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Maria Kruttli: The Kind of Happy One
by Neri Pollastri
Quinto album per la pianista svizzera Marie Kruttli, trent'anni e una formazione classica iniziata da bambina, sviluppatasi poi nel mondo del jazz. Qui la troviamo alla testa di un trio, formazione che le è congeniale essendo questo il suo terzo disco, come negli altri affiancata dal contrabbassista Lukas Traxel, ma con alla batteria Jonathan Barber, che con la pianista aveva collaborato in altri contesti ma non in trio. Le composizioni sono tutte originali a firma della Kruttli, che ...
read moreJohn Hasselback III: Entrance
by Jack Bowers
Entrance, New York-based trumpeter John Hasselback III's debut recording, is basically a quintet date on which Hasselback shares the front line on four tracks each with saxophonist Wayne Escoffery or trombonist Steve Davis. If one is known by the company he keeps, that's a rather persuasive frame of reference. Hasselback wrote every number save one, the standard “Body and Soul," showing from start to finish a keen ear for enticing bop-inspired melodies and rhythms. He plays as he writes, laying ...
read moreJonathan Barber & Vision Ahead: Legacy Holder
by Dan Bilawsky
Drummer Jonathan Barber's Legacy Holder is a musical missive acknowledging the history that flows before and beyond his time, the ethos of the present, and a need to bind these streams into a single/singular statement or groundwork for himself and those who will follow. It is an album built on intellect, understanding, intuition and, perhaps most importantly, respect—for culture, curiosity, a capacity to love and do what's right, and the need to change. Leading Vision Ahead—an aptly ...
read moreMarie Kruttli Trio: The Kind of Happy One
by Mike Jurkovic
A gracious yet adventurous air of then and now hovers over, under, sideways, and down on The Kind of Happy One, Swiss pianist/composer Marie Kruttli's fourth disc. It's an expanding calm, a welcoming sense of command and form from a young artist finding her place in the music and its long heritage. Yet “Back to Blue" starts off The Kind of Happy One with bassist Lukas Traxel's sinister, recurring riff into which rising-through-the-generational-ranks drummer Jonathan Barber quickly breathes ...
read moreSteve Davis: Correlations
by Peter J. Hoetjes
Exploration and innovation may be the aspiration of modern jazz, but trombonist Steve Davis' Correlations exemplifies the fact that nothing proves more compelling than the timeless art of gathering a group of musicians who work remarkably well together. A veteran of The Jazz Messengers, One For All, and The Jazztet, Davis has a wealth of experience sharing the stage with multiple horns, essential to this album's sextet. His “get out of the way and let it happen" approach to band ...
read moreA Conversation with Drummer Jonathan Barber
by Lorens Chuno
On his debut album, Vision Ahead , Jonathan Barber delivers some very well executed original compositions. These songs have introspective origins and help shape the current path of his music group also called Vision Ahead. The album features pianist Taber Gable, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, saxophonist Godwin Louis, bassist Matt Dwonszyk, and vocalists Denise Renee and Sasha Foster. Join Jonathan and me as we talk about Hartford, jam sessions, living in New York and other mildly related stuff. Playlist ...
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