Jazz Articles about Joe Locke

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Joe Locke Quartet at Jazzcultural

by Tanja Momcilovic
June 21, 2026

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Steve Wilson: Enduring Sonance

by Andrew Schinder
May 1, 2026

Virginia-born, New York-based alto saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Wilson has created a sonic palette overflowing with delightfulness with Enduring Sonance, Wilson's debut album. Wilson's trademark dulcet tones fill the record, which eschews any hint of difficulty or impenetrability in favor of pure pleasure and musical expertise. Enduring Sonance is calculatedly straight-ahead, an exercise in accessibility without sacrificing sophistication. Wilson is supported by a tight, powerhouse backing band. The brilliant pianist Renee Rosnes, who has a longstanding relationship with Wilson, is ...

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Joe Syrian: Secret Message

by Richard J Salvucci
April 14, 2025

A title like Secret Message does make a listener wonder what it might be. Is it deeply subversive, like the Zimmerman Telegram, or apocalyptic, like Fatima? Of course, as someone is reputed to have said, 'Sometimes, a cigar is just a smoke.' So it is possible to over-interpret a title, which may, in the final analysis, simply be a title. Joe Syrian is a Detroit-based drummer, a city that can claim Brian Blade, J. C. Heard, ...

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Art Baden: How Much of It Is Real

by Troy Dostert
February 27, 2025

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 ...

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Joe Syrian Motor City Jazz Octet: Secret Message

by Jack Bowers
December 15, 2024

No fuss, no frills here, simply forty-seven or so minutes of generally bright and engaging straight-ahead jazz, stylishly performed by drummer Joe Syrian's admirable Detroit-based octet. This is music the group plays often, blending standards from the Great American Songbook with more recent themes by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Leon Russell and others. The congenial session opens with a pair of well-traveled standards--"Bye Bye Blackbird," and “Star Eyes"--and closes with two more- -"Night and ...

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Gino Amato: Latin Crossroads

by Richard J Salvucci
October 24, 2024

The urge to take advantage of a successful commercial genre never really dies. Back in the 1960s, a studio orchestra nominally assembled by bandleader Glen Gray released a recording, Sounds of the Great Bands in Latin (Capitol, 1964). It took tunes like “Early Autumn" or “A String of Pearls" and added a “Latin" flavor with jazz enhancements. No doubt, this was an early recognition of the success of Cal Tjader. The vinyl may or may not have done well, but ...

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Bevan Manson featuring Tierney Sutton with The Hollywood Studio Orchestra: Talking to Trees

by Nicholas F. Mondello
October 4, 2024

Bevan Manson is an artist who has a creative duality. As a pianist, composer/arranger and educator, he's been successful in classical and jazz environments. With Talking to Trees, Manson provides an array of both originals and jazz standards, most with an arboreal tint, as the title indicates. The work is a validation that his pen, guiding the talents of vocalist Tierney Sutton and L.A.'s premium players, can make the familiar fascinating and the novel intriguing. Miles Davis' ...