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Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge: Within Us
by Jack Bowers
Any big band celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary has earned a triumph surpassing most others. To mark the occasion with an album as admirable as this one is icing on the celebratory cake. The fact is, composer/arranger Chuck Owen's Florida-based Jazz Surge, formed in 1995, shows no signs of aging or becoming obsolete. Thanks to Owen's broad-beamed and colorful charts, the Jazz Surge is as mesmerizing as a memoir and stylish as tomorrow. Half a dozen of Owen's ...
read moreDave Slonaker Big Band: Intrada
by Jack Bowers
Don't be put off by the name. Intrada, composer / arranger Dave Slonaker points out, is a musical form often composed as a prelude, overture or fanfare," one whose upbeat phrases give rise to an exhilarating curtain-raiser on Slonaker's initial big-band recording. Rest assured this is a world-class ensemble and there's no doubt whose steady hand is at the helm: Slonaker wrote every number save the standard It's Only a Paper Moon" and arranged the complete package. ...
read moreDon Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by Budd Kopman
Jazz Folk is an homage to jazz musicians (the folks) who put their heart and soul into playing creative music. This straight-ahead record sports four Don Aliquo originals, three pieces from bassist Rufus Reid, and two modern standards. While there is nothing especially new here, and experienced listeners will find no surprises, the individual playing and the group aesthetic is excellent. The musicians obviously know and like each other, and the joy of their playing infuses this ...
read moreDon Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by AAJ Italy Staff
Un classico quintetto bop, la classica front line sax-tromba, nove tracce dalla struttura tema-assoli-tema che più classica non si può, la classica alternanza di up-tempo e slow-tempo. E’ tutta qui la fotografia di Jazz Folk, quarto album da leder del sassofonista Don Aliquo, rappresentante assai quotato, sebbene poco noto dalle nostre parti, del cosiddetto modern mainstream. Si potrebbe dire che le otto composizioni originali sono formalmente impeccabili e ricoprono un vasto ventaglio dello stile boppistico e dei suoi numerosi derivati. ...
read moreDon Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by Michael P. Gladstone
The music on Jazz Folk has nothing whatsoever to do with folk music. Instead, Don Aliquo reports that he aimed to capture the soul and spirit of folk music." Perhaps the title refers to jazz people," which would make more sense.
Don Aliquo is a well-respected saxophonist and educator in Nashville and a Director of Studies as well as Associate Professor of saxophone at Middle Tennessee State University. This is his fourth album, and he accurately describes his ...
read moreDon Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by Dan McClenaghan
Tenor saxophonist Don Aliquo is based in Nashville, Tennessee, but his sound on Jazz Folk sounds very East Coast mainstream. His smooth, clean tenor tone and seemingly fluid and intricately articulate flow of always surprising ideas brings veteran saxophonist George Coleman to mind, especially the way he makes it sound so easy.Aliquo teams up here with a fine quintet--trumpet and sax with a rhythm section--on a set that sits right in the middle of the bop tradition. His ...
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