Jazz Articles about Chad McCullough

About Chad McCullough

Album Review

Chad McCullough: In These Hills, Beyond

Read "In These Hills, Beyond" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 12, 2024

Trumpeter Chad McCullough started his recording career in Seattle at Origin Records, releasing five albums between 2009 and 2015 under his name or as a co-leader with pianist Bram Weitjers. It was a successful run that earned him the “Rising Star" tag. A move to Chicago to teach, the release of his “Best of Year" pick, 2020's Forward (Outside In Music), and the subsequent starting up of his Calligram Records that has taken his artistry and his career to the ...

Album Review

Alex Beltran: Rift

by Hrayr Attarian
May 16, 2024

Chicago-based saxophonist Alex Beltran delivers a tour de force with Rift, an exploration of identity in a musical form. Beltran, who grew up in two distinct cultural spheres, those of his Latino father and his white mother, describes in the liner notes how he never fit with either side of the family. This became a source of inspiration for his cohesive debut as a leader, which features seven of his compositions and a cover of the electronic duo, Sylvan Esso's ...

Album Review

Atlantic Road Trip: ONE

by Jack Bowers
December 24, 2023

Although it is not clear at first (or even second) glance, Atlantic Road Trip is the name of the group on this superb album from Chicago-based Calligram Records, while ONE is the title of the album itself. What is clear is that the music the quintet produces is splendid, overflowing with delightful melodies and tantalizing rhythms, and enhanced considerably by the presence of vibraphonist Miro Herak in the group. Before moving on, hats off to Calligram Records for recording a ...

Album Review

Chad McCullough: The Charm of Impossibilities

Read "The Charm of Impossibilities" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
September 6, 2023

At its core, trumpeter Chad McCullough's album, The Charm of Impossibilities is an homage to the music of classical composer Olivier Messiaen, whose singular approach to composition has inspired McCullough since he first happened upon works by the French writer soon after the turn of this century. He writes, “Messiaen's music is so complex in structure, yet still accessible to the casual listener and completely overwhelming emotionally." His plan for the album was to transpose Messiaen's concepts to a setting ...

Album Review

Chad McCullough: The Charm of Impossibilities

Read "The Charm of Impossibilities" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
August 6, 2023

Trumpeter Chad McCullough encountered classical composer Olivier Messiaen's “Quator pour la fin du temps" back in the early days of his jazz career. That music was written in 1940 by Messiaen to be played by a chamber ensemble consisting of the composer's fellow inmates in a German prison camp. McCullough's The Charm Of Impossibilities takes its inspiration from this classical work. McCullough describes Messiaen's chamber piece: “Complex in structure, yet still accessible to the casual listener and completely ...

Album Review

Chad McCullough: Forward

by Paul Rauch
December 8, 2020

Trumpeter Chad McCullough has an identifiable sound—his striking, bold tonality, and his penchant for stark contrasts compositionally. His previous four releases on Origin Records, featured artists encountered during his tenure in the Pacific Northwest. His association with drummer and Origin founder, John Bishop, resulted in the formation of his quartet with Belgian pianist Bram Weijters. In two releases, Urban Nightingale (Origin, 2011), and Imaginary Sketches (Origin, 2011) he established a cerebral, pastoral sound of intriguing melodies presented in storyline fashion. ...

Radio & Podcasts

Baby It's Nice Outside In

by Patrick Burnette
December 3, 2020

We take a break from surveying the best of the 2010's to take a gander at five releases from the second half of this wunnerful year, 2020. Maybe everything else has gone to heck in a handcart this year but the music releases remain strong, as our survey attests. Three of the five releases are on up and coming label Outside In Music and all of them have something to recommend. Pop matters dips into that bane/blessing of the 1970s, ...