Jazz Articles about Colin Stranahan

About Colin Stranahan

Album Review

Pat Bianchi has never been content to let the organ settle into its own mythology. With Confluence, he shows that the organ trio, when in skilled hands, remains one of the most energetic formats in jazz. Joined by saxophonist Troy Roberts and drummer Colin Stranahan, Bianchi delivers a seven-track session that feels more like a late-night set in a lively club than a studio recording; urgent, honest, and full of purpose. The opener, “It Was A Very Good ...

Album Review

Tom Gershwin: Wellspring

Read "Wellspring" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 10, 2026

On Wellspring, the fourth album under his name, Vermont-based trumpeter Tom Gershwin resumes his anomalous musical journey, pursuing a path that is for the most part low-key and serene but seldom less than interesting. In so doing, Gershwin wrests the most support he can from every member of his able quintet to unravel eight of his elaborate and expressive compositions and arrangements, two of which--the opening “Let Be" and warmhearted “Belong Here"--are miniatures, designed to provide brief respites ...

Album Review

Kind Folk: Head Towards The Center

Read "Head Towards The Center" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
July 3, 2022

Kind Folk is a quartet consisting of trumpeter John Raymond, alto saxophonist Alex LoRe, bassist Noam Wiesenberg and drummer Colin Stranahan. They recorded their first album in 2018, then went their separate ways for various reasons. They finally reconnected in June 2021 and came up with the simmering blend of jazz, rock and folk sensibilities that makes up this album. Generally, there is a subdued but close-knit feel to this music. Tracks such as “Mantrois" and “Around, Forever" ...

Album Review

Julian Shore: Where We Started

Read "Where We Started" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
August 19, 2020

A pianist of uncommon sensitivity and graceful temperament, Julian Shore crafts music with atmosphere and feeling, aiming for emotional depth rather than settling for typical jazz devices. On Where We Started, his third release, he offers eight well-honed tracks which are both evocative and nuanced; while they might not win over the uninitiated in a crowded club, they offer plenty of introspective delights to listeners prepared to settle in with the music. Joined by a fine ensemble, Shore ...

Album Review

Norvald Dahl with Colin Stranahan: The Vision

Read "The Vision" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
May 18, 2020

Norwegian newcomer Norvald Dahl has cultivated his expansive approach to jazz piano since his 2018 debut, Organic Chamber (AMP Music), a trio outing which included saxophonist Jon Irabagon and bassist Mats Eilertsen. That free-spirited release revealed a deeply iconoclastic spirit in Dahl, someone who is as comfortable teasing the contours of a pop-inflected tune as he is venturing into the outer reaches of improvisation or utilizing classical formalism. His follow-up, Flying High (Blamann Records, 2019), was a fetching solo disc ...

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Album Review

Colin Stranahan / Glenn Zaleski / Rick Rosato: Anticipation

Read "Anticipation" reviewed by Florence Wetzel

by Florence Wetzel
December 22, 2011

The piano-bass-drum trio format is a classic configuration in jazz, and with good reason: given the right musicians, this particular combination of instruments forms a perfect sonic triangle. As the jazz world mourns the November 2011 death of drummer Paul Motian--a member of pianist Bill Evans's paradigm-shifting trio, along with gifted bassist Scott LaFaro--it's good to hear Capri Records' Anticipation, which carries the tradition forward via three talented musicians. Throughout the CD, drummer Colin Stranahan, pianist Glenn Zaleski, ...

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Album Review

Colin Stranahan / Glenn Zaleski / Rick Rosato: Anticipation

Read "Anticipation" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
November 8, 2011

Colin Stranahan, Glenn Zaleski and Rick Rosato describe their trio as a “leaderless" jazz ensemble--a democratic aggregation. Anticipation is the band's first album, and provides plenty of evidence that such a democratic approach to jazz can have clear musical rewards. The trio was the idea of Montreal bassist Rosato, drummer Stranahan--probably the best known of the three and a past member of Herbie Hancock and Kurt Rosenwinkel's groups, and who gets his name at the front of ...