Jazz Articles about Lonnie Plaxico

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Brian Landrus: Red List

by Jack Bowers
July 26, 2022

No matter how one receives his music, there is no doubt that woodwind specialist Brian Landrus' heart is in the right place. Red List, his eleventh album as leader, is dedicated to the preservation of Earth's endangered animal species. Landrus names thirteen, at least five of which--the kakapo, Malayan tiger, gharial, vaquita and Javan rhino--are all but gone, with less than three hundred of each species remaining. In fact, it is estimated that only eight vaquitas (a species of porpoise ...

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Brian Landrus: Red List

by Angelo Leonardi
July 18, 2022

L'undicesimo disco di Brian Landrus è un progetto a difesa di tredici specie animali minacciate di estinzione. Vegetariano dell'età di 12 anni e poi vegano, il sassofonista di Reno (Nevada) ha sempre operato a sostegno del mondo animale. Per sua stessa ammissione è questa la passione della sua vita, assieme al jazz. L'anno scorso, dopo aver aperto una sottoscrizione su Gofundme.com, Brian ha raccolto un settetto base più ospiti, per registrare quindici nuove composizioni dedicate alle specie minacciate, ...

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Ralph Peterson & the Messenger Legacy: Onward & Upward

by Paul Rauch
August 8, 2020

Generally speaking, legacy bands are created to preserve the music of an artist. They feature innovative interpretations of an artist's compositions or past performances to share with future generations of listeners. In the case of drummer Ralph Peterson, his ambitious efforts to honor the continuum of his mentor Art Blakey are forward thinking, about a collective gathering of resources that stress creative thought and individuality. Just as the true legacy of the Jazz Messengers portends, contributors are charged with replenishing ...

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Lonnie Plaxico: Being Your Own Bird

by George Colligan
October 20, 2013

Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth] Electric and acoustic bassist Lonnie Plaxico has been on the jazz scene in New York since 1980. He is on hundreds of recordings with everyone from Art Blakey, Cassandra Wilson, Jack Dejohnette, to Ravi Coltrane. He has 13 CDs as a leader, the latest being Ancestral Devotion (Plaxmusic, 2009). I first played with Lonnie Plaxico in 1999 on some gigs with trombonist Robin Eubanks. Lonnie barely ...

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Lonnie Plaxico: West Side Stories

by Jim Santella
July 2, 2006

Six original compositions and several familiar pieces give Lonnie Plaxico's eleventh album a heavy dose of spontaneity. With pianist George Colligan, drummer Kenny Grohowski, tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas, trumpeter Alex Norris and several influential guests on board, the session rocks hard with a contemporary edge.

The theme of West Side Stories points to the neighborhood where Plaxico grew up: Chicago's West Side. He was brought up with a wide variety of musical forms, from funk, groove and soul ...

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Lonnie Plaxico: West Side Stories

by Mark F. Turner
May 29, 2006

West Side Stories, Lonnie Plaxico's eleventh recording as a leader, draws from memories of growing up in Chicago and listening to a variety of sounds from the '70s--R&B, popular music and smooth jazz--as well as his collaboration in the development of advanced M-Base musical concepts in the '80s. To coin a phrase from none other than the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, Plaxico might just be one the hardest working bassists in the business. He is a ...

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Lonnie Plaxico

by Javier AQ Ortiz
May 14, 2006

Lonnie Plaxico's first recording on Blue Note is a treat for a musician who, in his early 40s, already has an exciting veteran career in jazz circles, although he played mostly R&B in Chicago. He left his native Windy City to come play for Wynton Marsalis. The famed trumpet player heard a demo tape from Plaxico and asked him, during Christmas, to come immediately to New York. Such a move, 20 years ago, led to gigs with Chet Baker, Dizzy ...