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Charles Lloyd and the Marvels: Tone Poem
by Mike Jurkovic
The download comes down the i-pipe in a virtual blue folder titled Charles Lloyd Tone Poem and the first thought upon initial listening is 'damn right it is'! It is a deceptively graceful covers album which immediately makes all the songsmany by none other than Ornette Coleman, Gabor Szabo and Leonard Cohentheir own highly active ecosystem of blurry form, focused response, and whatever else tickles Lloyd's fancy. Lloyd has been a genuine, spiritual force since the moment he ...
read moreDayna Stephens Trio: Liberty
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Saxophonist Dayna Stephens, bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric Harland, together with two handfuls of original compositions, make Liberty a hip and bopping success. Who needs chords, when three voices and tones are able to interact so seamlessly and easily with one another--carefully planting ideas, picking them up and elegantly developing them over the continuing stream of bars and measures? Stephens' round tone and clear melodic language are remarkably well accompanied in a set of tunes made up of catchy ...
read moreRoss McHenry: Nothing Remains Unchanged
by Troy Dostert
Electric bassist Ross McHenry has been a highly-regarded presence in the Australian jazz scene since the release of his 2013 debut record, Distant Oceans (First Word Records). His recognition outside of his home country has been limited, although that may change with his 2020 release, Nothing Remains Unchanged. Eschewing some of his larger-ensemble tendencies for a pared-down quartet concept, this album sees McHenry honing his melodic instincts and creating an infectious chemistry with some new colleagues. On his ...
read moreEric Harland's Voyager at The Highline Ballroom
by Dan Bilawsky
Eric Harland's Voyager Highline Ballroom Vipassana CD Release New York, NY September 2, 2014 The CD release show for Vipassana (GSI Records, 2014)--the sophomore album from drummer Eric Harland's Voyager--didn't play out like a typical club set or concert; it was more like a spiritual journey through songs, segues, and seas of rhythm. Harland and his expandable/contractible outfit delivered a ceaseless flow of music for an hour and forty-five minutes. Mantras were intoned, voice ...
read moreEric Harland's Voyager: Vipassana
by Dan Bilawsky
Much is said about records once they've come into the world, but little is discussed about the motive(s) surrounding the birthing of a record. Sometimes it's simply about marketing, exposure, money, and pure narcissism. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that on some level(s), and many classic albums have been made with little to nothing else in mind, but it's harder to appreciate the artistry and the artist when records made for such reasons appear on the horizon. It's far more ...
read moreEric Harland's Voyager: Going Places
by Zach Hindin
Where most debut acts aim to make a statement, Eric Harland's first lead project, Voyager, is decidedly conversational. Harland, arguably the consummate jazz drummer of his generation, has staffed his quintet with a potent if precocious musical brain trust. The year after pianist Taylor Eigsti first played with pianist Dave Brubeck (he was 12 at the time), guitarist Julian Lage became the subject of the 1997 Academy Award-nominated documentary Jules at Eight (Lage began performing publicly when he was six). ...
read moreEric Harland: Voyager Live by Night
by Mark F. Turner
The long wait for Eric Harland's debut release is understandable. One of modern jazz's most dynamic and in-demand drummers, he's been a little preoccupied: early stints with Terence Blanchard and Wynton Marsalis; high profile gigs with Kurt Rosenwinkel, McCoy Tyner, and The Monterey Quartet; and tenures with the SFJAZZ Collective and Charles Lloyd's ensembles, are just a few of his many endeavors. Possessing consummate skills defined by superlative timing, propulsion, finesse and flexibility, it's no wonder it's taken him so ...
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