Jazz Articles about Cory Weeds

About Cory Weeds

Album Review

Brad Turner Quintet: The Magnificent

Read "The Magnificent" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
September 23, 2023

Brad Turner's album The Magnificent is a sonic gem on which he invites listeners on a musical journey which effortlessly balances tradition and innovation. Comprising a wish-list of stellar musicians, including guitarist Peter Bernstein, bassist Neil Swainson, drummer Quincy Davis and, on four tracks, tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds, the band gathered together to record a session to breathe life into nine Turner compositions. The opening track is “You're OK," in which Turner's trumpet takes center stage ...

Album Review

Nightcrawlers: Get Ready

Read "Get Ready" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
April 9, 2023

The common thread between the Nightcrawlers and nightcrawler earthworms is that they both come out at night, and while the former is at home in a jazz club before a live audience, the latter is feeding on decaying organic material. Some may say that is a distinction without a difference. Nevertheless the latest nightly ritual for the Nightcrawlers is called Get Ready and it was recorded live at Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver B.C. This confident sextet is centred around ...

Album Review

Fraser MacPherson: From The Pen Of...

Read "From The Pen Of..." reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 11, 2022

The late tenor saxophonist Fraser MacPherson was well-known in western Canada and elsewhere for his brilliance—but as player, not a writer. In fact, according to MacPherson's son Guy, who wrote the excellent liner notes to From the Pen of..., his father wrote barely a dozen or so original compositions, almost all of which are included on this superlative album with performances by a who's who of well- known jazz artists from Canada and other countries. Considering what ...

Album Review

Fraser MacPherson: From The Pen Of...

Read "From The Pen Of..." reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
October 15, 2022

Tenor saxophonist Fraser MacPherson was an original. Although he was raised in Victoria, British Columbia, he moved to Vancouver early in his career where he remained throughout his working life. He began to build his reputation as a Lester Young-influenced player, and in the mid '70s recorded his first trio album for West End Records with guitarist Oliver Gannon and bassist Wyatt Ruther. This album was picked up by Concord Records in the late '70s and released in the U.S. ...

Album Review

Brian Charette: Jackpot

Read "Jackpot" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
July 23, 2022

In the tradition of some great Hammond organ players of the past, such as Jack McDuff, Melvin Rhyne, Don Patterson, Larry Young and Jimmy Smith, one leading practitioner on this instrument, Brian Charette, wanted to write some swinging and soulful bebop tunes which would honor the memory of these past greats. The musicians Charette chose to travel on this journey were steeped in this genre, tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds, funky guitarist Ed Cherry and the swinging drummer Bill Stewart. To ...

Album Review

Adam Shulman: Just The Contrafacts

Read "Just The Contrafacts" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
July 1, 2022

For those who may be scratching their heads about the word contrafact, in the jazz medium it designates a musical composition in which a new melody is overlaid on a familiar harmonic structure. This form really became prominent in the bebop era, where the artists (who were generally short of financial resources) could create new compositions over which they could improvise and record without worrying about paying royalties for copyrighted materials. During the depths of the ...

Album Review

Cory Weeds Quartet: Just Coolin'

Read "Just Coolin'" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 21, 2022

Although Cory Weeds spends much of his time promoting and recording other jazz artists, he does manage to place those tasks on the back burner every once in a while to blow his own horn, so to speak—which he does about as well as anyone else on today's scene. While the Canadian-based saxophonist is especially engaging on alto, he plays only tenor on Just Coolin', backed by a rhythm section he assembled in 2021 for a live gig at Frankie's ...