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Loren Stillman: Brothers' Breakfast & Trio Alto Volume One
by Budd Kopman
When he finally hit the limelight, saxophonist Loren Stillman seemed to come out of nowhere, fully formed--or at least with a clear composing technique and playing style, both of them distinctive and recognizable.
However, an “overnight sensation" is rarely that and How Sweet It Is (Nagel Heyer, 2003), the album that signaled the arrival of a major new (and quite young) talent, was preceded by Cosmos (Soul Note Records, 1997), recorded when Stillman was in his teens. ...
Continue ReadingLoren Stillman: It Could Be Anything
by AAJ Italy Staff
Una sorta di Francesco Cafiso d’oltreoceano ante-litteram (ha debuttato a quindici anni nientemeno che per la Soul Note) il contraltista Loren Stillman, ora ventiseienne, ha nel corso degli anni ricevuto una serie impressionante di riconoscimenti e attestati di stima, ma soprattutto ha coltivato interessi e frequentazioni che hanno contribuito al consolidamento di una visione musicale ad ampio respiro. Il riferimento principale può essere individuato in un mainstream moderno e attualizzato, lontano però dai furori muscolari ed esibizionisti dei cosiddetti giovani ...
Continue ReadingLoren Stillman: The Brother's Breakfast
by AAJ Italy Staff
Nel precedente, quasi contemporaneo It Could Be Anything, Loren Stillman, ex enfante terrible del sax contralto, aveva manifestato la propria maestria di compositore e solista con una delle formazioni più classiche del jazz moderno, ossia piano trio più fiato solista. In questo The Brother’s Breakfast, Stillman mescola le carte: mantiene Jeff Hirshfield alla batteria, sostituisce il pianoforte con l’organo hammond affidato alle sapienti mani di Gary Versace, introduce la chitarra di Vic Juris al posto del contrabbasso. Il risultato è ...
Continue ReadingLoren Stillman: It Could Be Anything
by John Kelman
Jazz fans seem to be constantly debating when the best period for jazz was. That some believe that now is unequivocally the worst time for a genre now in its second century is puzzling. The arguments most often heard have to do with there being no “significant innovations, and the predominance of high profile artists like Diana Krall and Jamie Cullum overshadowing more “serious jazz artists.
Whether or not top-charting artists are serious is an argument for another day. But ...
Continue ReadingLoren Stillman: It Could Be Anything
by Jeff Stockton
In a year when the hottest straight-ahead jazz CD featuring an alto saxophonist was recorded sixty years ago, it's important to remember that we must live in our own times as well. And in jazz music, where players carry on into their '80s, Loren Stillman at 23 is like a ten year-old playing major league baseball. But what an arm! (So to speak.) Composing and playing in the tradition of Lee Konitz and Greg Osby, Stillman includes eight originals on ...
Continue ReadingLoren Stillman: How Sweet It Is
by Budd Kopman
Occasionally a totally new CD finds its way to the player, and from the music's very first notes, just totally entrances both mind and body. These magical times are rare, but this is really what jazz is about. Furthermore, a CD that manages to make this kind of impression almost always remains able to over time, even years later. How Sweet It Is is one such effort. It is one of those rare releases that draws one in willingly without ...
Continue ReadingScott DuBois Quintet feat. David Liebman: Monsoon
by Jeff Stockton
Scott DuBois plays a fair amount of electric guitar on Monsoon , his debut as a leader, but it's when he plays acoustic that he makes his most coherent and provocative statements. Strumming, plucking and pulling strings as if he were rearranging them on the neck of his instrument, DuBois injects the classical sound of Segovia's Spain into jazz music. With a band featuring two horn players, each doubling on soprano, DuBois' tunes favor the upper end of the scale ...
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