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Carmen Staaf: Sounding Line
by Dan McClenaghan
Thelonious Monk (1917 -1982) was often grouped with the bebop pianists of the late 1940s and early 1950s. But he was not bop. He was a pianistic world unto itself. Quirky, dissonant, often playful. Mary Lou Williams (1910 -1981) did not fit the bop category either. She came in before bop's advent. Her music was stylistically closer to Duke Ellington's eloquence, sass and swing. Bop aside, pianist Carmen Staaf heard a musical kinship between these two 20th-century contemporaries. ...
Continue ReadingCarmen Staaf, Vincent Peirani, Rachel Eckroth, SML & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
Enjoy a few more memorable finds from our weekly listening so you can go straight to the heart of today's vibrant West Coast, East Coast and European jazz scenes.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Vincent Peirani “Time Reflections: Clessidra" Living Being IV (Time Reflections) (ACT) 0:16 Host talks 8:12 Ballaké Sissoko, Vincent Segal, Vincent Peirani, Emile Parisien “Amir" Sou Kora (No Format!) 8:59 Host talks 15:02 Carmen Staaf ...
Continue ReadingCarmen Staaf: Monk's Mood
by John Chacona
There is an iconic image in Charlotte Zwerin's 1988 documentary film Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser that shows Monk, cigarette in hand, silently contemplating a misty Manhattan skyline. As heard on her recording Sounding Line (Sunnyside Records, 2025), Carmen Staaf's arrangement of “Monk's Mood" that begins with Dylan Vado's spectral bowed vibes perfectly captures the soft-focus melancholy of the image. That Staaf's piano style bears little resemblance to Monk's speaks to the enduring influence of his music, the ...
Continue ReadingMeet Carmen Staaf
by Cheryl K.
In this hour, an interview with pianist, educator, and Musical Director for NEA Jazz Master vocalist and actress Dee Dee Bridgewater, Carmen Staaf. Playlist Brian Molley Quartet with The Asin Langa Ensemble “Journeys In Hand In Hand" from Journeys (BGMM) 5:24 Alexa Torres “When the Wind Breaks the Chime" from IN SITU (Alexa Torres) 6:58 Jenny Scheinman “The Sea Also Rises" from All Species Parade (Royal Potato Family) 1:48 Carmen Staaf Trio “Prospect" from Eye to Eye (Fractamondi) ...
Continue ReadingOwen Broder: Hodges: Front and Center: Vol. Two
by Pierre Giroux
Owen Broder's Hodges : Front and Center Vol.Two is a respectful yet refreshing tribute to Johnny Hodges, a saxophonist with an iconic sound while injecting a contemporary vitality into the mix. Hodges' influence looms large throughout the album, guiding Broder's approach to the music. In this quintet's musical journey, Broder, on both alto and baritone saxophone, is accompanied by trumpeter Riley Mulherkar, pianist Carmen Staaf, bassist Barry Stephenson and drummer Bryan Carter. In both his playing and composing, Hodges showed ...
Continue ReadingOwen Broder: Hodges: Front and Center: Vol. Two
by Dan McClenaghan
At times, while listening to random classics in the collection, one can have the idea that everything in jazz evolved from the late '40s to early '50s bebop. But before bop was swing. Duke Ellington stayed with swing through bop, funk, and fusion. And so did alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges (1906-1970), who played in Ellington's band from its early days, the late-1920s. A much-admired player with a distinctive tone and a beautiful way with a melody, Hodges also ...
Continue ReadingErica Seguine: The New Day Bends Light
by Angelo Leonardi
Impegnandosi nel ruolo di produttore, Darcy James Argue dà particolare considerazione al debutto discografico di quest'ensemble, fondato nel 2011 a New York dalle compositrici Erica Seguine e Shon Baker. La prima è anche arrangiatrice e guida dell'orchestra, la seconda entra nel cast come sassofonista. Dopo varie esibizioni in locali chiave della Big Apple, le due leader hanno selezionato sette composizioni originali dal loro repertorio, incidendole con un ampio organico comprendente talentuosi solisti della metropoli. Alcuni di essi ...
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