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Jazz Articles about Geoffrey Keezer
David Whitman: Ode To Joe
by Richard J Salvucci
Dipping into this fine recording is, to mix metaphors a bit, like opening a time capsule. That capsule is called One For All (A&M, 1990), perhaps the final studio recording of Art Blakey with The Jazz Messengers. It was not a perfect outing, but it was a memorable one. The lines got into the head and stayed there, just waiting for a chance to be reawakened. Well, now is the time with Ode to Joe. A convenient link between the ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Jerome Wilson
Gregg Hill is a jazz composer favored by several jazz musicians who have recorded entire albums of his work, such as guitarist Randy Napoleon and bassist Rodney Whitaker. Here trombonist Michael Dease joins the party with a full album of Hill pieces arranged for a quintet. Hill's writing on this album delves into a wide array of conventional forms such as blues, ballads, and Latin jazz, but always with unique twists and ideas present. Some of his compositions ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill
by AAJ Staff
"Think of any big city," Greg Hill says, introducing the narrative armature of his composition, “The Other Shoe," the denouement and title track of this stimulating collaboration with Michael Dease, who arranged each of Hill's 10 compositions contained herein. “It's 2 in the morning, you're still awake, and your neighbor comes in upstairs. You hear the first clunk when his shoe hits the floor. Then you wait. He may be inebriated. It may take a while to get the other ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: Red List
by Jerome Wilson
Saxophonist Brian Landrus created this project with a purpose summed up in its subtitle, Music Dedicated to the Preservation of our Endangered Species. The album was made to create awareness about all the animal species on Earth in danger of extinction, thirteen of which are explicitly referenced here. For most of these, such as the Malayan tiger and the snow leopard, only a few hundreds or thousands are still alive. For the Javan rhino, there were only 67 left at ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: Red List
by Jack Bowers
No matter how one receives his music, there is no doubt that woodwind specialist Brian Landrus' heart is in the right place. Red List, his eleventh album as leader, is dedicated to the preservation of Earth's endangered animal species. Landrus names thirteen, at least five of which--the kakapo, Malayan tiger, gharial, vaquita and Javan rhino--are all but gone, with less than three hundred of each species remaining. In fact, it is estimated that only eight vaquitas (a species of porpoise ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: Red List
by Angelo Leonardi
L'undicesimo disco di Brian Landrus è un progetto a difesa di tredici specie animali minacciate di estinzione. Vegetariano dell'età di 12 anni e poi vegano, il sassofonista di Reno (Nevada) ha sempre operato a sostegno del mondo animale. Per sua stessa ammissione è questa la passione della sua vita, assieme al jazz. L'anno scorso, dopo aver aperto una sottoscrizione su Gofundme.com, Brian ha raccolto un settetto base più ospiti, per registrare quindici nuove composizioni dedicate alle specie minacciate, ...
Continue ReadingGerry Gibbs: Songs from My Father
by Edward Blanco
Drummer Gerry Gibbs pays tribute to father Terry Gibbs on the amazing nineteen-track double-CD set Songs from My Father featuring a guest appearance by the ninety-seven-year-old vibraphonist on one track, among other surprises, including the last studio performance by the late jazz icon Chick Corea, who also wrote “Tango for Terry" for this homage and is the only non-Gibbs composition on the album. Son Gerry had plenty of his father's music to choose from when contemplating this project but chose ...
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