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Jazz Articles about Kerry Politzer
Take Five With Kerry Politzer
by AAJ Staff
Meet Kerry Politzer: I started out as a classical pianist, went over to jazz and Brazilian music, and am now exploring the world of vocals and lyrics. I've released three jazz albums: Yearning, Watercolor and Labyrinth; and one jazz-pop album, You Took Me In. Labyrinth was a finalist in the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards, and its first track, “Rhodes Rage," won Best Jazz Category, Third Prize in the 2005 International Songwriting Competition. Instruments: Piano, vocals. ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer: You Took Me
by Virginia A. Schaefer
Following her three releases as a jazz pianist who composes much of her material, Kerry Politzer steps out as a singer-songwriter with You Took Me In. As well as performing all the vocals, she plays piano with the band, which consists entirely of jazz musicians. Although the turn from jazz piano to pop-oriented song may seem surprising, Politzer has actually been active as a singer-songwriter for several years, and has received awards in songwriting competitions. On the ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer Quartet: Labyrinth
by AAJ Italy Staff
Labyrinth è il terzo album di Kerry Politzer, giovane pianista e compositrice che gode di una certa popolarità sulle scene newyorkesi, e che esordì come leader nel 2001, con Yearning. Il repertorio del disco si basa prevalentemente sulla samba up tempo, prendendo tuttavia in considerazione le composizioni in tre quarti (come “Falling Through the Cracks"), quelle in cinque (che nel CD sono ben due, “Paloma" e “Hya"), le ballad (ne è un bell’esempio “The End-), e il walking bass in ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer Quartet: Labyrinth
by Ken Franckling
Over the past few years, New England Conservatory graduate Kerry Politzer has emerged as one of the more interesting younger composers on the New York jazz scene. She leads a modern jazz trio and a Brazilian repertoire quartet to showcase her compositions. Labyrinth is her third release since 1999 and it draws from the best of those intersecting worlds: modern jazz with a Brazilian undercurrent. It's all original, often multi-layered material. Politzer is joined on this session by ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer Quartet: Labyrinth
by Michael P. Gladstone
The press release accompanying pianist/composer Kerry Politzer's third album professes her love of Brazilian music and straight-ahead jazz. We certainly hear some good examples of her approach to samba, but most of this album is squarely in the category of well developed mainstream jazz in a trio and quartet setting. Politzer is joined by Andrew Rathbun, dividing his time on tenor and soprano sax on half of this album, plus bassist Chris Higgins and drummer George Colligan. (Colligan is perhaps ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer Quartet: Labyrinth
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist/composer Kerry Politzer's third CD as a leader, Labyrinth, is described as a set of “Brazilian and jazz" originals. For this listener, the word “Brazilian" evokes lilting rhythms and gentle melodies, but the disc's opener, “Rhodes Rage," a fast samba, has more rage than gentleness. The tune proves itself a high-octane cooker, featuring Andrew Rathbun on tenor saxophone playing with some fiery swing. Politzer's solo--an extension of her sharp-edged opening--is an intricate, propulsive, percussive interlude, beautiful in an in-your-face fashion, ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer Quartet: Labyrinth
by John Kelman
For her third outing as a leader, pianist/composer Kerry Politzer ups the ante by working with a couple of players who, while not exactly household names, have some cachet in the New York community. Chris Higgins, a lithe bassist with a tone not unlike Dave Holland's, may be as relatively unknown as Politzer, but saxophonist Andrew Rathburn has been establishing a reputation on a number of superb records for Spain's Fresh Sound New Talent label--both as a writer of cerebral ...
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