Jazz Articles about Dave Burrell

Dave Burrell: Momentum

by Ian Patterson
November 29, 2006

A traditionalist with respect for the avant-garde, or an avant-garde acolyte with respect for tradition? Dave Burrell would appear to have a foot in both camps. On Momentum the pianist is supported and augmented by the outstanding new rhythm section of bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Guillermo E. Brown. The music manages to be quirky yet intense, harmonius and dissonant in turn, fractured yet swinging--and ultimately highly rewarding.

On the opening “Downfall" Burrell offers a simple, catchy piano ...

Dave Burrell: Momentum

by Troy Collins
November 7, 2006

For the first time in almost thirty years, pianist Dave Burrell returned to the studio to record as a leader with William Parker and Andrew Cyrille on 2004's Expansion (High Two). Momentum features Burrell recording for the first time with bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Guillermo E. Brown, continuing to explore the classic piano trio format. With this new blood, Burrell hones in on the jazz tradition with intensity and focus, delivering one of the finest statements of his career.

Dave Burrell and Billy Martin: Consequences

by Rex Butters
August 28, 2006

Consequences teams pianist Dave Burrell with percussionist Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin and Wood, making this a collaboration between two avant gardists separated by a generation or two. Though Burrell recorded with the likes of Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders and Marion Brown while Martin attended high school, any doubts about their compatibility disappear when the two artists face off on this performance, recorded live in Philadelphia. Their unique four-handed journey leads them up, over, beyond and back, locked ...

Dave Burrell: After Love & Consequences

by Robert Iannapollo
June 4, 2006

Dave Burrell After Love America-Universal 2005 Dave Burrell/Billy Martin Consequences Amulet 2006

Pianist Dave Burrell has not received the acclaim he deserves despite actively pursuing his muse for over 40 years. Coming to prominence with the second wave of avant gardists, Burrell plays in a style that accommodates not only the ...

Dave Burrell: Margy Pargy

by Rex Butters
May 21, 2006

Dave Burrell's dual association with early jazz and the avant-garde gives his playing a grounded originality. Margy Pargy spends an easygoing near-hour with the pianist's solo ruminations on classics and his own wily compositions. Like his frequent collaborator Archie Shepp, he reaches effortlessly through time to retrieve all flavors of the blues, while incorporating unflinching romanticism and an uncluttered wit.

The old chestnut “I Only Have Eyes For You saunters in with worldly nonchalance. While Burrell's right hand plays it ...

A Fireside Chat with Dave Burrell

by AAJ Staff
November 10, 2004

While his serendipitous participation in Algiers' Pan-African Festival and the infamous BYG sessions with Archie Shepp and Grachan Moncur III that followed gave him underground street credit, it was his audible awareness of the music's history that has endeared Dave Burrell to the revolution. Stigmatized as “avant-garde" by the misinformed, there is as much Ellington and Monk in Burrell's approach as there is angularity and dissonance.

All About Jazz: Let's start from the beginning.

Dave Burrell: ...

Dave Burrell Full-Blown Trio: Expansion

by John Kelman
September 3, 2004

You have to have roots. Even for those who lean towards a freer, more exploratory disposition in jazz, the best of the lot have generally spent some time studying and playing within the tradition. Pianist Dave Burrell, whose work with Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders and Marion Brown has exemplified him as an icon of the experimental and the avant-garde, places things in perfect perspective halfway through Expansion. In between a compelling free duet with bassist William Parker and a more ...