Jazz Articles about John Swana

About John Swana

Album Review

Rich Willey: Laid Back Vol. 1, featuring John Swana

Read "Laid Back Vol. 1, featuring John Swana" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 20, 2026

Chicago-based trumpeter and composer Rich Willey oversees an impressive 11-piece ensemble on Laid Back, Vol. 1, which embodies seven of his melodically enticing and rhythmically strong compositions, all neatly arranged by Wally Minko. The one drawback in this otherwise pleasing session is a disconcerting funk/Latin beat, which lends an aura of sameness to every number that serves to weaken its purpose and impede efforts to separate it from the herd. That is countered to some extent by the ...

Album Review

Rich Willey: Laid Back Vol. 1, featuring John Swana

by Jack Bowers
June 13, 2026

Chicago-based trumpeter and composer Rich Willey oversees an impressive eleven-piece ensemble on Best Laid Plans, which embodies seven of his melodically enticing and rhythmically strong compositions, all neatly arranged by Wally Minko. The one clear drawback in this otherwise pleasing session, however, is an incessant rock beat, which lends an aura of sameness to every number that serves to weaken its purpose and impede even the most valiant efforts to separate it from the herd. That is countered ...

Album Review

Chris Aschman: Volcanic

by Jack Bowers
May 10, 2026

Although multi-instrumentalist Chris Aschman's third recording may be a shade less than Volcanic, it does deliver some heavy punches marshaled from its roots in the funk/rock/fusion format. Aschman, who plays trumpet and steel pans, is clearly on board with that, as he wrote all save one of the album's seven numbers and arranged every one. Aschman's viewpoint is visible as well in his choice of the quartet's drummer, Henry Plumb, who more than anyone makes sure the rock-heavy ...

Album Review

Tom Cohen: Embraceable Brazil

Read "Embraceable Brazil" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 17, 2025

Philadephia-based drummer and arranger Tom Cohen uses groups of various sizes from trio to octet recorded over a ten-year span to tailor an elegant musical “love letter" to Brazil and its iconic dance music, the bossa nova, on Embraceable Brazil, an album whose charming melodies and vibrant rhythms represent the best that picturesque South American country has to offer. Of course, Antonio Carlos Jobim is here, as would be true on any survey of Brazilian music, with ...

Liner Notes

Ralph Bowen: Five

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 1, 2024

Although he's better known in educational circles due to his solid commitment to jazz pedagogy as a member of the faculty at Rutgers University, Ralph Bowen has been a vital member of the jazz community since debuting with the group Out of the Blue back in the mid '80s. His adaptability to a diversity of musical situations has made him a valuable sideman over the years, although the opportunities for Bowen to call the shots as a leader have not ...

Liner Notes

Joel Weiskopf: New Beginning

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 21, 2024

For better or worse, it seems that any artistic endeavor that involves the true expression of raw human experience and emotion is destined to have appeal to only a small and select audience. This dilemma becomes even more daunting for the artist in today's technology-laden society where electronic communication has taken the place of face-to-face conversation. Where the musician or painter seeks to express himself by exposing passion in its natural form, so many in today's society function at a ...

Liner Notes

John Swana: Philly Gumbo Vol.2

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 19, 2024

It seems like a lot of up and coming trumpeters these days go for the bop stylings of Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw as their main influence. Far fewer look to players like Art Farmer or Kenny Wheeler for inspiration. That's what has made watching the development of Philadelphia trumpet man John Swana so fascinating over the years. While he has the chops needed to communicate in the high-octane language of be-bop, his tone and use of space suggest that ...