Jazz Articles about Kelly Jefferson

About Kelly Jefferson

Album Review

Brian Dickinson & the Penderecki String Quartet: October Songs

Read "October Songs" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 14, 2026

Contemporary jazz meets classical chamber music (with rather mixed results) on October Songs, the 2026 recording by Canadian pianist and composer Brian Dickinson and his trio who share center stage with the Ontario-based Penderecki String Quartet. There are at least two ways to appraise this meticulously planned and well-meaning partnership. On the one hand, this is lovely music, most of which was skillfully written and all deftly arranged by Dickinson; on the other, the album's jazz component is ...

Album Review

Shuffle Demons: Are You Really Real

Read "Are You Really Real" reviewed by La-Faithia White

by La-Faithia White
July 12, 2025

The Shuffle Demons are a Canadian jazz fusion band from Toronto. The band features a powerhouse ensemble of saxophonists Kelly Jefferson, Richard Underhill and Matt Lagan, anchored by the deep pocket of acoustic bassist Mike Downes and drummer Stich Wynston. The title track “X Marks The Spot" opens with an intriguing dialogue between bass and drums exploding into rapid-fire saxophone lines. Jefferson and Lagan exchange double-line runs, blending harmonies and layering multiphonics in a thrilling display of saxophone ...

Album Review

Shuffle Demons: Are You Really Real

Read "Are You Really Real" reviewed by Anastasia Bogomolets

by Anastasia Bogomolets
June 2, 2025

Celebrating four decades of genre-blending jazz, the Shuffle Demons return with Are You Really Real, a studio album that fuses funk, post-bop, theatrical satire and spiritual jazz. Influences ranging from Eric Dolphy and Alice Coltrane to the Red Hot Chili Peppers shape the band's eclectic high-energy aesthetic. The opening track, “X Marks the Spot," sets the tone with multivoiced saxophone lines and a rhythm section that oscillates between swing and funk. Tenor saxophonists Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan ...

Album Review

Shuffle Demons: Are You Really Real

Read "Are You Really Real" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
May 27, 2025

There is a unique brand of musical madness that only the Shuffle Demons can conjure--a whirlwind of saxophones, humour, groove and a palpable sense of daring. With Are You Really Real, this storied Canadian outfit delivers a recording that captures the very essence of what made them both a cult favourite and respected presence on the international jazz scene. Bristling with invention, personality and raw performance energy, the album feels like a live set caught in a studio net--exhilarating, unfiltered ...

Album Review

Carn Davidson 9: Reverence

Read "Reverence" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 11, 2025

The Carn Davidson 9 is a Toronto, Canada-based nonet co-led by trombonist William Carn and saxophonist Tara Davidson whose fourth studio album, Reverence, encompasses a pair of four-part suites, one written by Carn, the other by Davidson. What is most interesting --over and above the depth and quality of the music--is that the suites are not performed sequentially but interspersed, with the first two of Davidson's themes followed by a pair of Carn originals before alternating on the remaining four ...

Album Review

Neil Swainson Sextet: Here for a While

Read "Here for a While" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
September 9, 2024

Neil Swainson's Here For A While is a tutorial in modern jazz composition and ensemble synergy. Swainson, a bassist of profound depth and melodic sensibility, has gathered a formidable sextet for this project, including Brad Turner on trumpet and flugelhorn, Kelly Jefferson on tenor andsoprano saxophones, Steve Davis on trombone, Renee Rosnes on piano and Quincy Davis on drums. Together, they bring to life nine compositions that are as intricate as they are engaging, each a testament to Swainson's skill ...

Album Review

Laila Biali: Your Requests

Read "Your Requests" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 16, 2023

While the jazz pipeline produces plenty of artists who pay no mind to an audience's interests, those types--figures with tunnel vision, in many if not most ways--rarely reach their full potential. Instead, it's the musicians who make it a point to communicate who tend to forge the strongest bonds with those on the receiving end. Laila Biali is one such figure. This JUNO-winning gem of a vocalist, pianist, arranger and songwriter always manages to connect. Biali has a keen awareness ...