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Jazz Articles about Matt Clohesy
Eunmi Lee: Introspection
by Dan McClenaghan
Korean-born, New York-based pianist and composer Eunmi Lee opens her debut record, Introspection with her original composition, “Gimmick." And, if there is a gimmick, it sounds as if it might be her strong compositional voice and her way with an arrangement. The tune features Alan Ferber on trombone, saxophonist John Ellis, a guitar, bass and drums rhythm section, and Lee in the piano chair. In spite of the album's title, this opener is a bright, sassy roller. Maybe the gimmick ...
Continue ReadingAdam Larson: Listen With Your Eyes
by Dan Bilawsky
Listen with your eyes. Open your ears and look. What tenor saxophonist Adam Larson has to offer here is something truly extraordinary. With horn in hand he takes us on a journey, an unforgettable trip through his wiring that's as daring as it is direct, as complex as it is approachable, and as dynamic as can be. To see and hear is to believe.Serving as Larson's debut for Ropeadope and his fifth record to date, Listen With Your ...
Continue ReadingSeamus Blake: Bellwether
by C. Andrew Hovan
The music speaks for itself. This timeworn axiom has often served as a suggestion that there's an intangible aspect to music's universal language that is somehow beyond mere words. In some cases this may be true, but on the other hand, this outlook has occasionally in the past served as a viable excuse for justifying music of a somewhat dubious nature.In recently talking with saxophonist Seamus Blake by phone from Vancouver, it occurred to me that his “less ...
Continue ReadingThe Relay: The Relay
by Dan Bilawsky
Artistic cooperation and cohesion are evident from the first notes of The Relay's eponymous debut. With saxophonist Dan Pratt's “Four for," the composer and pianist Michael Eckroth— this quartet's co-leaders—sync up with a bright and fragmented melody line which seeds overlapping solos that sprout when bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Allan Mednard enter the picture. Referencing a collective chemistry in both sound and name, that engaging opener sets the stage for a program that's pure magic. The ...
Continue ReadingBrian Woodruff Sextet: A Centering Peace
by Jerome Wilson
The title of this release by drummer Brian Woodruff suggests a set of meditative, spiritually-focused jazz by his long-standing sextet. While that may be the underlying theme of the disc but only a couple of tracks have that actual sound. The others go off in several different directions. The album is dedicated to Woodruff's spiritual advisor, Monsignor Edward Straub, and the title track was written to celebrate his 75th birthday and his 50th Anniversary in the priesthood. It ...
Continue ReadingThe Adam Larson Band: Listen With Your Eyes
by Phillip Woolever
Adam Larson may hail initially from Normal (Illinois), but there is absolutely nothing typical or average, in terms of style or ability, about the now-Kansas-City-based saxophonist. He has gathered a trio with comparable strengths and, behind his towering tenor, they create a showcase of prime progressive jazz. The ride begins with “Sleepers," a shape-shifting opener with nothing drowsy about it which flows through multiple motifs. Larson soars across impressively unique arrangements into segmented duets between pianist Fabian Almazan ...
Continue ReadingGabriel Vicens: Point in Time
by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
On Point In Time, his debut date as a leader, Puerto Rican guitarist Gabriel Vicéns heads a solid quintet of young players, considerably bolstered by a couple of A-list substitutions from the highest echelons of Puerto Rican jazz: tenor saxophonist David Sánchez on a pair of tracks, and bassist Eddie Gomez on about half the record.Vicéns' guitar is ringing and clear, relying on relatively low-tech reverb. His personality as an improviser is already sure and well-defined; he is ...
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