Jazz Articles about Elvin Jones

Elvin Jones: Drumming Icon is Still Cooking

by R.J. DeLuke
March 13, 2004

The name Elvin Jones conjures up a distinct image right away. You can see him seated behind his drum set, slightly hunched, arms awhirl; cranking out a firestorm of rhythms highlighted by crackling accents that fall at unexpected moments, giving the music just the right propulsion. He's been one of jazz music's preeminent drummers for years and years, playing with all the greats. For decades now, he's led his own bands, as well as graced the albums of ...

Elvin Jones: The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 1, 2000

Although Mosaic’s methods for rediscovering neglected artists have always been informed, this package of diverse material seems to be especially constructive in giving us a better picture of one of the jazz world’s most innovative and important artists of the 20th century. While Jones had made a few of his own recordings as a leader during his tenure with the John Coltrane Quartet (most notably Elvin! for Riverside and Illumination! for Impulse), it wasn’t until he broke rank with the ...

Elvin Jones: The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 1, 2000

Although Mosaic's methods for rediscovering neglected artists have always been informed, this package of diverse material seems to be especially constructive in giving us a better picture of one of the jazz world's most innovative and important artists of the 20th century. While Jones had made a few of his own recordings as a leader during his tenure with the John Coltrane Quartet (most notably Elvin! for Riverside and Illumination! for Impulse), it wasn't until he broke rank with the ...

Wayne Shorter (Blue Note The Rudy Van Gelder Edition: Speak No Evil / JuJu

by C. Michael Bailey
July 1, 1999

RVG Again. Will Smith and Chris Hovan wrote two very capable articles about the Blue Note RVG Editions. Their articles were very informative and they stimulated me to check out some “new” old music. I decided to start with the initial RVG releases by Wayne Shorter.

Déjà Vu All Over Again The nice thing about both jazz and classical music is that there is always something even the most astute listener has missed in his or her listening experience. Wayne ...

Jimmy Forrest: Black Forrest

by Jack Bowers
July 1, 1999

Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, best known and perhaps best remembered as composer of the huge R&B smash, “Night Train,” was also an underrated swing–based player out of the Gene Ammons/Lockjaw Davis/Sonny Stitt school whose ample talents are showcased on the quintet date Black Forrest, recorded in 1959 with the same cast (and a couple of the same songs) that appeared on an earlier Delmark release, All the Gin Is Gone (Delmark 404). As it turns out, the tunes that comprise ...

John Coltrane: A Love Supreme

by Robert Spencer
June 1, 1997

Although this disc is relatively new in its packaging and 20-bit format, it enjoyed a popular run previously as one of the first Impulse CD reissues. The latest re-release is an attractive treatment: the original (first-rate) cover art is restored, the sound is markedly better, and John Coltrane's liner letter and poem are in a readable type size. So if there is any jazz fan on the planet who hasn't yet heard this one, now's the time. This is, of ...

McCoy Tyner: McCoy Tyner: Extensions

by Jim Santella
January 1, 1997

Three numbers on this 1970 reissue recall the classic Coltrane quartet sound, and the fourth track goes a step further, into the spiritual late period Coltrane change. Tyner's sextet here includes Alice Coltrane's harp, Wayne Shorter's tenor and soprano, Gary Bartz' alto, Elvin Jones' drums, and Ron Carter's bass.A powerful virtuoso, McCoy Tyner carried the legacy onward after Coltrane's death. “Message From The Nile," based on a 12-note, 2-bar motif stated initially by the saxophones of ...