Home » Jazz Articles » Leigh Pilzer
Jazz Articles about Leigh Pilzer
The DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Tappin' Thru Life
by Jack Bowers
Tappin' Thru Life is more than the title of a jazz album; it is a philosophy, one that guided Maurice Hines through most of his 80 years and all of his epic career as an acclaimed tap dancer and entertainer. The album is based on Hines' autobiographical stage show of that name whose music director, drummer par excellence Sherrie Maricle, is also a co-founder and leader of The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, a renowned all-woman ensemble. After Hines' ...
Continue ReadingWarren Wolf, Alexis Cole, Sonny Rollins and Leigh Pilzer
by Joe Dimino
From the mind of veteran musician Leigh Pilzer, we get right into the 869th Episode of Neon Jazz. With her Seven Pointed Star, we hear the title track off her 2024 album called Beatin' the Odds. From there, we journey around a stellar line up of veterans with new albums in 2024 with Julieta Eugenio, Natalie Jacob, Alexis Cole and Warren Wolf. In betwixt, we hear from legends like Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Veteran Eric ...
Continue ReadingLeigh Pilzer, Patricia Brennan, and Mark Masters
by Jerome Wilson
This episode features recent releases by Leigh Pilzer and the duo of Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy. It also includes older music by Patricia Brennan, Michael Gibbs, and the Mark Masters Ensemble. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 SLUGish Ensemble “Del Sur" from In Solitude (Slow & Steady) 00:52 Carl Clements “A New Leaf" from A Different Light (Greydisc) ...
Continue ReadingLeigh Pilzer: Beatin' the Odds
by Jack Bowers
Beatin' the Odds. To baritone saxophonist Leigh Pilzer, that is far more than a catchphrase: it is a grim yet ultimately happy reality. In 2017, Pilzer was diagnosed with cancer. After extensive treatments, her odds of surviving more than five years were reckoned as around thirty percent. But six years have gone by, and not only has Pilzer beaten the odds, she is cancer-free, back in the saddle and performing again. And not only performing but writing ...
Continue ReadingDiva Jazz Orchestra: "30": Live at Dizzy's Club
by Jack Bowers
The “30" in the title of the superlative all-woman Diva Jazz Orchestra's latest album stands for 30 years, which, believe it or not, is how long the orchestra and its remarkable drummer and leader, Sherrie Maricle, have been up and running and making beautiful music at home and abroad. Among U.S.-based big bands, it would seem that only Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman have had longer runs than that. Fast company indeed. So is Diva ready for comparisons? ...
Continue ReadingThe DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Swings Broadway
by Jack Bowers
At the ripe old age of thirty (closer to a hundred in big-band years), the superlative New York-based, all-female DIVA Jazz Orchestra remains as frisky as a newborn colt, swinging up, down and around Broadway with abandon on its thirteenth album, a brisk and colorful tribute to the Great White Way that shines brightly from start to finish. The album opens and closes in a mid-1950s vein, raising the curtain with Steven Feifke's breezy, well-grooved arrangement of ...
Continue ReadingThe Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children
by Jack Bowers
The best music, in jazz or any other genre, is and should be timeless. To prove the point, the Scott Silbert Big Band celebrates the songs of a bygone era on its debut album, Jump Children, refreshing a number of memorable themes from the '30s, '40s and '50s and underscoring their relevance in an ultra-modern twenty-first century environment. His goal, Silbert writes, was “to represent the fantastic musicianship of the artists [who] originally performed these works," venerated masters such as ...
Continue Reading
