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Ron Miles: Rainbow Sign
by Paul Rauch
Denver-based cornetist Ron Miles seemed to turn an important creative corner with the release of his last album, I Am a Man (Yellowbird, 2017). With a stellar band in tow, he seemed to have gathered the elements to produce something very original. This was not an easy task, considering the ardent individuality represented by the session's participants. Indeed, guitarist Bill Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, drummer Brian Blade and bassist Thomas Morgan had all made major impressions on the landscape of ...
Continue ReadingRon Miles: Rainbow Sign
by Ian Patterson
The symbolism of the rainbow varies from one culture to the next, and not all interpretations are positive, but the notion of the rainbow as a pathway between this life and the afterlife is perhaps the most pertinent for Ron Miles. Rainbow Sign, the Blue Note debut of the Colorado-based cornetist, was mostly written as his father was passing away in the summer of 2018, so it is no surprise that the music has a reflective, poignant quality. Reunited with ...
Continue ReadingJoshua Redman + Brad Mehldau + Christian McBride + Brian Blade: RoundAgain
by Pat Youngspiel
None of these men requires introducing to anyone who has even remotely followed the contemporary jazz scene at any point over the past thirty years. Their respective bodies of work have guided and represented jazz throughout the last decades and continue to set the benchmark for original composing and improvising today. 26 years after their much-lauded debut, Moodswing (Warner Bros., 1994) as the Joshua Redman Quartet, they've reconvened for a second set of music which sounds just as fresh today ...
Continue ReadingEdward Simon: 25 Years
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Edward Simon immigrated to the United States from his native Venezuela while still in his teens. He stayed, and carved out a successful career in music. His fiftieth birthday rolled around, and the artist decided it was time to take a look and listen back. In a musical journey that spans the titular 25 Years, Simon has crafted a lot of music, employing a Latin/jazz/classical approach with a seemingly effortless refinement, making sounds that are unfailingly engaging and beautiful. ...
Continue ReadingSteve Cardenas: Blue Has A Range
by Friedrich Kunzmann
It's not easy to pin New York guitarist Steve Cardenas down to a few main attributes. His playing is unassuming, his compositions are equally subtle and his persona possessed of an even more humble nature, leaving him somewhat hidden in the shadows of the contemporary jazz world. Yet the veteran guitarist has been going at it now for over a quarter century, recording and playing with some of the finest international jazz heavy-weights of today, yesterday and tomorrow. Between Adam ...
Continue ReadingJoshua Redman: RoundAgain
by Robert Middleton
A return to the quartet from saxophonist Joshua Redman's Moodswing (Warner Bros., 1994). Yes, 26 years has passed. A great album a generation ago. RoundAgain is a reunion of masters: Redman with pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade. Each at the very top of their games and their respective domains. Sax, piano, bass, and drums. Holy shit, could you assemble a band better than this one? Modern masters, now in their middle years (50's) are ...
Continue ReadingSteve Cardenas: Blue Has A Range
by Dan Bilawsky
Connections abound across the personnel list on this quartet date. Guitarist Steve Cardenas has been part of pianist Jon Cowherd's Mercy Project for the better part of a decade. There, and in bassist John Patitucci's Electric Guitar Quartet, he's logged some musical miles with drummer Brian Blade, who steadily employs Cowherd in his Fellowship band. And then there's bassist Ben Allison—the fourth part of the equation and the album's producer. He's a longtime Cardenas colleague—both men have played frequently enough ...
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