Jazz Articles about John Yao

About John Yao

Multiple Reviews

Here are some thoughts on six recent quality jazz releases of varying types. Malcolm Earle Smith Vocal Intent Self Produced 2022 British musician Malcom Earle Smith is a trombonist by trade but on this album, he confines himself to vocals with pleasing results. His light, swinging voice sounds a bit like Bob Dorough without the Southern drawl as he breezily goes through a program of familiar standards. He shows a real ...

Album Review

The Awakening Orchestra: Volume II: To Call Her to a Higher Plan

Read "Volume II: To Call Her to a Higher Plan" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
November 9, 2020

Tra gli orchestratori e bandleader emersi di recente Kyle Saulnier è uno dei più interessanti. Il suo esordio con l'Awakening Orchestra nel doppio This Is Not the Answer (Innova 2014) ha rappresentato una sorprendente rivelazione per padronanza di scrittura e spregiudicata sintesi di elementi diversi, inclusi il free e il rock. Con un taglio espressivo un po' diverso, il successivo Atticus Live! (Biophilia 2016) ha confermato la versatilità del leader nel coniugare altri mondi musicali (ovvero le musiche ...

Album Review

John Yao's Triceratops: How We Do

Read "How We Do" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
February 4, 2020

Il quarantatreenne trombonista newyorchese di chiare origini orientali John Yao dirige in questo album un quintetto solido il cui punto di forza, oltre al leader, è costituito dalla coppia di sax, anche se tutti e cinque i musicisti impegnati fanno per intero la loro parte. Vi si respira un clima post-bop molto ben costruito e tornito, magari non originalissimo ma non privo di una certa sapienza architettonica e compositiva (tutti i temi sono a firma di Yao). ...

Radio & Podcasts

John Yao, Chris Potter, Clark Terry and More

by Joe Dimino
February 2, 2020

This week we open with John Yao, one of the best kept secrets in the world of jazz, featuring his group Triceratops with a cut off his latest album How We Do. And best kept jazz secrets is one of the themes of this episode. We also look into the world of accomplished jazz cats Chris Potter, George Shearing and Clark Terry. One of our persistent themes is profiling the modern jazz musician for insights into the music they create ...

Album Review

John Yao's Triceratops: How We Do

Read "How We Do" reviewed by Franz A. Matzner

by Franz A. Matzner
August 15, 2019

Trombonist and bandleader John Yao possesses a penchant for imposing ambitious artistic constraints on himself. How We Do continues that trend with a newly formed quintet comprised only of three horns, bass, and drums. Yao further ups the ante by composing demanding pieces that often careen from one stylistic approach to another within the same tune. This breed of endeavor can result in a final product mainly appreciated by fellow musicians and dedicated aficionados. Fortunately, Yao and his ...

Album Review

John Yao Quintet: Presence

Read "Presence" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
June 13, 2017

As human beings we tend to take the very notion of presence for granted, be it the presence of a loved one in our lives, the presence manufactured by our own actions as we present ourselves to the world, or the presence of all that comes and goes in our daily existence. For some reason these things just rarely factor into the way we think from moment to moment. But they should. Those multiple dimensions of meaning ...

Album Review

John Yao: Flip-Flop

Read "Flip-Flop" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
July 16, 2015

On his 2012 debut, trombonist John Yao navigated multiple complex territories ranging from the experimental to traditional balladry. A regular presence on the New York scene, Yao has worked with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. Having absorbed those big band sensibilities, Yao graduates from his inaugural quintet to a seventeen-piece ensemble. Flip-Flop features ten Yao compositions ranging from straight-ahead swing to frenzied group improvisations. Joining Yao are two top-tier saxophonists in Jon Irabagon--of ...