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An Embarrassment of Riches
by Ludovico Granvassu
It's a great time to be a jazz lover, with so many fantastic new releases that it's almost overwhelming. To quote Shakespeare, it's an embarrassment of riches! This week we have handpicked some of the most exciting new music, from giants like Bill Frisell and Chris Potter to indie upstarts and international artists like Theon Cross and Hard Swing Mango. Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Theon Cross “Activate (feat. Moses ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter: Circuits
by Roger Farbey
Circuits is, stylistically, relatively far removed from Chris Potter's previous album, The Dreamer Is The Dream (ECM, 2017) but is certainly no less attractive. Whilst the earlier album is, generally, more sedate (with some exceptions), this record is full of heterogeneous, unanticipated delights and handbrake rhythm turns. That said, the short-ish opener, “Invocation," with Potter on bass clarinet, atypically evinces a Duke Ellington-ish charm with an emphasis on elegant counterpoint. This makes “Hold It" sound funky by contrast. But it's ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter: Circuits
by Sammy Stein
Reedman Chris Potter is one of the most influential and inventive improvisors of these times. Circuits is Potter and keyboardist James Francies, drummer Eric Harland and bassist Linley Marthe For more than two decades Potter's limitless creativity, effortless virtuosity and vibrant sense of swing have wowed critics, musicians and fans. Following three acclaimed albums on ECM, Circuits sees Potter with a new home at Edition Records and a return to groove, echoing his music from his earlier Underground ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Boone: The Poetry of Jazz
by Duncan Heining
Lenny Bruce might have skewered it with his skit, “Psychopathia Sexualis." Mike Myers' mildly misogynist poet might have parodied it in the movie I Married an Axe Murderer (1993). It has been dismissed as a late-fifties fad associated with the Beats. And, yet, the desire of poets and jazz musicians to combine their art forms has proven surprisingly durable. Sometimes, the practice is just plain embarrassing and made worse by the reality that those involved, like the man ...
Continue ReadingYelena Eckemoff: In The Shadow Of A Cloud
by Neri Pollastri
Continua la ricca vena creativa della pianista e compositrice russa Yelena Eckemoff, di formazione classica ma dedita al jazz dal suo arrivo negli U.S.A., nel 1991. Questa vena si concretizza in una fitta serie di album (l'ultimo di cui ci siamo occupati è Leaving Everything Behind, del 2016) registrati con formazioni sempre diverse e ogni volta composte da musicisti di altissimo livello. Stavolta il gruppo che realizza questo doppio CD è un quintetto, con una ritmica tra le ...
Continue ReadingBeloved of The Sky
by C. Andrew Hovan
Back in the late '80s, the life cycle of the vinyl record seemed to have run its course. Promoters of the compact disc had lulled people into the ideal that the little silver discs would offer perfect sound forever. Fast forward to today's marketplace and it's ironic to see new releases as available in both CD and vinyl formats. While the reissue concerns were the first ones to jump on board the record resurgence, several new music labels have started ...
Continue ReadingRenee Rosnes: Beloved of The Sky
by Mike Jurkovic
For those not familiar with the Tyner-esque bop flourish and Horace Silver-like subtlety of Canadian pianist/composer Renee Rosnes, then the rollicking Beloved of the Sky may be the disc to begin the discovery. Recorded live at NY's Smoke club, the recording features the free-swinging quintet of Rosnes, saxophonist Chris Potter (who is especially frisky and acrobatic here), vibraphonist Steve Nelson, drummer Lenny White, and bassist Peter Washington. An alum of the 1980's Canadian jazz scene with nine Blue ...
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