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Jazz Articles about Herlin Riley
Cecile McLorin Salvant: WomanChild
by Mark F. Turner
"You sound and act as if you've been here before," an elder might say to some precocious youngster who exhibited the traits of a much older person. That's a sentiment that could also be applied to the remarkable 24 year-old jazz singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, who sounds as if she was reincarnated from a different era. With a unique background, the winner of 2010's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition is a Miami native of Haitian and Guadeloupian descent who ...
Continue ReadingHerlin Riley On Criss Cross Jazz
by David A. Orthmann
Over the past seven years, Herlin Riley has recorded four compact discs, two under his own name and a pair as a sideman, for the Criss Cross Jazz imprint. Riley's work on these recordings is significant because it stands outside of a long-term, high profile association with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra which ended in 2005. In addition to providing points of entry into his skills as a composer and bandleader, the discs serve as prime examples of a drummer ...
Continue ReadingCelebrating a Life of Music: Yvonne Busch
by Tod Smith
On this Wednesday night, it was all about the music, the musicians and their teacher. Yvonne Busch may not be a household name, but to those who came to play at this jam session held in her honor at Donna's Bar & Grill, she may very well be the first name in New Orleans music. From local favorites like tenor-man James Rivers to the internationally acclaimed drummer Herlin Riley, this group of musicians came to pay tribute to the woman ...
Continue ReadingHerlin Riley: Watch What You're Doing
by C. Andrew Hovan
While I’d hate to be accused of hyperbole, we’ll save a lot of time here if we just cut to the chase. Drummer Herlin Riley’s debut set as a leader is as strong a maiden voyage as anything in recent memory, along with being an early contender for one of the best new jazz releases of 2000. Taking a cue from boss Wynton Marsalis, Riley has assembled a diverse and devastatingly attractive set of nine originals that have been tailored ...
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