Jazz Articles about Joe Fonda

About Joe Fonda

Album Review

Generations Quartet: Oliver Lake/Joe Fonda/Michael Jefrys Stevens/Emil Gross: Flow

by Karl Ackermann
August 2, 2016

As the name would imply, the Generations Quartet spans the ages of its personnel. An off-shoot (of sorts) from the Trio Generations group, it's a semantic difference as saxophone legend Oliver Lake was a guest in the lineup that performed in 2015. From that same tour, we get Flow, a festive exercise of freedom and comradery that could only be realized by a team with the wealth of experience and talent gathered here. Recorded live (but non-sequentially) in Germany, it ...

Album Review

Michael Jefry Stevens: Flow

by Budd Kopman
July 9, 2016

Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens has been involved in many projects in his career over the past forty years. The Generations Quartet started out as a trio six years ago, consisting of Stevens with his long-time musical partner, bassist Joe Fonda and newcomer, drummer Emil Gross. The trio became a quartet with the addition of saxophonist (and Renaissance Man) Oliver Lake, perhaps best known for founding the World Saxophone Quartet with saxophonists David Murray, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett.

Album Review

Katie Bull: All Hot Bodies Radiate

Read "All Hot Bodies Radiate" reviewed by Franz A. Matzner

by Franz A. Matzner
May 26, 2016

A raucous concoction, Katie Bull's All Hot Bodies Radiate bursts with energy, its verbal and musical contortions devoted to a deceptively cacophonous mix of levity, seriousness, playfulness, and avant abstractions. Artfully balanced, Bull merges spoken-word delivery and singing to deliver her poem-lyrics in a style that cleverly evokes the best coffeehouse traditions, without being overtly retro. The words themselves are evocative, often pointedly erotic, and when fused to her bandmates appropriately shifting styles, fashion clearly envisioned sound and ...

Album Review

Katie Bull: All Hot Bodies Radiate

Read "All Hot Bodies Radiate" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
December 2, 2015

Quinto album per la cantante e autrice newyorchese Katie Bull, le cui coordinate espressive spaziano da una vocalità jazz non eccessivamente ortodossa a infiltrazioni di matrice contemporaneo-colta (quella sorta di recitarcantando che segna quasi tutte le sue sortite), senza eludere del tutto refoli di ascendenza per così dire prog-song. L'interlocutore privilegiato della voce, posta sempre molto al centro delle operazioni, è il sax, più spesso tenore, di Jeff Lederer, che sfoggia una sonorità piena, corporea, che qua ...

Album Review

The Fonda - Stevens Group: Memphis

Read "Memphis" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 26, 2009

Artisticamente insieme da più di un ventennio, il bassista Joe Fonda e il pianista Michael Stevens danno alle stampe Memphis, un album che richiede una buona dose d'attenzione, viste le diverse soluzioni compositive intraprese e le relative complicazioni estetiche. Dalla penna dei due prendono vita i dieci originali proposti, cinque a testa, che si evolvono in uno schema molto ampio, privo - almeno in apparenza - di punti di riferimento ben definiti e quindi difficilmente prevedibile. I leader creano musica ...

387

Album Review

Nu Band: Lower East Side Blues

Read "Lower East Side Blues" reviewed by Robert Iannapollo

by Robert Iannapollo
May 28, 2009

To those who thought The Nu Band was a one-shot group, witness Lower East Side Blues, its fourth album since 2003 and first recorded in a studio. With such busy schedules it seemed as if four musicians of this caliber--trumpeter Roy Campbell, alto saxophonist/ clarinetist Mark Whitecage, bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Lou Grassi--couldn't stay together very long. That they now have several international tours behind them and have a burgeoning discography is an indication of their level of commitment. ...

261

Multiple Reviews

Joe Fonda: New York City Session & A Night in Paris (Live at the Sunset)

by Martin Longley
March 8, 2009

Bruno Angelini/Joe Fonda/Ramon LopezNew York City SessionSans Bruit2008 FAB TrioA Night In Paris / Live at the SunsetMarge2008 Here are two trio discs that reveal bassman Joe Fonda in highly contrasting circumstances. New York City Session is a repeat collaboration with French pianist Bruno Angelini and Spanish drummer Ramón López, recorded in Brooklyn. Even ...