Jazz Articles about Gil Goldstein

About Gil Goldstein

Album Review

Jazz triple-threat Bria Skonberg is back, singing, scatting and playing eloquent trumpet on Indigo, the Canadian-born artist's eighth recording as leader of her own group (one of which, Bria, earned Canada's JUNO Award in 2017 for best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year). In Skonberg's ongoing back-and-forth between voice and trumpet, voice seems to have gained the upper hand here, as she sings on every one of the album's nine numbers (including one of her own) and plays ...

Album Review

Steve Swallow: Winter Songs

Read "Winter Songs" reviewed by Kevin Poindexter

by Kevin Poindexter
July 8, 2026

While it is true that much of the modern jazz landscape thrives on the burning fire of the avant-garde, albums like Steve Swallow's Winter Songs operate on an entirely different frequency. This is a classic ECM Records slow burner--an album that does not flash like lightning, but instead radiates a calm, late-night glow. It evokes the quiet stillness of sitting by a fireplace after the rest of the house has gone to sleep, where the music demands a deep couch, a ...

Album Review

Steve Swallow: Winter Songs

Read "Winter Songs" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
July 1, 2026

To create his first new music since the death of his partner, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow gathered a circle of close friends and longtime collaborators: saxophonist Chris Cheek, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, drummer Adam Nussbaum, guitarist Steve Cardenas, and pianist Gil Goldstein. The result, Winter Songs-- Swallow's first outing as a leader in over a decade was recorded at Sear Sound studio in New York during September 2024. About the music, Swallow wrote: “I was there when this music ...

Album Review

Letizia Gambi: Blue Monday

Read "Blue Monday" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
March 20, 2016

As the world continues to shrink--musically speaking of course--the melding of American jazz with Mediterranean melody is another spin cycle that makes appreciation of this evolving art form so interesting. With high expectations, Neapolitan vocalist Letizia Gambi, which hails from a theatrical family, and has extensive jazz education, releases Blue Monday, an exuberant and ambitious production that takes jazz on a romantic Italian holiday. After a collaboration with drummer extraordinaire Lenny White in 2009 led to “Introducing Letizia ...

Album Review

Oscar Penas: Music Of Departures And Returns

Read "Music Of Departures And Returns" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 3, 2014

In putting together his fourth album, guitarist Oscar Penas looked to composers he connects with, songs that speak to him, and originals that fit comfortably with the rest. That's the concept here, plain and simple, and the end result is a thirty-eight minute beauty that's alluring and completely accessible. Two different rhythm sections and three guests come and go during these eight tracks, but Penas' presence ties everything together. The first three numbers--a cheery choro featuring clarinetist ...

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Album Review

Oscar Penas: From Now On

Read "From Now On" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 21, 2011

The music on From Now On is modern jazz marinated in the seductive flavors of Spain and South America. Guitarist Oscar Peñas' path lead him from Barcelona to Brooklyn, NY, and this geographic duality is ever-present in the intriguing blend of music that's presented on this, his debut for BJU records. While Iberian-influenced guitar lines often set the stage and thread their way through the music, this record goes well-beyond any single style or influence. Peñas' writing ...

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Album Review

Gil Goldstein: Under Rousseau's Moon: Live at the Blue Note

Read "Under Rousseau's Moon: Live at the Blue Note" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 26, 2006

Instrument endorsements have become standard fare in CD liner notes. On pianist/accordionist Gil Goldstein's first album as a leader in nearly fifteen years, they say that “He uses Sibelius Music Writing software and pencils by Rocket Manufacturing --and that's a statement. Always a fine player since emerging on three 1976 albums with guitarist Pat Martino, including the now-classic duet record We'll Be Together Again (Muse, 1976), Goldstein has become equally in demand as a first-call arranger, orchestrator, conductor and producer. ...