Jazz Articles about Craig Taborn

Craig Taborn: Junk Magic

by John Kelman
April 16, 2004

Following his 2001 recording Light Made Lighter , keyboardist Craig Taborn returns with Junk Magic, a new recording that places him squarely in the 21st century, maybe even the 22nd. With a combination of sounds that incorporates techno, laptop electronics, shifting drum programming, ambient music and free jazz, Taborn creates a sound that is difficult to pigeonhole; the diverse elements coalesce into a fresh new texture, making this an early highlight of 2004. Unlike his previous album, which was mistakenly ...

Craig Taborn: Junk Magic

by Phil DiPietro
April 15, 2004

Craig Taborn Junk Magic Thirsty Ear 2004

Craig Taborn has consistently tugged thirsty ears his way in the ensembles of high profile leaders Dave Douglas, Tim Berne and James Carter. His work has been so remarkable that some very big expectations have ensued. Here, Taborn pulls off the trick of living up to them all, while, to those of us who have been following along, serving up virtually none within the music ...

Craig Taborn: Junk Magic

by Mark Corroto
April 14, 2004

Craig Taborn inhabits the territories in between the gestures we recognize as music. His sources are revealed to be “found sound" and the psychology of loops. As fans of the innovative '70s band Weather Report know, Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul’s genius was the sounds they created in between the hooks of their popular music.

Taborn has come a long way since he gained national attention as part of James Carter’s band. He has moved more toward ...

Craig Taborn: Suggesting Textural Dimension

by Phil DiPietro
May 2, 2003

Craig Taborn has distinguished himself through his work, some of it nothing short of groundbreaking, with some of the most important musicians in New York's “Downtown" scene. His contributions during parallel careers with Mat Maneri, Drew Gress, Marty Ehrlich, Gerald Cleaver, Dave Douglas' Witness project, and Tim Berne's Hard Cell and Science Friction Units, has been thrillingly spontaneous yet organic, accomplished yet somehow ephemeral. Craig possesses that trait so valued by listeners and leaders alike (and sometimes not, by the ...

Craig Taborn: Light Made Lighter

by Matt Rand
June 22, 2002

The decision to form an acoustic piano trio for his latest release, Light Made Lighter, offered an interesting challenge for Craig Taborn. Although he has years of experience with the instrument, he's also spent every one of those years fiddling with the dials on his Moog. Whether on synthesizer, sequencer, Fender Rhodes or Hammond B-3, he’s made a career of the beauty of sound as its own end. Yet when stripped of the nuanced current that electricity grants him, Taborn's ...

Craig Taborn Trio: Light Made Lighter

by AAJ Staff
October 1, 2001

The title of this trio disc by Craig Taborn may summon up all kinds of ideas, but the one that definitely doesn't fit is lightweight. This is serious, creative, challenging music. Taborn built his reputation through a series of records dating back to '93 with James Carter's groups. Now Carter may be an experimentalist of sorts (especially when performing live), but Taborn has his own set of very personal ideas. On Light Made Lighter he lays them out in a ...