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Joe Locke, Branford Marsalis and More
by Joe Dimino
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 ...
read moreJoe Locke / Pat Bianchi / Marvin "Smitty" Smith at Detroit Groove Society
by C. Andrew Hovan
Joe Locke/Pat Bianchi/Marvin Smitty" Smith Detroit Groove Socirty West Bloomfield, Michigan December 7, 2018 One of the key elements of jazz over the history of the music has been the social aspect that is inherent in the type of musical communication that marks improvised music. During the swing era, if you were so inclined, you could head to the popular ballrooms to dance to the big bands of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, or ...
read moreJoe Locke: Subtle Disguise
by Dan Bilawsky
Have we been dealing with two different Joe Lockes for all these years? To some, the vibraphonist presents as a technically adept and intellectually curious seeker, constantly pushing through to new levels of possibility and commitment with his music. But for others, Locke is a conduit to understanding the human condition. This is a dichotomy that obviously speaks to vantage points and perspectives, with neither understanding ringing false. And while the existence of said split isn't at all surprising when ...
read moreJim Rotondi: Dark Blue
by C. Andrew Hovan
Back in 1997 when Introducing Jim Rotondi announced that a major new trumpeter star was on the ascent, few could have predicted how important and prolific Rotondi would become to the mainstream landscape. A foremost stylist in the lineage of Freddie Hubbard and Wood Shaw, Rotondi quickly proved he had absorbed the legacy, only to jettison imitation in favor of innovation. Working regularly with his own groups and the hard bop ensemble One For All, Rotondi was a major force ...
read moreJoe Locke: Love Is a Pendulum
by Angelo Leonardi
L'alto livello dimostrato in decenni di attività da Joe Locke come vibrafonista e compositore, sta trovando ampia accettazione da parte di pubblico e critica. Le ultime incisioni -realizzate dopo l'ingresso nella scuderiia Motéma Music -hanno riscontrato alti consensi e molto più avviene per questo progetto: il più convincente, maturo e appassionante da lui realizzato. Protagonista del disco è il suo ultimo quartetto comprendente i bravissimi Robert Rodriguez al pianoforte, Ricky Rodriguez al contrabbasso e Terreon Gully alla ...
read moreJoe Locke's Love Affair with Language
by Dan Bilawsky
On the surface it's not so easy to spot the common thread unifying the greater fabric of Joe Locke's work. Since arriving in New York City in 1981, and emerging as a notable leader on record in the early '90s, this much-vaunted vibraphonist has developed into a protean performer and composer. Duo sessions with pianists Frank Kimbrough and Kenny Barron, a collaboration with vocalist Kenny Washington, dates co-led with pianists David Hazeltine and Geoffrey Keezer, an album with Lincoln's Symphony ...
read moreLove Is A Pendulum
by John Kelman
Since signing with Motėma Music a couple years back, vibraphonist Joe Locke has been releasing some of the best and most diverse music in a career now entering its fourth decade. From the near-fusion energy of 2012's Signing--the long overdue studio followup to the Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer group's incendiary Live in Seattle (Origin, 2006)--to the expansive beauty of his 2013 quartet collaboration with Lincoln, Nebraska's Symphony Orchestra on Wish Upon a Star and, just a few months later ...
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