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Markus Rutz: Many Moons
by Jack Bowers
Chicago-based trumpeter Markus Rutz traverses a largely straightforward path on Many Moons, the ninth recording as leader of his own ensembles--on this occasion, his Third Coast Sounds, a sturdy sextet with slightly shifting personnel. Tenor saxophonist Brice Winston shares the front line on five of the album's eleven engaging tracks, alto Sharel Cassity on four, with saxophonist and album producer Greg Ward sitting in on the colorful finale, “Time to Spare," which he also composed. Rutz wrote half ...
Continue ReadingMarkus Rutz: Many Moons
by Ken Hohman
Orson Welles once quipped, “I'm not such a fool as to not take the moon seriously." Journeyman Chicago trumpeter Markus Rutz takes this sentiment to heart with his fine recording, Many Moons, which finds him under the spell of our silvery satellite, leveraging it as a muse for the passage of time and a melancholy reflection of life's varied chapters. Vacillating from judiciously selected covers (Van Morrison's “Moondance"), catchy originals ("Penumbra") and jazz standards ("Blue Moon" and “Blue ...
Continue ReadingAnthony Bruno: Blue Velvet
by Dan McClenaghan
Chicago-based saxophonist Anthony Bruno wraps up a terrific triptych of album releases with 2025's Blue Velvet. The journey began with the release of his album Anthony Bruno (2023), followed by Cefalu (2024). All of these are on his Anthony Bruno Music label. Bruno counts Sonny Rollins as a major influence. He says as much in the All About Jazz spotlight interview (read it here). That influence shows from the get-go on Blue Velvet, with its high octane energy, the soul, ...
Continue ReadingPaul Dietrich's Elemental Quartet: A Small Patch of Earth
by Richard J Salvucci
Anyone who spends much time watching contemporary instrumentalists on the internet is bound to come away impressed. Modern players, it sometimes seems, can do just about anything. And that is particularly true of some instruments in the brass family, where the advances in technique and range over just a half-century are particularly impressive. There are many trumpet athletes, able to leap impossible intervals in a single bound and circular breathe their way smoothly through half a concerto and generally play ...
Continue ReadingChristian Dillingham: Halcyon
by Hrayr Attarian
On the intriguing Halcyon, his second release as a leader, Chicago bassist Christian Dillingham explores folkish motifs in a haunting ambience. The music here is a mix of his own compositions and covers of diverse backgrounds that showcase, once again, his versatility. The band has quite a unique sound, thanks to its collective virtuosity, with guitarist Matt Gold's incandescent pedal steel giving it a rootsy flavor. For instance, singer-songwriter Gillian Welch's “Lowlands" has a buoyant and a tad ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Vogt: Awakening
by Glenn Astarita
Chicago-based Andrew Vogt's Awakening is a profound exploration of the bass guitar's potential as a melodic and rhythmic force. The album highlights Vogt's exceptional musicianship and compositional skill as he delves into a rich sonic palette. It is a jazz album that feels like a musical journey through a dreamscape, where each track is a different chapter in an unfolding story. The album opens with the melodic title track, “Awakening," which sets a serene yet powerful tone with ...
Continue ReadingZachary Finnegan: Guidance and Gratitude
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Guidance and Gratitude from trumpeter and composer Zachary Finnegan delivers nine highly-textured and involving selections. Each selection presents itself with a story background in its title and each is a multi-layered composition, a micro-symphony. It is intelligent music. “Urban Motion" is an energetic, perhaps frantic, landscape with an ostinato six-note bed and a reflective interlude before Finnegan takes off over Camila Minnitte Pereyra's furious drumming that is negotiating with him. There is also an all hell breaks ...
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