Jazz Articles about Bruce Williams

Altin Sencalar: Unleashed

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 19, 2025

Often overshadowed by other solo instruments, the trombone boasts a rich history in jazz--one so vast it could fill volumes. New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, also gave rise to Kid Ory, a pioneer of the “tailgate" style of trombone playing. In the early 1900s, bandleaders often promoted their shows by parading through town on horse-drawn wagons. Trombonists, needing space to extend their instrument's slide, would sit at the back on the open tailgate, projecting their bold, brassy sound into ...

Altin Sencalar: Unleashed

by Altin Sencalar
February 23, 2025

Unleashed is an album that captures my overall headspace as an individual. This year I turned 30 years old and welcomed my firstborn child into the world, John Altin Sencalar. Two major milestones in any person's life, but especially mine this year. Unleashed represents my playing, my personality, and my overall attitude towards my career development. When thinking about this album, I take many chances that I would not have done in the past specifically playing the trombone in an ...

Markus Gottschlich: Found Sounds

by Jack Bowers
December 30, 2020

Found Sounds? As it turns out, there is a special story behind that. For four years leading up to this recording, Austrian-born pianist Markus Gottschlich preserved “sounds" he heard around the world using a binaural mic and hand-held recording device. He writes that one thing he found was that “sounds, more than any other sensory stimulus" sparked his imagination and set his creative juices in motion. He has incorporated a number of those sounds into the nine original compositions on ...

Bruce Williams: Altoicity

by David A. Orthmann
July 1, 2000

The music on Bruce Williams’ Altoicity covers a variety of jazz styles from the past 60 years. Along with his front line partner, trumpeter Russell Gunn, and the formidable support of pianist Marc Cary, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Cecil Brooks III (who doubles as the disc’s producer), the alto saxophonist displays his fluency in frameworks ranging from bebop to free jazz. Williams plays with a maturity that enables him to put his personal stamp on every track.

A hip, ...