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Allegra Levy: Lose My Number
by Angelo Leonardi
Dopo aver esplorato nell'ultimo Looking at the Moon tredici song ispirati alla luna (dai classici standard “Blue Moon" e “Moon River" ai più recenti “Harvest Moon" di Neil Young e “Pink Moon" di Nick Drake) la cantante Allegra Levy sviluppa nel quarto disco un percorso più impegnativo. Ha scritto delle liriche per nove composizioni di John McNeil, che è stato suo insegnante e mentore al New England Conservatory e l'ha supportata anche in altre incisioni. Il trombettista californiano è ...
Continue ReadingPat Donaher: Occasionally
by Jerome Wilson
Occasionally sees saxophonist Pat Donaher reflecting on a few milestones in his life to date. He does this by writing and performing compositions which are all dedicated to occasions and people that have been special to him. Donaher's varied set of tunes is played here by an excellent group with Jason Palmer on trumpet, Tim Watson on guitar, Carmen Staaf on piano, Tony Scherr on bass and Allison Miller on drums. Two selections celebrate family weddings. “Wedding Day," ...
Continue ReadingDan Blake: Da Fé
by Jerome Wilson
A lot of personal factors go into saxophonist Dan Blake's music on this CD, such as his concerns about the environment, his Buddhist teachings and his social activism. What comes out of this is a style of electro-acoustic jazz which is alternately meditative and fiery. The basic music here was performed in the studio by a quartet of Blake on saxophone, Carmen Staaf on piano, Dmitry Ishenko on bass and Jeff Williams on drums. The tunes were then ...
Continue ReadingDan Blake: Da Fé
by Mike Jurkovic
It's comforting to know that saxophonist Dan Blake hasn't taken Thoreau's inconvenient truth that “most men lead lives of quiet desperation" to heart. Instead, as his Da Fé (translated: of faith) and his apprenticeships with Anthony Braxton} and {{Julian Lage prove succinctly, Blake intends to bring the music, and the consciousness of our fragility within it, to the fore, in hopes the listener can shake the malaise too and pick up the call for action. Blake escorts his ...
Continue ReadingThana Alexa: ONA
by Angelo Leonardi
Ci giunge con un po' di ritardo questo secondo disco della talentuosa vocalist e compositrice Thana Alexa, ma va assolutamente considerato. Anche questo, come già il debutto Ode to Heroes, è un tributo: dalle figure musicali che l'hanno influenzata siamo passati a una celebrazione del genere femminile e al ruolo—spesso sottovalutato—che svolgono nel mondo. Nata a New York da famiglia croata, Thana è tornata nell'infanzia in Croazia dov'è rimasta per completare i suoi studi. Successivamente si è ...
Continue ReadingDan Blake: Da Fé
by Mark Corroto
Saxophonist-composer Dan Blake's Da Fé ("of faith"), a meditation on our world in crisis, may have taken, as a starting point, the lyrics to Lou Reed's “Busload Of Faith" from the über-cynical New York (Sire, 1989) recording, “You can depend on cruelty / crudity of thought and sound / You can depend on the worst always happening / you need a busload of faith to get by." What with global warming, income disparity, hunger, and homelessness, the gentle folk of ...
Continue ReadingAllegra Levy: Lose My Number
by Jerome Wilson
Allegra Levy is a young singer who has made a reputation for herself through her witty songwriting and performing. She has sung a lot of her own songs on previous releases but on this one, she changes things slightly by writing her own lyrics to the music of trumpet player John McNeil. McNeil was Levy's mentor at the New England Conservatory and she complements his slightly off-balance tunes with lyrics that range from the dark and sardonic to ...
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