Jazz Articles about Cecil McBee

About Cecil McBee

Radio & Podcasts

Jazz Classics from the '80s and '90s including Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, and others; new music from Gregory Hutchinson, Eliane Elias, and more

by David W. Daniels
May 26, 2026

In addition to the artists named in the title, classic '80s and '90s jazz is featured by Wallace Roney, Joe Lovano, and others. New jazz fusion from Brooklyn Funk Essentials and the UK band Knat is included. Birthday recognition given for Ralph Peterson, Cecil McBee, Tom Scott, and others.Playlist Chick Corea “Puccini's Walk" from Further Explorations (Concord Jazz) 00:00 Wallace Roney “For Duke" from Intuition (Muse) 7:56 Joe Lovano “Lines And Spaces" from From The Soul (Blue Note) ...

Album Review

Carlos Garnett: Cosmos Nucleus

Read "Cosmos Nucleus" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
March 27, 2026

Nato a Panama nel 1938, Carlos Garnett è stato sassofonista, compositore e bandleader, noto ai più per la partecipazione al classico On the Corner di Miles Davis, benchè le sue frequentazioni fossero sempre improntate all'eccellenza (Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, Charles Mingus per citarne alcuni). Sull'onda del Davis elettrico, Garnett incide per la Muse dal 1974 al 1978 ben cinque album avviando una personale rivisitazione del mondo del jazz elettrico con un approccio che mescolava spiritual jazz, ...

Album Review

Roy Brooks: The Free Slave

Read "The Free Slave" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
March 9, 2026

Esistono molte ragioni per non farsi sfuggire questa splendida riedizione (anche in vinile dal master originale analogico). Primo: Il nome del batterista Roy Brooks resta ingiustamente dimenticato anche se gli unici raffronti possibili--musicalmente parlando--sono con Tony Williams ed Elvin Jones. Affetto da un disturbo bipolare Brooks fu spesso internato in case di cura e in carcere ma fu protagonista per anni nei gruppi di Horace Silver, di Yusef Lateef, Charles Mingus e Max Roach. È deceduto nel 2005 a 67 ...

Album Review

Woody Shaw: Love Dance

Read "Love Dance" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
January 29, 2026

With Time Travelers, Zev Feldman injects new life into Muse Records, the label founded by Joe Fields in 1972. Muse offered a platform to artists who were often in danger of being overlooked or forgotten by major record companies. Feldman, renowned for his lavishly produced archival releases, has brought the same care and vision to this new series.The Time Travelers series launched in October 2025 with three releases: drummer Roy Brooks's 1972 live album The Free Slave; pianist ...

Album Review

Carlos Garnett: Cosmos Nucleus

Read "Cosmos Nucleus" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
November 8, 2025

When Cosmos Nucleus first appeared in 1976 on Muse Records, it was the kind of album that seemed to evoke various idioms. It was a bold statement that drew strength from jazz's spiritual core while speaking in the electrified dialect of funk and fusion. Tenor saxophonist Carlos Garnett, a Panamanian-born firebrand who had sharpened his skills alongside Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Blakey, conceived this project as both a personal revelation and a cosmic exploration. Nearly fifty years later, ...

Album Review

Roy Brooks: The Free Slave

Read "The Free Slave" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
November 5, 2025

Roy Brooks's The Free Slave, newly reissued on Time Traveler Recordings as a 180-gram vinyl LP, stands as a passionate tribute to the drummer's remarkable artistry and his often overlooked role as one of the most rhythmic thinkers of the post-bop period. Recorded live by Muse Records on April 26, 1970, at Baltimore's renowned Left Bank Jazz Society, the session features Brooks leading a stellar quintet that includes trumpeter Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonist George Coleman, pianist Hugh Lawson, and bassist ...

Interview

The Changing Times of Cecil McBee

by Rob Rosenblum
March 26, 2025

It was 1971 and the jazz scene was struggling and jazz musicians were grabbing gigs wherever they could. Many were moving to Europe where they felt they had greater acceptance. It was at that time when Albany, New York area saxophonist Nick Brignola connected with the State University of New York and produced the first and only SUNY Jazz Festival. Because Albany is only 150 miles from New York City musicians eagerly came upstate where the pay was far from ...