Jazz Articles about Craig Taborn

About Craig Taborn

Album Review

Hafez Modirzadeh with Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey and Craig Taborn: Facets

by Troy Dostert
March 9, 2021

A rigorous, sometimes imposingly cerebral innovator, tenor saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh has dedicated himself since the 1980s to ever more ambitious ways of opening up the Western musical tradition to scrutiny. A particular obsession is the restrictive quality of conventional instrumental tunings, which, as Modirzadeh perceives them, can limit the possibilities available to improvisers and composers alike, especially when contrasted with the less confining musical traditions of the Middle East. One of his pathbreaking efforts in this regard was his Radif ...

Album Review

Craig Taborn: Compass Confusion

Read "Compass Confusion" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
March 4, 2021

Compass Confusion, the long hoped for return of Craig Taborn's depth defying, solo-gone-quintet from Junk Magic (Thirsty Ear, 2004), climaxes early and often and, however you like to be lured, It pulls you along with a lush velvet hook in your mouth. Reeling it in is a struggle but a blessing. We know that. We get it. CTJM thinks so too. First timers, saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed and bassist ((Erik Fratzke}} are welcomed brotherly into the fold by pianist ...

Album Review

Craig Taborn: Compass Confusion

Read "Compass Confusion" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
January 18, 2021

Although a peerless pianist, Craig Taborn has been captivated by electronics since the age of 12, and he scratches that itch big-time on Compass Confusion. The role of post-production treatments in the creation of jazz records has a long history, from Orrin Keepnews piecing together the issued version of Thelonious Monk's 1956 classic “Brilliant Corners" from among 24 takes of the tune, to Miles Davis and Teo Macero forging masterpieces like Bitches Brew (CBS, 1970) from studio jams. Taborn's ethos ...

Album Review

Junk Magic: Compass Confusion

Read "Compass Confusion" reviewed by Franz A. Matzner

by Franz A. Matzner
November 1, 2020

Density. Shifting ground. Textural discord. Sharpness like glass. Resonant emptiness. Explorative improvisation, electronica sound spaces and electric beats. Released by the Craig Taborn project Junk Magic, Compass Confusion moves the fusion of live performance with electronica to the next level, making the division between the two often difficult to discern. The album incorporates a cross section of electronica techniques, including often lesser recognized subgenres like ambient, trip-hop, and minimalist industrial. This diverse representation of electronic music coupled with ...

Album Review

Steve Lehman Trio, Craig Taborn: The People I Love

Read "The People I Love" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
January 22, 2020

Il timbro asprigno, acidulo, e l'incedere di preferenza incalzante, spigoloso, dell'alto di Steve Lehman (i cui principali modelli, dichiarati, sono com'è noto Jackie McLean e Anthony Braxton) attraversa pressoché a senso unico questo nuovo lavoro del quarantunenne sassofonista newyorchese, determinandone climi e disegno complessivo, il tutto confezionato con la complicità del suo trio abituale (nonché ormai decennale) rinforzato per l'occasione dal pianoforte di Craig Taborn (sodale e amico di Lehman a sua volta da un buon decennio) con la volontà ...

Live Review

Craig Taborn at Sonic Lab

by Ian Patterson
March 2, 2019

Craig Taborn Sonic Lab. Sonic Arts Research Centre Brilliant Corners Belfast, N. Ireland February 16, 2019 The launch of the seventh edition of Brilliant Corners--Belfast's only jazz festival--saw Craig Taborn make his first appearance here in nearly a decade, and his first solo gig in this city of just under 350,000 people. Such an auspicious occasion merited a special venue, and the Sonic Lab at the Sonic Arts Research Centre is certainly ...

Live Review

Brussels Jazz Festival 2019

by Martin Longley
February 15, 2019

Brussels Jazz Festival Flagey Brussels, Belgium January 10-19, 2019 The Brussels Jazz Festival is a relative newcomer, but this ambitious 10-dayer managed to sell out around two thirds of its gigs, and was overall the most successful in attendance for this fifth edition. Concerts are held in the two main studios of Flagey, a 1930s Art Deco radio broadcasting complex in the Ixelles area, just south of the city centre. It was ...