Jazz Articles about Jason Yeager

About Jason Yeager

Album Review

Daniel Bennett: The Deconstructed Songbook

Read "The Deconstructed Songbook" reviewed by Konstantin N. Rega

by Konstantin N. Rega
June 15, 2026

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Daniel Bennett takes on a list of covers for his project The Deconstructed Songbook with surprising results. Joined by drummer Koko Bermejo, Jason Yeager on piano, guitarist Nat Janoff and Jeff Dingler on electric bass, the group feels well-rounded. Though Bennett allows himself one original tune near the beginning, it does not feel out of place beside tracks by Horace Silver or Lennon-McCartney. For fans of Joni Mitchell who like the song “Both Sides Now" (even if Judy Collins' version ...

Album Review

Daniel Bennett Group: The Deconstructed Songbook

Read "The Deconstructed Songbook" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
April 26, 2026

In many cases, the idea of “deconstruction" suggests dismantling something to reveal its inner workings. When it comes to art, this is often done in ways that lean toward the avant-garde. But on The Deconstructed Songbook, veteran saxophonist Daniel Bennett takes a different approach. Rather than tearing down familiar material, he reshapes it into something both familiar and modern, offering a new perspective on a collection of mostly well-known songs. Bennett, an award-winning performer and composer with more ...

Album Review

Randal Despommier: South

by Dan Bilawsky
March 6, 2025

Growing up in Metairie, Louisiana--a mere six miles from New Orleans--alto saxophonist Randal Despommier's formative experiences were rooted in the Crescent City's fertile sonic soil. A stone's throw away from the action, he was able to cut his teeth on the local scene(s) and put his horn to good use in Mardi Gras parades. In addition, and in some of those instances, he learned a great deal by watching and musically interacting with his father, Phil Despommier--a pupil of NOLA ...

Album Review

Allyson Briggs: Promises, Promises and Raindrops

Read "Promises, Promises and Raindrops" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
January 16, 2025

Allyson Briggs describes herself as an “old soul" who connected almost instinctively to the music of the 1970s. Her models are Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald, bearers of a very different musical culture than what is currently on offer. She is part of a different era, of not exactly big band singers, but of the sort that emerged from that scene. Her work is tasteful, swinging and familiar in a good way. A kind of quintessential New York club singer, ...

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Album Review

Daniel Bennett: Mr. Bennett's Mind

Read "Mr. Bennett's Mind" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 9, 2024

In the grand saga of his tenth album as a leader, we tiptoe into the whimsical wonderland of saxophonist Daniel Bennett's mind. He does not just wield the saxophone; he also performs on the flute, clarinet, guitar and keyboard, all while basking in the fervent performances of his bandmates. From the saucy saxophone solos to the rhythmic riddles laid down by bassist Kevin Hailey and drummer Koko Bermejo, each track is a lively escapade. Bennett's saxophone pirouettes through ...

Album Review

Jason Yeager- Randal Despommier: All At Onceness

Read "All At Onceness" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
December 6, 2019

Lavoro fondamentalmente cameristico che fa incontrare il jazz con la classica, aggiungendovi alcuni originali, All At Onceness è cofirmato da due artisti dell'area newyorchese, il pianista Jason Yeager e il sassofonista contralto Randal Despommier, ai quali in metà dei brani si aggiungono altri musicisti per formare organici diversi. Il programma prevede un brano a testa a firma dei due co-leader e per il resto riletture, tutte piuttosto libere, di brani classici: di Bach, Milhaud, Messiaen, Scriabin, Bartok e ...

Album Review

Jason Yeager: Affirmation

Read "Affirmation" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
November 23, 2014

No sophomore slump for pianist Jason Yeager. His trio disc Affirmation actually has the feel of a mature artist's fourth, fifth, and sixth recording. Maybe that is because his trio is a true working unit with bassist Danny Weller and drummer Matt Rousseau or possibly it's his ability to integrate varying musical concepts without sounding imitative. Yeager's piano, under the tutelage of Danilo Perez, masterfully pulls from jazz, classical, blues and pop music with a seamless approach that ...