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Art Baden: How Much of It Is Real
by Troy Dostert
Continuing its well-established mission of documenting some of the noteworthy Russian musicians in today's jazz, the Rainy Days label offers another up-and-comer, tenor saxophonist Art Baden. Joined by three seasoned veterans, Baden provides both fire and sensitivity on his debut disc, How Much of It Is Real--and it is a promising effort all-around. Bassist Jay Anderson, vibraphonist Joe Locke and drummer Jeff Tain Watts will need no introduction to serious followers of mainstream jazz, and they give Baden ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: Plays Ellington & Strayhorn
by Angelo Leonardi
In questo nuovo album, Brian Landrus esalta la magniloquenza della sua timbrica grave con l'ampia gamma di strumenti che usa: non solo i prediletti sax baritono e clarinetto basso ma sax basso, flauto basso, flauto contralto, clarinetto contralto, ottavino e vari altri. La scelta del celeberrimo songbook di Duke Ellington e Billy Strayhorn è piuttosto insidiosa, per la difficoltà di trovare una chiave di lettura originale in un repertorio abusato, ma Landrus ha trovato la sua via: «Ascoltando questi ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: Plays Ellington & Strayhorn
by Jack Bowers
When gathering material for a new recording, one time-honored rule of thumb is that it is hard to stray too far off course when revisiting the musical handiwork of renowned composer Duke Ellington and/or the Duke's virtuosic alter ego, Billy Strayhorn--even if one chooses to lead with an Ellington theme as relatively unknown as “Agra" from 1967's Far East Suite, which baritone saxophonist Brian Landrus does on Plays Ellington & Strayhorn, a graceful and stylish quartet date that also encompasses ...
Continue ReadingRyan Truesdell: Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions
by Angelo Leonardi
«L'idea di Synthesis--dice Ryan Truesdell presentando il progetto--è nata dalla consapevolezza che molti compositori di jazz traggono ispirazione dalla scrittura per quartetto d'archi di eminenti compositori classici come Bartok, Brahms e Ravel, e dalla necessità di trovare un modo realistico e al tempo stesso stimolante per creare musica insieme». Il giovane orchestratore, divenuto famoso per aver dato vita a inedite partiture di Gil Evans, presenta un progetto di 17 composizioni per quartetto d'archi (alcune in forma di ...
Continue ReadingSean Hong Wei & Jeremy Monteiro: The New Jersey Sessions
by Pierre Giroux
The New Jersey Sessions is a testament to the vitality of jazz brought to life by pianist Jeremy Monteiro and tenor saxophonist Sean Hong Wei, with the iconic Houston Person adding his legendary sound to a couple of notable tracks. The album serves up a rich tapestry of eight jazz standards (and one original from Monteiro) which provide a road map to blending traditional jazz elements with a modern sensibility by an ensemble which includes trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, bassist Jay ...
Continue ReadingJudy Niemack - Jay Clayton: Voices in Flight
by Katchie Cartwright
While veteran vocal improvisers Judy Niemack and Jay Clayton have known each other since the '70s, Voices in Flight marks their first time together in the studio. They have performed some of the album material in live shows since the early 2000s, including their medley of “Body and Soul" and Idrees Sulieman's gorgeous contrafact of it, “Orange Blossoms" ("With You"). Niemack sings the Sulieman tune, highlighting her craft in writing texts for instrumental jazz tunes that match the melodic inflections ...
Continue ReadingTim Lin: Empathy
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Tim Lin, still fresh enough on the scene to be described as a “young lion," tips his horn to a number of his mentors on Empathy, his second album as a leader, following 2021's Romance on Formosa. As on that earlier album, Lin, a first generation Taiwanese-American (from Fremont, CA), has chosen a charming blend of standards and jazz staples to complement a lone original composition, “Fourth Right," by the superb pianist Andy LaVerne. And as before, Lin plays ...
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