Jazz Articles about Donald Edwards

Donald Edwards: Evolution of An Influenced Mind

by Mark F. Turner
March 27, 2014

With Evolution of An Influenced Mind , drummer Donald Edwards makes a piercing statement about his percussiveness and musicality. Having gained attention for his craftsmanship on a number of noteworthy Criss Cross dates-- Introducing Opus 5 (2011) and Orrin Evans's excellent It was Beauty (2013)--Edwards's debut on the prolific Dutch jazz label is a cohesive work of forward thinking music. Dedicated to the memory of the great New Orleans clarinetist Alvin Batiste who mentored Edwards at Southern ...

Donald Edwards: Evolution Of An Influenced Mind

by Andrew Luhn
March 25, 2014

In recent years, Donald Edwards has become a familiar name in the Criss Cross catalogue. His drumming can be heard on six previous Criss Cross releases, but on Evolution of an Influenced Mind, Edwards makes his debut as a leader. His sensitive and protean drumming has made him a first-call sideman in New York, but this program focuses on his prowess as a composer; Edwards contributes ten of the eleven tunes, with pianist Orrin Evans leading the eleventh.

Donald Edwards: Evolution Of An Influenced Mind

by Dan Bilawsky
March 23, 2014

Donald Edwards is one of those drummers that seem to be taken for granted. He's constantly being called upon to support others, shaping moods and grooves on record for everybody from saxophonist Dayna Stephens to trombonist Conrad Herwig to vocalist Carolyn Leonhart, but he's largely avoided being in the spotlight. He's only released two other leader dates in his two-plus decades as a professional drummer, and both records went largely unnoticed. Now, after serving as a sideman on a half ...

Opus 5: Introducing Opus 5

by Dan Bilawsky
January 10, 2012

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 ...

JD Walter: Live in Portugal

by Victor L. Schermer
March 6, 2009

J.D. Walter Live In Portugal JWAL Records 2008

J.D. Walter may be the most avant-garde vocalist in jazz today. He uses a broad range of musical and linguistic approaches to create haunting atmospheres, rapid scat runs, and emotionally engaging interpretations of both standards and his own compositions. On this double CD set, recorded live at the Lagoa Jazz Festival in Portugal, he takes scat to a new expressive level. The word scat ...

Donald Edwards: In the Vernacular

by Jack Bowers
January 1, 1999

Perhaps I’ve become too — what’s the word I want — jaded? Spoiled? Whatever. The fact is that in spite of the complimentary liner notes by Ellis Marsalis, I couldn’t find much to get excited about while listening to drummer Donald Edwards’ debut, In the Vernacular — even with one of the contemporary scene’s shrewdest young trumpeters, Nicholas Payton, helping to stoke the fire. Everyone plays competently enough — although Wessell Anderson’s honking, screeching alto on “Duke of Duckland” is ...