Jazz Articles about John Riley

About John Riley

Extended Analysis

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer

by Dan Bilawsky
August 31, 2014

Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer extraordinaire Mel Lewis may have given birth to the band that's now known as The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, but the late Bob Brookmeyer gave the group artistic independence at a time when it was sorely needed. When Jones left the fold and departed for Europe at the tail end of the '70s, things could've gone a very different way for this storied outfit: it could've simply carried on as a pretty good ...

Interview

John Riley: Inspiring Innovation

by Ben Scholz
July 23, 2014

Foremost an innovator, John Riley has always been a “drummer's drummer" in the world of straight-ahead jazz. With nearly a hundred recordings, a dozen videos, and five books under his belt, Riley is a veritable font of knowledge in the bebop realm. In this article, we take a look back at some of his musical endeavors including recording with Miles Davis, working with Quincy Jones, and playing drums with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. We'll also examine the changing landscape of ...

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Album Review

Mike Holober & The Gotham Jazz Orchestra: Quake

by Elliott Simon
March 15, 2009

Duke Ellington's legacy is alive and well with pianist Mike Holober and The Gotham Jazz Orchestra. Holober makes use of the increased musical scope that 17 pieces give him to weave compositional strength within a sound that sways more than swings. Some of the finest jazzers New York City has to offer join Holober for this session. Their individual talents are certainly showcased but the strength of this release is how Holober fits them all together to ...

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Album Review

Mike Holober and the Gotham Jazz Orchestra: Thought Trains

Read "Thought Trains" reviewed by Robert R. Calder

by Robert R. Calder
March 23, 2005

Mike Holober's not just another pianist working within long-established post-Bill Evans methods, he's one of the rare very individually creative ones. Given his more monumental approach, his Gotham Jazz Orchestra can seem something of an extension of his piano work. His orchestration sometimes fills out a piano conception, sometimes interacts with his playing, piano concerto fashion. A band member's solo will sometimes have the full orchestra, sometimes the at times equally full-sounding rhythm section, in accompaniment. Planned and grand. With ...

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Album Review

Mike Holober and the Gotham Jazz Orchestra: Thought Trains

Read "Thought Trains" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
October 23, 2004

Originally recorded in '96, years before Mike Holober's début small group recording Canyon (Sons of Sound, '03), Thought Trains is only now seeing the light of day, but it continues to assert the pianist/composer/arranger as a dominant new force on the New York scene. And while the larger ensemble context of Thought Trains limits the amount of spontaneous interplay that was prevalent on Canyon , it makes up for that kind of unrestrained exploration with sharp arrangements that make full ...

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Album Review

Mike Holober and the Gotham Jazz Orchestra: Thought Trains

Read "Thought Trains" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
October 16, 2004

There's something about trains, the metronomic, ringing clink-clack of metal wheels on metal track, the fanfare of the whistle, the rhythm and rumble of the coaches being propelled across a countryside. Duke Ellington loved trains, in a day when he and the band used the form of transportion to get from gig to gig. Think of “Take the A Train" and “Track 360." Pianist/arranger/composer Mike Holober loves trains, too, as his second outing as leader attests--the big band set Thought ...

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Album Review

The Gotham Jazz Orchestra: Thought Trains

Read "Thought Trains" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 1, 2002

One assumes instinctively that a big–band album named Thought Trains isn’t likely to include such time–worn staples as “Moten Swing” or “One O’Clock Jump.” That’s definitely true of this one, even though it does receive a “jump start” from Mike Holober’s rhythmically vibrant composition, “Jump Down, Spin Around.” All of the compositions / arrangements are Holober’s, and while they may not awaken memories of the Swing Era they surely do swing, which is among the most meaningful components in any ...