseen and often disastrous curve balls. Low-brass multi-instrumentalist Ron Wilkins, riding the wave as a successful musician and bandleader, learned that the hard way when he was struck by Covid in 2020 and spent more than a month in a medically induced coma with the outcome clearly in doubt. As it turns out, fortune smiled on Wilkins, and after relearning such basics as breathing normally, walking, ...

Album Review

Brian Lynch, featuring Charles McPherson: Torch Bearers

Read "Torch Bearers" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 13, 2026

Trumpeter Brian Lynch, who has been at the top of his game for more than three decades, shares the stage with another seasoned maestro, alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, on Torch Bearers, wherein Lynch, McPherson and their able companions not only carry the torch for their generation but offer an upcoming legion of eager young musicians a candid lesson in jazz/bop milieu and design and how best to properly safeguard those standards. They do this without pretense or embellishment, simply by ...

Album Review

Josh Lawrence: Still We Dream

Read "Still We Dream" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
September 29, 2025

"Long As You're Living," the opening track of Still We Dream, trumpeter Josh Lawrence 's seventh release for Posi-Tone Records, is an ideal candidate for extensive airplay on jazz radio. Coming in at under four minutes, it is all substance, no fluff, no excess. A blues in 5/4 time, generating middling tempo swing courtesy of bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston, this cover of Julian Priester 's and Tommy Turrentine's subtly funky line makes for an auspicious beginning. Still, ...

Album Review

Art Hirahara: Peace Unknown

Read "Peace Unknown" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
July 18, 2025

Art Hirahara is one of the most in-demand pianists in contemporary jazz, appearing on countless recordings while steadily building an impressive solo career. WithPeace Unknown, he continues his prolific partnership with Posi-Tone Records, with a deeply personal and expansive set that brings new life to earlier compositions while introducing bold new material. Framed within a robust four-horn ensemble, the album stands as both a reflection on the past and a forward-looking artistic statement, elegantly merging lyrical expressiveness with structural daring. ...

Liner Notes

Something Blue: In The Beginning

by Michael Ambrosino
July 11, 2025

Jazz is powered by many things. Perhaps most notably, the expansive variety of independent record labels representing some of the more inspiring aspirations of the idiom. Reflecting the grit, passion and often sheer audacity to exist within an industry that makes little room for jazz, independent labels have established an expanse of music that exemplifies the very essence of the art form. For the past 30 years, Posi-Tone Records has championed this independent spirit, shining a light on a rich ...

Album Review

Behn Gillece: Pivot Point

Read "Pivot Point" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
June 27, 2025

Anyone who has listened to at least some of the Posi-Tone releases from the past several years will recognize the personnel on Pivot Point: vibraphonist Behn Gillece 's eighth date as a leader. Tenor/soprano saxophonist Willie Morris,, pianist Jon Davis, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummers Rudy Royston and Jason Tiemann have made substantial contributions to many of the label's projects situated in various points in the jazz mainstream. To put it bluntly, these guys are incapable of phoning it in. ...