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Helen Sung Big Band: Oracles
by Katchie Cartwright
"The jazz bandstand is where true democracy lives," the great saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath told a young Helen Sung. “Everyone must understand their role and come prepared by doing the hard work of study and practice," he said. “Each person will get to say their piece, but it is in the act of integrating as a band that the musicians ultimately create something bigger, richer, and deeper." Oracles launches into a time and place where divisions are deep and ...
Continue ReadingErica von Kleist: Picc Pocket
by Jack Bowers
Those who favor puns and clever wordplay should get their kicks from the song titles alone on Picc Pocket, a splendid new recording by piccolo guru Erica von Kleist 's hand-picced--and fun-loving-- quartet and its spicc-tacular guest artists, trombonist Jennifer Krupa and tenor saxophonist John Ellis. The piccolo (a close cousin of the flute) isn't often heard in a jazz context, which makes the enterprise even more picc-taking and picc-turesque. Von Kleist is a master of the instrument ...
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Davy Mooney, Ko Omura: The Word
by Neri Pollastri
Il chitarrista statunitense Davy Mooney e il batterista giapponese Ko Omura riprendono in mano una collaborazione risalente al 2018, che aveva già fruttato l'album Benign Strangers, edito da Sunnyside, e che era stata bloccata dalla pandemia, a cui fa seguito questo The Word per la medesima etichetta. Il lavoro vede in azione la stessa formazione di allora, un quintetto completato dall'eclettico sassofonista e clarinettista John Ellis, dall'eccellente e ormai ben noto pianista Glenn Zaleski e dal contrabbassista Matt ...
Continue ReadingMaria Schneider Orchestra: American Crow
by Dan McClenaghan
Maria Schneider has a thing for birds. Credible sources have reported sightings of the jazz composer frequenting Central Park wearing a floppy hat, a pair of binoculars hanging from her neck. Her 20-plus minute “Cerulean Skies," from her album (one of her masterpieces) Sky Blue (ArtistShare, 2007) speaks to her love for birds; her fascination with their migratory nature and their arduous flights, which span continents and beyond. The composition “Bluebird," from the “Our Natural World"' half of her 2-disc ...
Continue ReadingJohn Ellis & Double Wide: Fireball
by Alberto Bazzurro
La spinta, la propulsione, la pienezza, che può generare la presenza di una tuba (o di un sousaphone, come accade qui) all'interno di un combo jazz è indiscutibile, generalmente tangibilissima, almeno se il suo impiego è di natura prevalentemente (ma non esclusivamente, attenzione) ritmica. Il Double Wide diretto ormai da quasi vent'anni dal cinquantunenne polistrumentista e compositore John Ellis ne è esempio quanto mai tipico. Ellis è nativo della Carolina del Nord, si è formato musicalmente a New ...
Continue ReadingJon Gordon: 7th Ave South
by Jack Bowers
Some of life's moments, even when buried in the past, remain almost as fresh and memorable as today's. Such is alto saxophonist Jon Gordon's memory of his first visit to New York City's then-jazz center, Greenwich Village's 7th Avenue South, which was “the first place [he] ever heard live jazz in New York." That was in 1983--nearly four decades ago--but that memory and those that followed were enough to inspire Gordon's latest album, appropriately titled 7th Ave South.
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Etienne Charles: Creole Orchestra Featuring René Marie
by Angelo Leonardi
A 18 anni di distanza dal debutto discografico in Culture Shock il trombettista originario di Trinidad & Tobago, si cimenta come bandleader di un ampio organico, in una lussureggiante sintesi di ritmi caraibici e orchestrazioni che vanno dalla tradizione Swing all'hip hop. L'orchestra è un ampliamento della sua storica Creole Soul Band e ospita la cantante René Marie in quattro brani. Etienne ha iniziato a scrivere per ampi organici a partire dalla collaborazione con la stessa cantante ...
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