Jazz Articles about Joel Frahm

Joel Frahm: Don't Explain

by Jim Santella
January 13, 2004

Together, Joel Frahm and Brad Mehldau interpret six jazz standards, one familiar Ornette Coleman fixture, one memorable pop classic, and one original composition. Each piece is delivered with a straightforward approach, keeping the central melody in focus while venturing just a bit off the beaten path to express personal feelings about the subject. Frahm moves fluidly through his instruments' ranges, flipping keys as fast as necessary in order to have his say. Mehldau provides a warm backdrop for the saxophonist ...

Joel Frahm: The Navigator

by David Adler
September 1, 2000

Joel Frahm’s second Palmetto release again features the fabulous pianist David Berkman, who contributed four of the album’s 10 tracks. Scott Colley and Billy Drummond lay down the rhythm on this terrific set, which also includes four of Frahm’s originals, a no-frills “My One and Only Love," and a soul-style tune by Matt Wilson titled “Hymn for Don Cherry."Frahm’s tenor sound is big, his improvisations aggressive and content-rich. Berkman outranks him as a composer, however. Only a superior ...

Joel Frahm: The Navigator

by Mark Corroto
September 1, 2000

Joel Frahm’s second disc as leader has all the trappings of a John Coltrane legacy recording. Sure that’s a heavy burden, but one he proves worthy. Like his 1999 disc Sorry, No Decaf, Frahm mines hard-bop with a self-admission (like Coltrane) that he is not comfortable on up-tempo tunes. Fine, grace not speed signifies great art. Take his version of “My One And Only Love,” the mind jumps directly to Johnny Hartman March 7, 1963 singing the same song alongside ...

Joel Frahm: Sorry, No Decaf

by Glenn Astarita
May 1, 1999

On Sorry, No Decaf Saxophonist Joel Frahm displays an admirable compositional pen, and a commanding presence on tenor and soprano sax. Frahm enlists longtime associate and fine bandleader in his own right, drummer Matt Wilson along with pianist David Berkman and bassist Doug Weiss.

The opener, Frahm’s “Smokey Joel” features a catchy, memorable melody line as Frahm’s tenor sax work proceeds to burn the house down through fluid, clear toned and articulate phrasing. Here, Frahm is a fleet fingered and ...

Joel Frahm: Sorry, No Decaf

by Jack Bowers
April 1, 1999

Joel Frahm, an eloquent young post–bopper, reminds me of another of my favorite up–and–coming young lions, the irrepressible Eric Alexander, who reminds me of George Coleman, who reminds me of Dexter Gordon, who reminds me of . . . well, you get the picture — and it’s an almost unbroken lineal progression from bop’s unsophisticated roots to today’s more openhanded expression of the language. Frahm, however, adds another component, the soprano saxophone, which he maneuvers commendably on two of his ...