Jazz Articles about Michael Dease

About Michael Dease

Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest

Read "Survival of the Fittest" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 8, 2025

Although the title of saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album, Survival of the Fittest, may elicit images of a crash course in self-defense, that is not at all what he had in mind. The music is thematic, he says, and represents the twin lodestars of adversity and resilience. Even that, however, becomes largely irrelevant once VanHemert and his supporting cast launch what is at its heart a narrative of contemporary post-bop jazz. It is a cast that varies in ...

Album Review

Posi-Tone Swingtet: In Jazz We Trust

Read "In Jazz We Trust" reviewed by Joshua Weiner

by Joshua Weiner
March 14, 2025

The Posi-Tone Records label, founded and run by producer Marc Free and engineer Nick O'Toole, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. Given the many upheavals in the music business since 1995--the rise of file sharing, the introduction of iTunes, iPod, and iPhone, the decline of the compact disc concomitant with the rise of streaming services, the shrinking influence of major labels with the rise of self-released music, and the recent rediscovery of vinyl--the label is justly proud not only to ...

Album Review

Posi-Tone Swingtet: In Jazz We Trust

Read "In Jazz We Trust" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
March 4, 2025

In the mid-'90s, when Posi-Tone released its first album, the recording industry landscape was completely different than it is today. Small independent labels were not the norm, every artist did not have their own imprint and Napster had yet to arrive to kick off the access revolution. It was, quite simply, a different world--one where label co-founder Marc Free was poised and able to transform a dream into reality by shining a light on established players deserving a closer look ...

Album Review

Nanami Haruta: The Vibe

Read "The Vibe" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
February 14, 2025

The news of a trombonist fronting a small jazz ensemble brings the name J.J. Johnson (1924-2001) to mind. He pioneered that form of jazz expression. Before he stepped onto the scene the big brass horn stayed mainly in the background, eclipsed by trumpets and saxophones. Many have followed in Johnson's footsteps: Curtis Fuller, Steve Turre, Michael Dease. The door opened, and a slew of talent stepped across the threshold. This brings us to Nanami Haruta, who ...

Liner Notes

Nanami Haruta: The Vibe

by Willard Jenkins
February 8, 2025

Unlike other members of the family of western instruments, the ranks of the trombone are a bit exclusive--perhaps even more exclusive in the art of the improvisers, the jazz landscape. Which is yet more reason to celebrate the arrival of a new trombone voice in jazz music. Her name is Nanami Haruta and she arrives at this debut recording moment from Sapporo in the Hokkaido prefecture, the northernmost of Japan's main islands. Hokkaido is known for its volcanoes--perhaps explaining Nanami's ...

Album Review

Michael Dease: Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 11, 2024

Even though all but unsung outside his customary locale, Michigan-based composer Gregg Hill has drawn into his orbit a small but well-respected circle of jazz artists including bassist Rodney Whitaker, guitarist Randy Napoleon and trombonist Michael Dease, all of whom have recorded albums dedicated to Hill's diverse and sophisticated music. Found in Space is Dease's second homage to Hill, with a third one in the planning stages. Hill's compositions, which traverse the spectrum from straight-on jazz to ...

Radio & Podcasts

Michael Dease, Jason Stein and Peter Brotzmann

by Jerome Wilson
October 30, 2024

This program features newer music from Michael Dease, Jason Stein, and Catherine Russell as well as older work from Peter Brotzmann, Jon Irabagon, and David Kikoski. I apologize for the hiccup in the second hour of the show when a CD stopped playing. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 David Kikoski “Blues For Us" from Combinations (Criss Cross) 00:52 ...