Jazz Articles about Joe Locke

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Joe Locke at Dizzy's in NYC, January 26, 2010

by Ernest Barteldes
February 2, 2010

Joe Locke Dizzy's Club New York, New York January 26, 2010

Columbus Circle and Central Park South were the backdrop for Joe Locke and his band (Geoffrey Keezer: piano; George Mraz: bass; Clarence Penn: drums; Kenny Washington, vocals) as they began their six-day residence at Dizzy's Club in New York City, coming not long after the release of the vibraphonist's For The Love Of You (Koch, 2009).

After a brief introduction, the band ...

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Joe Locke: For the Love of You

by Larry Taylor
January 19, 2010

Honoring various composers, vibraphonist Joe Locke has led his group for three years in an annual gig at Dizzy's Coca Cola Club in New York. Recently Locke decided to record the output with the happy result being For The Love Of You.

Four top-flight musicians are gathered for this gig--pianist Geoffrey Keezer, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Clarence Penn. Joining the four, little-known vocalist Kenny Washington (not to be confused with the renowned drummer of the same name) is the ...

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Joe Locke: Nocturne for Ava & Mutual Admiration Society 2

by George Kanzler
August 2, 2009

Bob Sneider/Joe Locke Film Noir ProjectNocturne for AvaOrigin2009 Joe Locke/David HazeltineMutual Admiration Society 2Sharp Nine2009 The versatility of vibraphonist Joe Locke comes to the fore here, one album moody with intricately arranged, programmatic/impressionistic music, the other a loose quartet date emphasizing solos as much as tunes. There's a mid-20th Century feel ...

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Joe Locke / David Hazeltine: Mutual Admiration Society 2

by David A. Orthmann
July 25, 2009

In the last year of the twentieth century, Sharp Nine Records released Mutual Admiration Society, a quartet date co-led by vibraphonist Joe Locke and pianist David Hazeltine, which also included bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Billy Drummond. A brainchild of Sharp Nine honcho Marc Edelman, the collaboration between these two longtime friends was based on a desire to explore each other's strengths. Hazeltine was keen on interacting with the blues-oriented, earthy side of Locke's playing, as well as experiencing the ...

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Joe Locke / Frank Kimbrough: Verrazano Moon

by John Kelman
May 28, 2009

With the now 37 year-old ongoing partnership of Chick Corea and Gary Burton, it might appear that the gold standard for piano/vibraphone duets has been set. But while they don't perform or record nearly as often, vibraphonist Joe Locke and pianist Frank Kimbrough have set their own standard for playing as a duo. Much like friends who, despite the passing of many years between encountering each other, pick up where they left off as if no time has passed, Verrazano ...

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Bob Sneider-Joe Locke Film Noir Project: Nocturne for Ava

by C. Michael Bailey
April 13, 2009

In 2006, guitarist Bob Sneider and vibraphonist Joe Locke assembled a collective devoted to the jazz soundtrack of noir fiction called The Film Noir Project. That same year they released Fallen Angel (Sons of Sound). Switching labels, Sneider and Locke release their second Film Noir Project installment in Nocturne for Ava, honoring the brunette bombshell Ava Gardner and her contributions to the noir genre like the film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Killers.

It is a subtle hypnotism Sneider and ...

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Joe Locke: Force of Four

by Ken Dryden
December 15, 2008

Joe Locke has emerged as one of the dominant jazz vibraphonists in recent years, releasing several outstanding CDs with various musical partners. Force of Four is no exception, a tight post-bop session with a new quartet: pianist Robert Rodriguez, bassist Ricardo Rodriguez and drummer Johnathan Blake. The pianist contributed “Like Joe," a tribute to Joe Henderson, which incorporates rapid-fire lines with a Latin undercurrent reminiscent of the late tenor saxophonist. Locke's understated “Available in Blue" is an ...