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Jonathan Kreisberg: Night Songs
by C. Andrew Hovan
Although technical proficiency and filigreed improvisations often catch the attention of the average jazz fan, those in the know will insist that you can't really evaluate the mettle of a jazz musician until you hear how he interprets a ballad. Memorable efforts from the jazz cannon that fruitfully establish a reflective mood over the length of an album must include John Coltrane's Ballads, Kenny Dorham's Quiet Kenny, and Grant Green's Idle Moments. With six dates already as a ...
Continue ReadingRudy Royston & Flatbed Buggy: DAY
by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Rudy Royston debuted his group Flatbed Buggy in 2018, with the eponymous Greenleaf Records release. It had the feeling of a jazz-folk chamber group. With its unusual instrumentation--Gary Versace's accordion, Hank Roberts' cello, and John Ellis' bass clarinet joining Royston's drums and Joe Martin's bass--a laid-back and engaging Americana vibe emerged. The follow-up, Day, is more of the same, with a bit more swing. With an ear towards the past, the sound recalls drummer Chico Hamilton's mid-50s ...
Continue ReadingNew York Bass Quartet: Air
by Pierre Giroux
Bassist Martin Wind is the real deal. Although he may not have the profile enjoyed by some of the bold-faced names in the profession such as Christian McBride, Ron Carter or Esperanza Spalding, he has built his reputation as a skilled, versatile player since emigrating to the US in 1995 to study at the NYU jazz program. While Wind's discography is not lengthy, he has done some commendable work with Bill Mays and Frank Kimbrough. This release Air puts the ...
Continue ReadingKate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark
by C. Michael Bailey
Being taken for granted is the greatest tribute and worst slight to any artist. Kate McGarry has made music that brilliantly colors outside the lines since her release, Show Me (Palmetto Records) in 2003 (there was a 1992 standards release, Easy To Love (Vital Records) that is out-of-print). Her career has provided five provocatively thoughtful and inventive recordings between that release and 2018's The Subject Tonight Is Love (Binxtown Records). Listeners have come to expect something a little different from ...
Continue ReadingKate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark
by Dan McClenaghan
Let us start with a nod to Steely Dan, the rock/jazz group headed up by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a pair of tunesmiths who hit a career zenith in the early 1970s with albums like Can't Buy A Thrill (1972), Countdown To Ecstasy (1973), Pretzel Logic (1974) and Aja (1974), all on ABC Records. The group drew in top jazz artists to help craft their albums—saxophonists Wayne Shorter and Tom Scott, guitarists Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour, drummers Steve ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck: Songs You Like a Lot
by Angelo Leonardi
Con questo disco John Hollenbeck conclude la trilogia iniziata otto anni fa sulla reinterpretazione di famosi brani della popular music (Songs I Like A Lot, Sunnyside 2013) e proseguita due anni dopo con Songs We Like a Lot per la stessa etichetta. Nel primo album la scelta dei temi era strettamente personale, nel secondo fu condivisa con alcuni partner (i cantanti Theo Bleckmann e Kate McGarry) ed ora nasce dalla selezione di proposte giunte all'arrangiatore dal suo ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck: Songs You Like A Lot
by Dan Bilawsky
Every ending a beginning, each conclusion an act of creation. If multi-hyphenate John Hollenbeck's Songs You Like A Lot doesn't slot within that sentiment, nothing really does. This collection marks the completion of a lauded trilogy that's stretched out across the better part of a decade, but it also signals the start of something new--the Flexatonic Arts non-profit, which will serve as an umbrella for Hollenbeck's arts and education initiatives, and the record label it houses, acting as a home ...
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