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Jazz Articles about Immanuel Wilkins
Johnathan Blake: Passage
by Dave Linn
The drummer Johnathan Blake was born in Philadelphia in 1976. His father was the esteemed jazz violinist and educator John Blake Jr. who played in many diverse settings, (most notably Archie Shepp and McCoy Tyner), before releasing seven albums under his name. He died in 2014. Blake (the son) began studying music at a young age, later attending William Paterson University studying with Rufus Reid and Steve Wilson. He eventually received a master's in composition at Rutgers University where he ...
Continue ReadingJoe Farnsworth: In What Direction Are You Headed?
by Dave Linn
Joe Farnsworth grew up in a musical family and began playing drums at a young age. He later attended and graduated from William Patterson College in New Jersey, where the staff included Harold Mabern and Cedar Walton, who would prove instrumental in kick-starting his career. He landed a gig with Benny Golson that lasted eight years and went on to become an in-demand name. His style is deeply rooted in the bebop and hard bop traditions, characterized by a driving ...
Continue ReadingBen Wolfe: Unjust
by Dave Linn
The history of modern jazz contains only a handful of bass players who have both led their own groups and been visionary in their compositions and approach. Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Jaco Pastorius and Christian McBride are those who come to mind. With the release of his 10th album, Unjust, Ben Wolfe shows he belongs in that group. Wolfe began his musical career as a classical bassist and studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in ...
Continue ReadingBilly Valentine: Billy Valentine And The Universal Truth
by Angelo Leonardi
Dopo quarant'anni d'assenza dal mercato, l'etichetta Flying Dutchman torna con una produzione intensa e avvincente, che ci riporta ai suoi anni migliori. Protagonista è Billy Valentine, soul singer degli anni settanta tornato alla ribalta cinque anni fa (col sorprendente quanto ignorato Brit Eyed Soul) e qui accompagnato da formazioni che includono Jeff Parker, Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Pino Palladino, Theo Croker, Larry Goldings, Linda May Han Oh, e altri nomi di primo piano. Bob ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Black Lives - From Generation to Generation
by Glenn Astarita
Indeed, African Americans are the architects of several musical formations, hearkening back to Scott Joplin's development of 'ragged' rhythms i.e., Ragtime, along with blues, funk, jazz, and other genres, often evolving into various tangents and offshoots. And on this comprehensively entertaining set produced by Belgian Stefany Calembert with assistance from her husband and acclaimed bassist Reggie Washington, they righteously bestow Black Music as a “source of moral truth and potent weapon against racism." Numerous stars such as saxophonist ...
Continue ReadingJoel Ross: The Parable Of The Poet
by Chris May
The story of jazz is part musical and part social, the two strands interacting to shape, on one hand, the sound we hear and, on the other, the demographic who make it and constitute its audience. Viewed from London, the semiology surrounding New York-based vibraphonist Joel Ross' octet, heard on his third Blue Note album, The Parable Of The Poet, tells a social story as much as it does a musical one. The octet's optics (check the ...
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