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Jazz Articles about Geof Bradfield

8
Album Review

James Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge

Read "Arc and Edge" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Trumpeter James Davis' sextet is aptly named Beveled--a word that means transforming a sharp, square edge into something smoother, more refined. That concept of reshaping and softening defines both the ensemble's instrumentation and its sonic character. Davis sets the tone by trading his bright trumpet for the warmer, more introspective voice of the flugelhorn. He deepens this resonance by adding a second flugelhorn, played by Chad McCullough, alongside two bass clarinetists, Geof Bradfield and Michael Salter. The bass clarinet, known ...

24
Album Review

James Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge

Read "Arc and Edge" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Beveled, according to Webster's, translates roughly to “slanted" or “grooved." On Arc and Edge, flugelhornist James Davis' Chicago-based sextet clearly has its own slant on contemporary post-bop jazz wherein the groove ranges from typically improvised passages to cutting-edge motifs and classical chamber music, using a second flugelhorn, two bass clarinets and rhythm to flesh out the leader's sonically unique and harmonically sophisticated compositions. The second flugelhorn is that of Chad McCullough. Geof Bradfield and Michael Salter man ...

30
Album Review

Chris Varga: Breathe

Read "Breathe" reviewed by Jack Bowers


It is always refreshing to hear a talented vibraphonist seducing the mallets while leading a band, as is true on Breathe, Chris Varga's second recording, and the first in the U.S., following 2023's Vichara on South Korea's Mung Music label. Varga, who has been living and performing in Seoul for more than two decades, returned “home" to Chicago in 2024 and recruited four able-bodied sidemen to record eight of his largely hermetic yet lavishly bedecked compositions and arrangements.

30
Album Review

Eric Jacobson: Heading Home

Read "Heading Home" reviewed by Jack Bowers


There is a sensible piece of advice known to every baseball batter that has been taken to heart by Milwaukee-based trumpeter Eric Jacobson's concerning his hard-hitting quintet: come out swinging. Which is precisely what happens on Heading Home, Jacobson's second (or perhaps third) recording as leader of his own ensemble, whose opening number, “Survival," proves beyond a doubt that everyone in the lineup--all eyes focused on the ball--definitely means business. “Survival" sets the tone for the album ...

7
Album Review

Chris Varga: Breathe

Read "Breathe" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Setting up shop as a jazz artist in Seoul, South Korea, is probably not the recommended way of raising the profile in the United States. But vibraphonist Chris Varga, who worked the jazz scene in Chicago during the '90s, made that trans-Pacific move and set himself up as a busy and prolific player in Korea's vibrant jazz scene. Coming back stateside for an extended stay in 2024, Varga took advantage of the opportunity to put together a quintet ...

6
Album Review

Eric Jacobson: Heading Home

Read "Heading Home" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Wisconsin trumpeter, composer-arranger, educator and author Eric Jacobson and his team deliver Heading Home, his third album as leader. Offering eight Jacobson originals played by Chicago heavyweights and a New Yorker guest, all Jacobson regulars, the album, a hard bop retrospective, is arguably--if not definitively--the trumpeter's finest outing to date. “Survival" opens in a speedball frenzy with trumpet and tenor, the classic hard bop front line configuration, stating the melody before saxophonist Geof Bradfield blisters off, soloing ...

14
Album Review

Eric Jacobson: Heading Home

Read "Heading Home" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Trumpeter Eric Jacobson has settled in on the Chicago club scene, making musical alliances along the way that include the very top tier of that talent rich scene. For his latest venture into the studio, he employs the talents of master tenorist Geof Bradfield, Chicago first call bassist Dennis Carroll and the always swinging George Fludas on drums. At first glance, this session looks like a cannot miss proposition. After one listen, that supposition becomes objective fact, as the Milwaukee ...


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