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Lisa Hilton: Extended Daydream
by Neil Duggan
Lisa Hilton's success story continues with her 31st release, Extended Daydream. Her considerable body of work makes frequent chart appearances and measures streams in millions. She appears in various group formats, but on this occasion, the focus is on her quintet. That quintet is based around her longtime trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Rudy Royston, augmented with the return of tenor saxophonist JD Allen, who has appeared on eight of Hilton's previous albums, along with another ...
Continue ReadingDarryl Yokley: Un Mundo en Soledad
by Paul Rauch
Composer/saxophonist Darryl Yokley's Sound Reformation recordings have always revealed a keen compositional sense for sound, mood-setting melodies that tell a story. One could easily describe his writing and playing style as lyrical, creating a narrative of sound without actual vocal or spoken word participation. Imagine then, a suite of tunes written lyrically in terms of melody, adding spoken word art inspired from one of the classic novels in literary history. Imagine even further, those words leaping from the pages of ...
Continue ReadingLisa Hilton: Lucky All Along
by Mike Jurkovic
Throughout the course of her quietly triumphant, just south-of-the-spotlight, virtuoso career, pianist/composer Lisa Hilton has never actively pursued, Captain Ahab-like, the biggest fish in the sea. She has played alongside many of the biggies--Christian McBride, Antonio Sanchez, Nasheet Waits, Sean Jones, JD Allen--but finds the greatest comfort, harmony, and camaraderie among her long-standing rhythm mates: bassist Luques Curtis, drummer Rudy Royston and, for their third quartet recording, trumpeter Igmar Thomas. Hilton does a lot of pretty things with a simple Latin sway ...
Continue ReadingLisa Hilton: Lucky All Along
by Neil Duggan
Another Lisa Hilton album, and for many the world seems a better place. Lucky All Along is the pianist's 30th release, proving that it can take a long time to be considered a jazz success story. Her blend of jazz, Latin, pop and blues means she counts the number of plays on streaming services in the millions and her albums bother the top of those charts which count radio plays and numbers of downloads. She is not considered particularly hip ...
Continue ReadingJosh Lawrence: Measured Response
by David A. Orthmann
Art Hirahara's brief, cryptic solo piano intro to “Where Do We Go?," the opening track of trumpeter/flugelhornist Josh Lawrence's album, offers little indication of what immediately follows: Lawrence's warm-toned, delectable horn surrounded by relaxed, straightforward, middling-tempo swing courtesy of bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Rudy Royston. This intriguing transition sets the stage for a recording that establishes a loose continuity amid changes in mood and temperament. Measured Response encompasses an impressive stylistic reach. “A Tragic Tango Comedy" ...
Continue ReadingZaccai Curtis: Cubop Lives!
by Pierre Giroux
Pianist Zaccai Curtis's recent album Cubop Lives! is a vibrant acknowledgement of the rich legacy of bebop and Afro-Cuban jazz offering a compelling blend that respects tradition while infusing it with a contemporary flair. Backed by a scintillating ensemble of top-flight exponents of the style, including bassist Luques Curtis, drummer Willie Martinez III, conguero Camilo Molina and on bongos Reinaldo De Jesus, the group dives into an extended track list of seventeen compositions comprising Curtis originals, bebop classics, American Songbook ...
Continue ReadingBrian Lynch: Con Clave Vol.2
by C. Andrew Hovan
The jazz musician's road to success and sustainability is a rocky one, marked with more than its share of ups and downs. Becoming the norm as of late, those with the strongest staying power have increased their flexibility by becoming more diverse in their efforts. The affect is thus twofold-providing an income to pay the rent, as well as honing a well-rounded perspective of the music. Of course, trumpeter and educator Brian Lynch began the journey down this path many ...
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