Jazz Articles about Greg Skaff

About Greg Skaff

Radio & Podcasts

From one of the finest guitarists in the world of jazz, we start the 712th Episode of Neon Jazz with Greg Skaff and the title track off his 2021 album Polaris. Witha focus on new releases we present Eric Goletz, Greg Smith and Falkner Evans. The Denver super group The Jazz Worms is also a part of this new music mix. We finish the show with a gem from Hailu Mergia off a 1975 re-issue of his album Tezeta/ Dig ...

Album Review

Greg Skaff: Polaris

Read "Polaris" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 16, 2021

The pandemic year of 2020 brought with it very little in terms of artistic endeavors, thanks to lockdowns and stay home orders. Yet even under extreme conditions, guitarist Greg Skaff managed to commit to tape some genuinely sublime music that is sure to be remembered as one of 2021'a most memorable releases. Of course, Skaff has been at the forefront of modern jazz guitar since his first big break in the '80s working with the legendary Stanley Turrentine.

Album Review

Greg Skaff: Soulmation

Read "Soulmation" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
April 22, 2017

Guitarist Greg Skaff is all about the grease, grit, and grooves on Soulmation. It's a logical extension of his previous work--guitar-fronted organ group dates like East Harlem Skyline (Zoho Music, 2009) and 116th & Park (Zoho Music, 2012)--but it's a tad heavier, raunchier, and funkier than anything Skaff threw us on those records. His approach here is equal parts soul jazz, jam band, and unadulterated rock, nodding toward everybody from Grant Green to Lenny Kravitz to Jimi Hendrix.

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Album Review

Greg Skaff: East Harlem Skyline

Read "East Harlem Skyline" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
February 3, 2009

The organ-led trio has long been a fascination for guitarist Greg Skaff--especially when a guitar is involved. So it follows that he borrows from the playbooks of guitarists like George Benson and Wes Montgomery, and organists like Jimmy Smith and Don Patterson.East Harlem Skyline brings Skaff together with Hammond B-3 organists George Colligan and George Laks, with Darryl Jones on electric bass and drummers Charley Drayton and E.J. Strickland. The collection includes six Skaff compositions and covers of ...

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Album Review

Greg Skaff: Ellington Boulevard

Read "Ellington Boulevard" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
November 3, 2004

Recording studios can be cold and uninviting places. Without the ambience of a live room and an eager audience, some artists are challenged to capture the fire and the energy that results from the feedback of a receptive group of listeners. As wonderful as many studio recordings are, they don't always succeed in portraying what the group is really about. Watching Hudson Music's video of The Peter Erskine Trio Live at Jazz Baltica versus any of the trio's ECM recordings ...

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Album Review

Greg Skaff: Blues for Mr. T

Read "Blues for Mr. T" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
October 10, 2003

This year has seen an organ renaissance. Organ jazz had its genesis in Fred Longshaw, who performed with a reed organ on the 1925 Bessie Smith recording of "St. Louis Blues." Fats Waller was a pipe organ virtuoso. Count Basie introduced the organ into swing music, giving way to Wild Bill Davis, who predicted Jimmy Smith and soul jazz. And then there was Jimmy Smith and all who came after. Larry Young learned from Miles Davis and developed organ practice ...

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Album Review

Greg Skaff: Blues For Mr. T

Read "Blues For Mr. T" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
October 7, 2003

Greg Skaff’s second disc as a leader charts an impressive course between the familiar, agreeable parameters of soul-jazz and a more open ended, blowing-based approach. The guitarist, Hammond B-3 organist Mike LeDonne, and drummer Joe Farnsworth (all of whom frequently play in various bands at Smoke, a club in New York City that serves as a haven for straight-ahead bands and progressive funk ensembles) make up a bracing, rhythmically charged trio. Throughout a program of six appealing originals, plus tunes ...