Home » Jazz Articles » Eric Reed
Jazz Articles about Eric Reed
Eric Reed: Happiness
by Glenn Astarita
Pianist Eric Reed soars to towering heights with this uplifting and altogether superior new release, featuring fellow “Wynton Marsalis Group” constituents; trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, alto saxophonist Wessell Anderson and other jazz sharpshooters, as this eleven-piece outfit delivers the goods in rather explosive fashion. No doubt, Reed possesses enviable chops, yet his concoction of cleverly organized motifs and complexly swinging arrangements offer a trickle of fresh air to a sometimes languid or floundering, modern-day post-Bop scene. With, “Three Dances: Island Grind ...
Continue ReadingT.K. Blue: Eyes of the Elders
by James Nichols
Saxophonist and flutist T.K. Blue, the artist formerly known as Talib Kibwe, continues to evolve his own brand of post-bop on Eyes of the Elders, his second release as a leader for Arkadia Jazz. Despite the pretentious title, this album contains some worthy performances by a cadre of jazz veterans and young lions. Though T.K. Blue fits the ubiquitous description of the contemporary jazzer infatuated with jazz tradition, he actually spent years paying his dues with jazz veterans including Abdullah ...
Continue ReadingT.K. Blue: Eyes Of The Elders
by AAJ Staff
When he was the artist known as Talib Qadir Kibwe, T.K. Blue spent a good many years as Randy Weston's musical director, and he performed on some of Weston's now-classic recordings with Melba Liston like The Spirits Of Our Ancestors and Volcano Blues. Previously, Kibwe lived in Paris for eight years after a three-year association with Abdullah Ibrahim in the late 1970's. Journeying to Africa from his Paris base throughout the 1980's, Kibwe delved deeper and deeper into the spiritual ...
Continue ReadingVarious: Thank You, Joe!
by AAJ Staff
Arkadia has a good thing going for it: tribute albums. Interestingly, Thank You, Joe! is Arkadia's first CD of appreciation extended to a living jazz legend. Previous honorees have included John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Gerry Mulligan.Thank goodness that Arkadia had the insight to honor Henderson. Such a tribute raises the question, however, of how many other living jazz innovators should be honored: Lucky Thompson, Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Jon Hendricks, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Horace Silver, Roy ...
Continue Reading
