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Opus 5: Swing On This
by Paul Beard
Recorded in September 2021, at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio under the direction of Mike Marciano, this is the fifth album from contemporary jazz group, Opus 5. Entitled Swing On This, it comprises eight tracks that average around seven minutes each. Hailing from the Netherlands, Opus 5 is a stylish quintet made up of Seamus Blake on tenor saxophone and Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, with drums by Donald Edwards, bass in the hands of Boris Kozlov and last ...
Continue ReadingYuval Amihai: My 90s Summer
by Dan Bilawsky
This fourth album from Yuval Amihai takes inspiration from the halcyon days of a summer long past, recalling formative experiences of a youth spent in the desert city of Beer Sheva in Israel. But it also draws heavily on the guitarist's globetrotting as an adult, looking toward years spent in France and a new life in New York. A work supported by those broad interests and influences spanning decades, My 90s Summer is nevertheless a remarkably focused date showcasing a ...
Continue ReadingOz Noy: Snapdragon
by Mike Jacobs
It's an old sentiment but it still holds that great instrumental chops, enthralling as they may be, are fairly meaningless on their own. And quite frankly, they are pretty ubiquitous these days with the internet exposure machine going full tilt. Given all that, it's quite easy for the listener to become inured with technical prowess-- especially wizardry of the fretboard. So to say Oz Noy is a fantastic guitarist just isn't enough anymore. It's fortunate then that what ...
Continue ReadingDavid Kikoski: Phoenix Rising
by Jack Bowers
Pianist David Kikoski and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, among the brightest lights on New York City's jazz scene for more than two decades, have known each other for almost as many years but Phoenix Rising marks the first time they have recorded together. After listening, one observation springs immediately to mind: it's about time. A second premise is that the album swings and dazzles from start to finish--but one would expect no less from such masters of ...
Continue ReadingKikoski, Carpenter, Novak, Sheppard: From The Hip
by Dan Bilawsky
In 2006, pianist David Kikoski was invited to perform and record in front of a live audience at the private Beverly Hills studio of George Klabin, President of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation. Kikoski brought in some of his first-call friends for the occasion and, with nary a rehearsal to be had, put on a stunner of a standards-based show; the nine tracks that make up From The Hip were recorded at that gathering. Kikoski, saxophonist Bob ...
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Jürgen Hagenlocher: Leap in the Dark
by AAJ Italy Staff
Il contenitore mainstream" continua ad ampliarsi esponenzialmente grazie a produzioni e collaborazioni in ogni angolo del mondo, consentendo un confronto artistico attraverso uno stile che - pur se in parte codificato - lascia ampio spazio a creativitità, complessità e virtuosismo. In Leap in the Dark abbiamo modo di ascoltare il sassofonista tedesco Jürgen Hagenlocher insieme ad uno dei musicisti più interessanti degli ultimi anni, il trombettista russo, naturalizzato statunitense, Alex Sipiagin (autore di numerose incisioni, da leader per la casa ...
Continue ReadingOpus 5: Introducing Opus 5
by Dan Bilawsky
Collectively delivered jazz albums almost always fall into one of three categories: some are outings from neophytes looking to pool their resources, while trying to build a fan base from the ground floor up; others marry the musical skills of seasoned musicians who've crossed paths in various situations and/or share a commonality in approach; and the most commercially successful, yet artistically regretfully, are usually hastily conceived or rendered performances that simply attach several big names to a project in order ...
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