Jazz Articles about John Lake

About John Lake

Album Review

Jihye Lee Orchestra: Daring Mind

Read "Daring Mind" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
March 10, 2021

Listening to bandleader/composer Jihye Lee and her mic-drop orchestra is like watching your life flash before your eyes. You see it all: All the richness of spirit one can attain. All the sadness one can espouse. All the waltzing mischief to which one can aspire. Testing malleability at every turn, Lee's on to an eclectic something that doesn't pass through the torpor too often: A lucid, active imagination. Thus Daring Mind, Lee's Motema Music debut, co-produced by Darcy ...

Album Review

Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows: Assembly of Shadows

Read "Assembly of Shadows" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
September 22, 2020

Dopo aver debuttato in veste di leader nel 2019 con il ricercato album Light as a World (un sestetto con, tra gli altri, Aaron Parks e Walter Smith III) il 33enne sassofonista e compositore d'origini californiane, presenta un ambizioso progetto orchestrale comprendente la suite “Assembly of Shadows," un'altra sua composizione ("Strata") e una riscrittura di “Honeymooners" di Ornette Coleman. Prima di questi lavori ha condiviso la leadership del gruppo Le Boeuf Brothers col suo gemello Pascal. La ...

Album Review

John Lake: Seven Angels

Read "Seven Angels" reviewed by Jim Worsley

by Jim Worsley
June 22, 2020

Compelling is the first word that comes to mind in describing John Lake's debut record as a leader. Eight Lake originals, adjoined by three reimagined tunes from the past, comprise Seven Angels. A seasoned studio musician and sideman, Lake knew his time had come. He is joined by five stellar musicians who collectively build a liquid sextet. A lesser known artist doesn't have the luxury of time. He/she has to grab attention quickly. With that in mind, Lake ...

Album Review

The Seth Weaver Big Band: Truth

by Jack Bowers
May 8, 2020

Truth, the debut album by New York-based trombonist / vocalist Seth Weaver, has its ups and downs, most of which involve the leader himself. The “ups" enter the picture thanks to Weaver's five far-better-than-average compositions, the “downs" whenever he chooses to sing, as he does on three of eight numbers. Luckily, the pluses far outweigh the minuses, thanks in large measure to Weaver's admirable ensemble, a number of first-rate soloists and the above-mentioned compositions, which herald Weaver as a talented ...

Album Review

Webber / Morris Big Band: Both Are True

Read "Both Are True" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
April 23, 2020

On Both Are True Canadian composers and reed players Anna Webber and Angela Morris reimagine the language of the big band. They extend the tradition through adventurous arrangements spiced with the unpredictability of improv, by co-opting the nimbleness of a much smaller group, and reveling in non-standard techniques. Webber has already garnered plaudits for the work of her Simple Trio with Matt Mitchell and John Hollenbeck, while Morris' ventures such as the Motel Trio boast a lower profile so far. ...

Album Review

Remy Le Boeuf: Assembly Of Shadows

Read "Assembly Of Shadows" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
November 20, 2019

With his second date as a leader, multi-woodwind artist Remy Le Boeuf performs these largely self-penned comps with an orchestra, featuring notable musicians Anna Webber (woodwinds), Alex Goodman (guitar) and other jazz VIPs. Here, the leader's composing acuity brims with multicolored hues and harmonious arrangements, largely executed with a composite of modern jazz and classical inferences via gradual buildups, brash outbreaks and complex unison choruses that occasionally mimic single note bop lines. Sure enough, this young visionary's unflagging creative spirit ...

Album Review

Remy Le Boeuf: Assembly Of Shadows

Read "Assembly Of Shadows" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 13, 2019

Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows, an ambitious jazz orchestra recording, opens with his original composition, the cinematic “Strata," followed by a majestic take on alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's “Honeymooners," a tune from the free jazz pioneer's Virgin Beauty (Portrait Records, 1988). These sounds--collectively clocking in at fifteen and a half minutes--set the stage for the five-part “Assembly Of Shadows Suite." Saxophonist Le Bouef considered the voices in his orchestra for the purposes of highlighting the individual musical personalities, a ...