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Jazz Articles about Collin Clauson
Shawn Maxwell: J Town Suite
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Shawn Maxwell is so fond of his hometown--Joliet, Illinois--that he has written the J Town Suite in its honor and dedicated an entire album to themes associated with his Joliet roots and upbringing. Problem is, those essays have meaning only to Maxwell--and perhaps a handful of others--so the album must be appraised musically, not thematically. Which is fine, as it is essentially a quartet date embracing contemporary straight-ahead jazz, not unlike many others that are produced ...
Continue ReadingShawn Maxwell: Story At Eleven
by Hrayr Attarian
On his 11th release, the aptly titled Story At Eleven, saxophonist and composer Shawn Maxwell leads his quartet through a four-part, cinematic suite. Utilizing electric instrumentation Maxwell endows the ambiance with a noirish undercurrent. The expansive pieces, thanks to Maxwell's writing, demonstrate ensemble cohesiveness without sacrificing the individual voices of the four musicians. Keyboardist Collin Clauson's hypnotic cascades and drummer Greg Essig's dark rustles open “Appointment With" with delightful intrigue. Maxwell's muscular and serpentine alto then sets the ...
Continue ReadingShawn Maxwell: Expectation & Experience
by Jack Bowers
On Expectation & Experience, his tenth recording as a leader, Chicago-based woodwind specialist Shawn Maxwell is accompanied by almost thirty musicians—but never by more than three on any of its seventeen tracks. Maxwell says the compositions were written during the global Covid-19 pandemic, and the musicians were mustered singly, most in their own homes. While each of the compositions has a “theme," none is readily apparent from its performance, and listeners should feel free to overlook that aspect and focus ...
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