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Jim Ridl: Door Openings
by Victor L. Schermer
Pianist Jim Ridl is emerging as an innovative force in jazz, a pianist of the highest caliber, a creative composer and improviser, and one of those rare musicians who stretches the art form even as he honors the established traditions. Technically and improvisationally formidable in performance and recordings, he is equally comfortable with his own groups as with his collaborations with such innovators and jazz icons as Pat Martino and Dave Liebman. In true jazz tradition, Jim's music ...
Continue ReadingJim Ridl: Door in a Field
by Joshua Weiner
"Concept" albums are commonplace in jazz these days, and some artists seem to release nothing but. On the best of these, the idea behind the record adds depth and cohesion to the music within, but too often we end up with weak conceits masking lack of invention (think about all the “. . .plays Jobim", or “. . .does showtunes" CDs in the racks). The new album by Philadelphia pianist Jim Ridl, Door In A Field , is an example ...
Continue ReadingJim Ridl: Garden State Improviser
by AAJ Staff
Deciphering the network of Philly-area jazz musicians is a difficult thing. However, pianist Jim Ridl stands out as a local musician whose eloquent musical statements grab audience attention in a heartbeat, whether he’s playing with his own trio or as a sideman. He has played with one of Philly’s most famous, Pat Martino, for more than ten years, but his unique approach has made him one of the most outspoken solo musicians on the scene today.
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Jim Ridl: Blues Liberations
by Jim Josselyn
On “Blues Liberation" master sideman Jim Ridl goes it alone in a program of improvised solo piano compositions. The disc opens with “Blues Azzara", an homage to the great Pat Martino, one of the band leaders Jim’s wonderful piano has contributed so much to in recent years. (Azzara is Pat’s birth name.) Replete with dark, ominous chords, counter-point, note retentions and wandering right hand figures, it’s a fine, wistful dedication. “Battle of the Bands" is a modern take on the ...
Continue ReadingJim Ridl: Blues Liberations
by AAJ Staff
Taking something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, Jim Ridl accomplishes something uncommon on Blues Liberations that seems painfully obvious: He investigates the multitudinous forms of the blues. Now that may seem common because various piano masters like Jaki Byard, or even the under-appreciated pianist Ray Charles, have elevated the blues even higher as an art form from its earthy beginnings. Yet, Ridl's avenues of approach involve discrepant and sometimes contradictory routes as they converge at the ultimate ...
Continue ReadingDarryl Hall: Subtle Touch
by AAJ Staff
While bassist Darryl Hall is more than a known quantity among the Philadelphia jazz community, he’s starting to record his vision and expand his recognition among the jazz community along the East Coast as well. Winner of the 1995 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition on bass, Hall’s vision is one that is unlike that of many bassists in his style of composition, his choice of instrumentation and his role as a bassist.Maybe “Subtle Touch” is the way to describe ...
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