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Jazz Articles about Dayna Stephens
Vicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Richard J Salvucci
Who knew “Del Sasser" had lyrics? Part of the joy of listening to new recordings is finding such things out. And Vicki Burns does a convincing job of it. In this intriguing compilation of standards--yes, musicians can record from the Great American Songbook (GAS) without disgracing themselves, no matter what anyone says--bop heads and originals, Vicki Burns acquits herself admirably. She is solid evidence that the singer makes the song, rather than the other way around. ...
Continue ReadingVicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Jeff Winbush
Whatever else can be said about jazz, there is little disagreement that it is best experienced in a live setting. Listening to Vicki Burns' Lotus Blossom Days is as close to a front-row seat in a New York nightclub as many of us are likely to get in these times of high fuel costs and crowded airports. Burns is not attempting to blow the roof off with vocal gyrations and tricks. She never oversings as she tries to ...
Continue ReadingPluto Juice: Pluto Juice
by Glenn Astarita
The EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) was popularized in the 1980s by the late sax great Michael Brecker, and allegedly is a difficult instrument to learn because the buttons are touch sensitive and its sound bank possesses the characteristics of multiple woodwind instruments. Moreover, the EWI contains a controller and a sound module and is not simply an electronic sax device. But highly regarded saxophonist Dayna Stephens seems to have surmounted any hurdles and conveys a rather all-inclusive scope on this ...
Continue ReadingJohannes Wallmann: Elegy for an Undiscovered Species
by Angelo Leonardi
Poco noto in Italia, Johannes Wallmann è un 47enne pianista e compositore nato in Germania ma cresciuto in Canada e formatosi musicalmente negli Stati Uniti (al Berklee College of Music di Boston e alla New York University). Vive a New York dal 1995 e ha pubblicato nove CD compreso il presente dove affianca un'orchestra d'archi a un quintetto jazz con la trombettista Ingrid Jensen e il sassofonista Dayna Stephens. È forse il suo lavoro più ambizioso, realizzato ...
Continue ReadingJohannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Supported by the Artemis supergroup members drummer Allison Miller and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen as well as by long-time collaborator Dayna Stephens and bassist Nick Moran, Johannes Wallmann can count himself lucky to have a celebrity packed core band behind him to present six new cuts fresh off the pianist's pen. In addition to the celebrity lineup, a sumptuous string orchestra (15-strong) adds harmonic depth and ornamental brushstrokes along the way, expanding crescendoing build-ups with further dynamic width and embellishing soloistic ...
Continue ReadingJohannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Johannes Wallmann's Elegy For An Undiscovered Species opens with the eleven minute title tune, a musical protest against the Anthropocene Extinction. That extinction is happening right now. Human activity—human predominance of the planet—is its cause. This opener does have an apocalyptic feel, with a dark piano trio intro and a dark strings backdrop seeping into the mix, followed by tenor sax (Dayna Stephens) and trumpet (Ingrid Jensen) solos. Of Dayna Stephens' sound: if Paul Desmond's ...
Continue ReadingEthan Iverson & Umbria Jazz Orchestra: Bud Powell in the 21st Century
by Angelo Leonardi
Da quando ha lasciato The Bad Plus l'attività di Ethan Iverson s'è sviluppata in più direzioni, passando da lavori strumentali in duo (con Mark Turner: Temporary Kings ECM 2018) o in quartetto (Common Practice ECM 2019) ad opere estese come il concerto per pianoforte con l'American Composers Orchestra (Concerto to Scale). Tra le altre cose ha curato una celebrazione di Thelonious Monk alla Duke University e scritto la colonna sonora per Pepperland, l'opera sui Beatles del coreografo Mark Morris.
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