Jazz Articles about Joan Fort

About Joan Fort

Album Review

The Dam Jawn featuring Jeremy Pelt: Triphasic

Read "Triphasic" reviewed by Artur Moral

by Artur Moral
May 15, 2026

Philadelphians know 'jawn' well--a term embedded in their local slang that is not easily grasped by the uninitiated. So what are Joan Fort and Martin Diaz (two Catalans), Philip Lewin (a German), and Nitin Parree and Frank Groenendijk (two Dutch men) doing forming a band whose name fuses that Philly word with a wink at the Amsterdam dikes--the city where they actually live--and dedicating tracks to places like Venango, Master Street, or Fairmount Park? The answer is simple. ...

Album Review

Joan Fort: Hangin' In

Read "Hangin' In" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 13, 2026

Hangin' In is the second recording under his name by Spanish-born, Netherlands-based guitarist Joan Fort who shows on every one of the album's nine radiant and alluring themes--six of which he wrote--why his star is rapidly rising in the jazz world at large. Fort, who was not yet thirty years old when the album was recorded, already boasts an impressive resume that includes co-leadership of the Amsterdam-based collective Dam Jawn. Even more notable are Fort's remarkable command of ...

Album Review

The Dam Jawn: Forward!

by Jack Bowers
February 12, 2025

An addendum to the title of the Amsterdam-based quintet Dam Jawn's latest album, Forward!, reads “featuring Dick Oatts," which is perfectly suitable, as the acclaimed alto saxophonist plays a pivotal role in the tight-knit group's latest discourse, as he did on its earlier recording, Master Street (Challenge Records, 2023). For those who may be wondering about the group's name, it is an amalgam of Dam (for its Amsterdam home) and Jawn, a term widely used in Philadelphia ...

Album Review

The Dam Jawn featuring Dick Oatts: Forward!

Read "Forward!" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
December 12, 2024

The Dam Jawn's Forward! is an exhilarating journey through the sonic spectrum of modern jazz, elevated by the presence of alto saxophonist Dick Oatts. This collaboration captures the creative energy of five talented young musicians presently living in Amsterdam (hence the Dam in the name) alongside a veteran master, weaving a tapestry of grooves, colors and moods into a cohesive and engaging whole. Of the nine tracks in this session, eight are original compositions from the various band members; the ...