Jazz Articles about Jacob Melchior

About Jacob Melchior

Album Review

Jacob Melchior: It's About Time

Read "It's About Time" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
November 18, 2010

The art of the trio often takes shape in a variety of ways. Many of today's leading three-piece groups rely on a difficult-is-better approach, reveling in rhythmic trickery, harmonic complexity and melodic fragmentation. Others choose to distill everything down to bare essentials but, in doing so, run the risk of playing dumbed-down lounge jazz that's generic and generally boring. Drummer Jacob Melchior's trio travels on a path that moves comfortably between these two extremes and, in doing so, remains highly ...

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Album Review

Jacob Melchior: It's About Time

Read "It's About Time" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
September 20, 2010

Tucked away in a very excellent piano trio offering, drummer Jacob Melchior's It's About Time, is a single vocal performance by Frank Senior of the Coots/Lewis standard, “For All We Know." Pianist Tadataka Unno and bassist Hassan JJ Shakur provide a very gentle undercurrent beneath Senior's smoky, Jon Hendricks-influenced vocals. Unno and Shakir, quietly introduce the piece, the arco bass giving the piece a slight antique, movie soundtrack feel. Melchior is unobtrusive, gently guiding the ...

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Album Review

Jacob Melchior: It's About Time

Read "It's About Time" reviewed by Jack Huntley

by Jack Huntley
September 4, 2010

The album's title is certainly not the ultimate description of Jacob Melchior's It's About Time, but it's a great place to start. Melchior, a precise but fluid drummer whose insightful phrasing and timing patterns influence the tone and sprit of each tune, combines with pianist Tadataka Unno and bassist Hassan JJ Shakur to deliver a swinging, straight-ahead collection of jazz tracks. Kicking off the nine song collection is a medley of Melchior's own “Dancing Foo" and Johnny ...