Jazz Articles about Colin Woodford

About Colin Woodford

Album Review

Joe Santa Maria: Oblique Rhyme

Read "Oblique Rhyme" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
July 9, 2025

The perennial challenge of balancing individual expression with collective harmony is masterfully addressed by Joe Santa Maria (saxophones), David Tranchina (bass), Gary Fukushima (piano), and Colin Woodford (drums). Their collaboration weaves contemporary jazz with blues and avant-garde elements, crafting an eclectic sound that showcases the quartet's versatility and chemistry. Fukushima's style is strikingly individualistic, marked by an idiosyncratic flair. He fills every open space with stimulating, unpredictable phrases, sidestepping clichés with a nod to jazz's rich history. While ...

Album Review

Joe Santa Maria & David Tranchina: Oblique Rhyme

Read "Oblique Rhyme" reviewed by Fran Kursztejn

by Fran Kursztejn
May 16, 2025

The integral development of post-'70s jazz has nothing to do with instruments, playstyle or compositional ethos. After bop's heyday slowly petered out, its practitioners either holding strong to the tradition or scattering to other genres in the public's favor, the necessity of a studio-produced, hierarchical set seemed to disappear with it. Granted, the bandleader model maintains its popularity today, yet more and more, independent and revolutionary musicians turn toward a more anarchical understanding of the jazz group, prizing polyphony and ...