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Tim Ray Trio: Fire & Rain
by Edward Blanco
Veteran educator and jazz pianist Tim Ray pays homage to some of his musical heroes with a piano trio album simply entitled Fire & Rain. It features various well-known standards from those who have been a major influence in his career, along with three original tunes added to the mix. Joining the pianist on this new adventure are familiar band mates, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Mark Walker, originally together for a Greg Abate concert and then for the Abate ...
Continue ReadingThe New World Jazz Composers Octet: The Next Stage
by Nicholas F. Mondello
The jazz octet has long been somewhat of a “Swiss Army Knife" for composer-arrangers. Consider, for example, the great Dave Pell, Ornette Coleman, David Murray, and the J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding Octets. In the hands of great arrangers, the eight-piece format allows arrangers to leverage the flexibility and creativity of a “Messengers" frontline with the total sonic impact of a classic big band. The Next Stage from The New World Jazz Composers Octet is a superb ...
Continue ReadingNelson Riveros: The Latin Side of Wes Montgomery
by Dan Bilawsky
After delving into the repertoire of legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery at a gig in the not-so-distant past, six-stringer Nelson Riveros was struck with the idea for this tribute project. Playing true to Montgomery's work and legacy, while pulling from his own Colombian roots and imbuing the music with varied elements drawn from the broader Latin lexicon, Riveros brands this album with a syncretic signature and a hefty helping of pure joy. Opening with “Road Song," Riveros retains ...
Continue ReadingDouglas Olsen: 2 Cents
by Jack Bowers
What seems at first blush to be a nonet on this splendid new album is actually trumpeter Douglas Olsen's core quartet, amplified on various selections by talented guests who raise the number anywhere from a quintet to an octet. Even though Olsen has been a super-busy free-lancer on the New England jazz scene for more than two decades, 2 Cents is apparently his first recording date as leader of his own group; with that in mind, perhaps Olsen reasoned it ...
Continue ReadingMark Walker: You Get What You Give
by Ljubinko Zivkovic
Often, there is a tendency among jazz fans to simply pass by albums with drummers as the leaders of a CD release, as if they--the drummer/leaders--know less about jazz or music in general. As if examples of Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Max Roach or those excellent vocal albums by Grady Tate are not good enough examples. That this simply is not the case. The first 'solo' album by Grammy award-winning drummer Mark Walker, You Get What You Give, ...
Continue ReadingTim Ray Trio: Windows
by Angelo Leonardi
Il pianista Tim Ray è noto soprattutto per le collaborazioni con protagonisti della musica pop (Lyle Lovett, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt) piuttosto che con jazzmen (Gary Burton, Esperanza Spalding, Phil Woods, Dave Douglas, Brian Blade, Lewis Nash) o con organici classici come la Boston Classical Orchestra. Professore associato al Berklee College of Music ha prodotto solo tre album in due decenni, dalle concezioni sempre diverse, ed ora pubblica una bella incisione con suo stabile trio comprendente John ...
Continue ReadingTim Ray Trio: Windows
by Dan McClenaghan
The Tim Ray Trio supplied the spirited accompaniment on Kindred Spirits (Whaling City Sound, 2016), behind saxophonists Greg Abate and the legendary Phil Woods. But they got the chance to step out--sax men taking a break--with a peppery take on Kurt Weill's classic “Speak Low," which serves as a preview of sorts for the Tim Ray Trio's Windows. Ray, and his cohorts, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Mark Walker, bounce into a joyful opening track, Duke Ellington's “I'm ...
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