Jazz Articles about Greg Tardy

Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 2002

"There is plenty going on," designated cheerleader Stanley Crouch informs the reader, on composer / pianist Andrew Hill's latest album, A Beautiful Day, which showcases Hill's sixteen-piece big band in a concert performance last January at New York's famed Birdland nightclub. “With a vision given to great plasticity," Crouch writes, “[Hill] has found his own ways to reinterpret 4/4 swing, the blues, the romantic or meditative ballad, and the Afro-Hispanic rhythms that have almost invariably connected one generation of Jazz ...

Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day

by Jon Wagner
August 1, 2002

Sometimes a live recording captures the dynamism and vibe of a band that's really “on." In ideal situations, the musical energy is obvious right off the bat, continues throughout the set, and winds up on a disc. The listener thinks: “Man, I would love to have been at that gig." Andrew Hill's new release A Beautiful Day is one of those recordings. Hill is a pianist who's been around for a long time and played in many different ...

Gregory Tardy: Abundance

by AAJ Staff
September 1, 2001

An abundance of conceptual borrowing characterizes Gregory Tardy’s first release for Palmetto. Tardy cut his debut album nearly ten years ago and has been a not unknown figure on the jazz scene for the past six. His path has crossed with a number of recognizable names: Andrew Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Jay McShann. Evidently heavily influenced by John Coltrane, Tardy lifts wholesale ideas the jazz great originated. He dedicates “Warring Spirits", a work in three movements, to God. The parallel to ...

Greg Tardy: Abundance

by Mark Corroto
September 1, 2001

Saxophonist Greg Tardy distinguishes himself as a thoughtful composer and interpreter on his latest release and debut recording for Palmetto Records. The New Orleans-raised musician takes a giant step forward with a record of great depth and feeling. Tardy has been an in-demand sideman for Elvin Jones and Russell Gunn. He has recently worked and recorded with Andrew Hill on the award-winning 2000 release Dusk (Palmetto) and with the Dave Douglas Sextet Soul On Soul (RCA/Victor 2000). His ...

Gregory Tardy: The Hidden Light

by C. Michael Bailey
August 1, 2000

Predjudice on the Shortfall. I tend to be fairly cautious when approaching recordings that are ostensibly spiritually or religiously conceived or motivated. I have found that Divine Inspiration does not always equate to listenable music. It is a sticky wicket to address spiritual inspiration with the music, but it is not a musician's personal motivation I am interested in; it is just that the music swings. Having said all of that, New Orleans-native Gregory Tardy's The Hidden Light, by my ...

Gregory Tardy: The Hidden Light

by Jim Santella
April 1, 2000

Greg Tardy’s third release as a leader drives the mainstream highways with both a classic quartet and quintet format. Two-thirds of the album is original material that the saxophonist personalizes with an impressionistic touch. Working with Elvin Jones from 1993-95 has left a driving, forceful influence with Tardy; yet his heart moves him to other places as well.

Composed for a friend, pianist James Hurt, “Mr. Hurt" is built on the chord changes to “What Is This Thing Called Love," ...

Gregory Tardy: Serendipity

by Jim Santella
September 1, 1998

Young lion Greg Tardy shares his enthusiasm and modern mainstream approach with support from pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Reginald Veal, and drummer Eric Harland. The tenor saxophonist leads his ensemble in a session of standards and originals, showing a preference for the excitement of hard bop rhythms and its inherent variety of brash harmonies.

Russell Gunn guests on “Blues to Professor Pickens" with a deeply rooted trumpet solo filled with earthy emotion. Tardy and Miller maintain an “old blues" mood. ...