Jazz Articles about Darius Jones

Darius Jones: Man'ish Boy

by AAJ Italy Staff
December 9, 2009

Nel suo primo CD da leader Darius Jones, contraltista e compositore trasferitosi da Richmond a New York nel 2005, si rivela uno strumentista notevolissimo. Non sono certo gli impianti tematici e strutturali a costituire l'aspetto innovativo e rilevante di Man'ish Boy, inciso in studio nell'aprile 2009: si tratta infatti di nuclei melodico-ritmici semplici e insistiti, ideali però per nutrire gli sviluppi improvvisativi. Sono appunto questi ultimi, fervidi e variati, mai occasionali, a rappresentare una densa, avvincente sintesi musicale. L'indispensabile interplay ...

Darius Jones: Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)

by A. Henkin
October 14, 2009

Darius Jones sounds like it could be the name of an itinerant preacher or maybe a character in a Flannery O'Connor short story. Neither is actually that much of a stretch after hearing the alto saxophonist's debut as a leader, Man'ish Boy. Throughout run the concurrent threads of celebration and foreboding that exist in the rural south from whence Jones hails. Readers may know Jones best for his work in the two-sax onslaught known as Little Women ...

Darius Jones: Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)

by Lyn Horton
October 5, 2009

Alto saxophonist Darius Jones' birthplace was Virginia, where, historically, slavery was as indigenous to the state as the cotton fields. Inheriting a tradition of story- telling through music, Jones considers his debut, Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), “one sonic tone poem" that describes different aspects of growing up on a farm, in a loving family setting, where he listened to music ranging from reggae to classical. Jones composed five of the record's eight tracks, with co-writing credit on ...

Darius Jones Trio: Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)

by Troy Collins
September 12, 2009

Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) is the premier recording of Virginia-born alto saxophonist Darius Jones, a prodigiously talented instrumentalist whose Southern roots shine through on this vivacious debut. A regular sideman to Lewis Barnes, William Hooker, Mike Pride, and Mara Rosenbloom, Jones also leads his own trio, which features bassist Adam Lane and drummer Jason Nazary.

For his first record, Jones recruited drummer Rakalam Bob Moses and multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore--two of his mentors--to be his rhythm section. ...