Jazz Articles about Julian Shore

About Julian Shore

Album Review

Proving he is much more than just a talented guitarist, Max Light's latest effort, Unlearning, carries a great deal of emotional weight in addition to displaying his prodigious technique. Dedicated to his father, distinguished professor Paul Light, the album's concept concerns the elusive nature of memory and the challenges of disorientation when it no longer reliably anchors us. With recurring fragments of melody and subtle rhythmic shifts throughout, Light's compositions powerfully convey a sense of dislocation, yet there is a ...

Album Review

Julian Shore: Sub Rosa

Read "Sub Rosa" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
September 30, 2025

Julian Shore's recording, Sub Rosa, features the pianist alongside his longstanding collaborators, bassist Martin Nevin and drummer Allan Mednard. More than just a collection of tunes, the album captures over two years of shared exploration, the group's exceptional empathy and fluidity. The trio demonstrates a remarkable ability to spontaneously reshape material, highlighting the strong camaraderie underpinning their sound. Shore's compositions form the foundation of much of the album, with each piece reflecting episodes of personal experience ...

Inside the Songs

Julian Shore: Sharing Secrets Under The Rose

by Dean Nardi
August 4, 2025

Piano trios walk the thin line between exhibitionism and intimacy, and you can look no further than Bill Evans whose tones vibrated ever so slightly with the distant thrill of zeal. Despite insistent attempts to overlook its worthiness in contemporary jazz, the piano trio is alive and well, in good hands with pianists such as Kris Davis, whose Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic Records, 2024) with Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake sends shivers up and down the spine. The Sunna Gunnlaug ...

Album Review

Julian Shore: Sub Rosa

by Jack Kenny
June 22, 2025

Sub Rosa demonstrates that Julian Shore now plays a key role in the evolution of the jazz piano trio. The jazz piano trio can be seen as the genre's answer to the classical string quartet. Both demand exceptional playing skills, intense listening, and a delicate balance among musicians. However, achieving this quality in a jazz trio is arguably more challenging, as musicians improvise rather than relying entirely on scores. This makes a deep, collusive camaraderie essential.

Album Review

Noah Preminger: Ballads

Read "Ballads" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
March 28, 2025

Noah Preminger has long been an artist who thrives at the intersection of tradition and innovation. On Ballads, the tenor saxophonist delves into the depths of lyricism with a quartet that exudes understated intensity: pianist Julian Shore, bassist Kim Cass, and drummer Allan Mednard. This release communicates in whispers rather than shouts, yet it never loses its sense of adventure. Preminger's tone -warm, breathy, elastic, guides the listener through a charming set of originals, carefully selected ...

Album Review

Caroline Davis: Portals, Volume 2: Returning

Read "Portals, Volume 2: Returning" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
March 28, 2025

Il precedente Portals Volume 1: Mourning nasceva dalla necessità di rielaborare la morte improvvisa del padre attraverso una musica che curasse il dolore e conservasse i ricordi migliori. In quel disco, Caroline Davis, sassofonista, flautista, compositrice ed educatrice statunitense nata a Singapore da padre inglese e madre svedese, accostava al suo classico quintetto un quartetto d'archi. Portals vol.2 : Returning è invece un omaggio a Joan Anson-Weber, poetessa nonché nonna di Caroline, e farla da padrone sono in questo caso ...

Album Review

Noah Preminger: Ballads

by Dan Bilawsky
February 20, 2025

Balladry becomes Noah Preminger. And that may come as a surprise to some. Over the past seventeen years and about as many releases, this critically-acclaimed tenor saxophonist has often made his mark going the opposite way--in myriad bold-and-beyond settings where he's thrown haymakers with precision, explored duo dynamism with bassist Kim Cass, pushed the envelope through the demanding music of Steve Lampert, or investigated the gravity of the delta blues with a probing mindset. Yet there's something about his softer ...