Jazz Articles about Brian Nova

About Brian Nova

Album Review

Chris Walden: Missa Iubileum Aureum: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass

Read "Missa Iubileum Aureum: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
August 30, 2022

First things first: there is no doubt that Chris Walden's reverential Missa Iubileum Aureum ("Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass") is beautifully written and wonderfully performed by the LMR Jazz Orchestra, St. Dominick's Schola Cantorum and cantors Kurt Elling and Tierney Sutton. Is it jazz? That is another question, one not so easily answered. While there are elements of jazz, they are incidental and generally overshadowed by the more doctrinal aspects of what is essentially an homage to devotion and piety. And ...

Album Review

Various Artists: Ella 100 Live at the Apollo

Read "Ella 100 Live at the Apollo" reviewed by Jim Worsley

by Jim Worsley
April 26, 2020

To be taken back in time within the scope of a period piece movie has long been a staple. Some journeys feel much more real than others, but the concept is commonplace. Venturing into the past with only the audio of a CD or record is, as they might have said back in 1934, “a whole different kettle of fish." A live audience first laid eyes and ears on this 100th birthday celebration honoring the sensational Ella Fitzgerald (born on ...