Jazz Articles about Joe Locke

Joe Locke: Makram

by Neil Duggan
April 20, 2023

One of the leading vibraphone specialists of the 21st century, Joe Locke has won multiple awards and performed with artists as diverse as the Beastie Boys and Ron Carter. It's not just his musicianship on the vibraphone that sets him apart. He is a highly versatile arranger, incorporating soul and international influences. Named after the Lebanese bassist Makram Aboul Hosn, Makram is an eclectic mix of the comforting, the challenging and the familiar. Locke's customary quartet features pianist ...

Getting to the Jazz Point: An Exposé

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2023

Jazz... famous for complex harmonies, syncopated rhythms and an emphasis on improvisation. The music at its best is a form of personal expression, valuing non-conformity and freedom. It has birthed and is to an extent, defined by musicianly quirks, idiosyncrasies and singularities. There are also a great many non-musical threads that bind the tradition together and perhaps none is more lasting and pervasive than the finger point. Ever notice how jazz musicians love to point at one another ...

Brave New Year!

by Michael Ambrosino
February 25, 2023

Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre: Vision

by Edward Blanco
February 27, 2022

Multiple Grammy Award-winning Latin jazz pianist/composer and band leader Oscar Hernandez and his group, Alma Libre (Free Spirit) issue another shoulder-moving album presenting more of the rhythms he and his bands are so well known for. A true Latin music legend, Hernandez is best regarded for his direction of the 13-piece Spanish Harlem Orchestra that has gathered three Grammy Awards. This album was, in essence, a product of the pandemic situation. Hernandez says: “Recording this album was a way to ...

Luba Mason: Triangle

by Jim Worsley
October 6, 2020

The rather smarmy “Bach, Stevie Wonder, and Janette Monae" opens this live performance. While disconcerting, the tide shifts dramatically with The Beatles' John Lennon-Paul McCartney classic “Ticket to Ride." It is reimagined in a sultry and just short of brilliant manner. Luba Mason's vocal phrasing brings an entire new essence to this tune. Bassist James Genus plays a line throughout which is a slow groove with a lot of feeling. Vibraphonist Joe Locke solos in spectacular fashion, while percussionist Samuel ...

Freihofer Jazz Festival 2019

by Rudolph Lu
August 9, 2019

The 42nd Annual Freihofer Jazz Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY was held from June 28-20, 2019 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The broad spectrum of jazz was well represented. Well over 25 artists performed. There was an unofficial opening on the 28th held at the Caffe Lena, a venue located in Saratoga Springs itself. With local artists performing at various venues throughout the city. Joe Locke and his Quartet was the unplanned last minute opener at Caffe ...

Joe Locke, Branford Marsalis and More

by Joe Dimino
January 7, 2019

We start this week's episode with one of the finest voices on the vibes who made his way through Kansas City in early December, Joe Locke, with a cut off his new CD Subtle Disguise. From there, we dive headlong into the music of a legend on the drums in Billy Cobham, who was the subject of a book by Brian Grueber. We take some time to look into the piano skills of George Colligan off his ...