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Jazz Articles about Jon Irabagon
Joel Harrison: America at War
by Angelo Leonardi
"È tutta la vita che il mio paese conduce tragiche e futili invasioni straniere. Ho sentito che dovevo scrivere su questo fatto, infondere nella mia nuova musica la sua dolorosa eredità." Queste riflessioni aprono il nuovo disco di Joel Harrison, ritornato a sette anni di distanza da Infinite Possibility a guidare un ensemble orchestrale. La storia bellica degli Stati Uniti è piuttosto lunga: in 245 anni ha combattuto 123 conflitti militari vivendo solo 18 anni in completa pace. ...
Continue ReadingJon Irabagon: Channeling Charlie Parker In The Black Hills
by Doug Hall
An un-planned flight from peak Covid spread in New York City in March 2020, led jazz saxophonist and composer Jon Irabagon to escape to in-laws located next to the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Competition and named “Musician of the Year" in 2012 by The New York City Jazz Record, Irabagon has been noted for his “extraordinary eclecticism" as referenced in a 2019 article by Jazz Times critic Thomas Conrad. Irabagon has ...
Continue ReadingThe J. & F. Band: Me And The Devil
by Mark Corroto
We are back to the whippin' post with Me And The Devil, the fourth Allman Brothers-inspired release from Long Song Records, and the third by The J&F Band; and while it is far from being a guilty pleasure, the music does beg to be heard at high volume. In 2016, drummer Tiziano Tononi, bassist Joe Fonda, violinist, Emanuael Parrini and their smoking band recorded an Allman Brothers tribute Trouble No More...All Men Are Brothers (Long Song, 2017). It ...
Continue ReadingAlban Darche: Le Gros Cube #2
by Alberto Bazzurro
La passione di Alban Darche, quarantasettenne tenorsassofonista e compositore bretone, per i grossi organici è nota: ce ne siamo già occupati diverse volte, su queste colonne. Questo suo ultimo lavoro, edito come d'uso su Yolk Music, non fa eccezione: diciotto elementi, big band che più classica non si potrebbe. Per una volta (almeno rispetto al passato) anche in quanto a linguaggio espressivo-espositivo, che si riconnette mani e piedi alla grande tradizione orchestrale, inserendo i soli, che ovviamente non mancano, sopra ...
Continue ReadingBarry Altschul’s 3Dom Factor feat. Jon Irabagon & Joe Fonda: Long Tall Sunshine
by Mark Corroto
The fourth release by Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor, Long Tall Sunshine, evokes (in a weird way) the lyrics to “Helter Skelter" by The Beatles: “When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride Till I get to the bottom and I see you again." We're not talking the Charles Manson thrill kill angle of Helter Skelter, ...
Continue ReadingUptown Jazz Tentet: What's Next
by Jack Bowers
A tentet is a rather strange bird; too large to be labeled a small group, yet too small to be counted as a big band, it resides somewhere near the edges, mapping out its own musical profile. Some may rate that an asset, while others may deem it a mere hybrid, unworthy of their consideration. Wiser auditors, however, most often reserve judgment, preferring to take an impartial stance and allow the music to speak for itself. And that is where ...
Continue ReadingUptown Jazz Tentet: What's Next
by Edward Blanco
New York-based trombonist Willie Applewhite birthed the idea of forming a new big band comprised of friends, and in 2016 The Uptown Jazz Tentet was established, co-led by trumpeter Brandon Lee and trombonist James Burton III. After playing to live audiences for several years, What's Next is the group's debut recording, and what an outing it is. Grounded in the traditions of the Billy Strayhorn, Gill Evans, Duke Ellington big bands and others, as large ensembles go, these ten players ...
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