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Michael Kocour: Spiffy
by David A. Orthmann
Though a soulful swing-to-bop ethos reminiscent of the popular organ combos of the mid-to-late twentieth century is evident throughout, at its core Spiffy speaks to the malleability and open-endedness of the standard elements of jazz performance. Michael Kocour is the leader of the date, but the record's triumph is collective in nature. It's difficult to imagine substituting any member of the quartet--or, for that matter, isolating the solos from the tightly knit ensemble work. The band rejuvenates the classic Hammond ...
read moreTake Five with Michael Kocour
by Michael Kocour
Meet Michael Kocour: Michael Kocour is a jazz pianist, organist and composer. He also serves as Director of Jazz Studies in the School of Music at Arizona State University. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “one of the most sophisticated pianists in jazz," Kocour has performed at venues around the world and has been a guest on Marian McPartland's internationally syndicated NPR program Piano Jazz. Among the many artists and ensembles with whom he has appeared with are ...
read moreMichael Kocour: Spiffy
by Mark Sullivan
Keyboardist Michael Kocour revisits his Hammond B3 organ roots in this collection of hard-swinging tunes presented in the tradition of jazz organ legends such as Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, and Don Patterson. McDuff in particular is a stylistic mentor: Kocour met him during his college years while attending the renowned jazz program at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. The band really comes out swinging on the opener, Kocour's “Dropped Third Strike." Chicagoan Eric Schneider blows tenor with old-school bar-walking ...
read moreMichael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
by Jack Bowers
Wherever You Go, There You Are is akin to visiting pianist Michael Kocour's living room or den for an hour or so and lingering while he entertains you with his singular takes on a number of favorite songs, most of which you've probably heard before but seldom played as well as this. Kocour's lyrical style has a way of drawing one's ear into its orbit, causing time to hurry by as he strolls easily through a series of eight established ...
read moreMichael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
by C. Michael Bailey
Solo piano recitals have a refreshing quality about them. The instrument's and by proxy, the performer's, thoughts are undiluted and benefit from the lack of competition with other voices. Pianist, composer, and educator Michael Kocour offers a collection of standards and originals that provide a case-in-point. In an even ten selections, Kocour carves a collection of finely crafted pieces, each with an individual musical personality and expression. Starting with Dizzy Gillespie's tender “Con Alma," Kocour shapes an ...
read moreMichael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
by David A. Orthmann
Wherever You Go, There You Are, Michael Kocour's energetic, deeply focused, imaginatively performed solo recital, is a patchwork of eight, twentieth-century jazz and popular songs, as well as two of the pianist's original compositions. On the one hand, Kocour is clearly cognizant of the original intent and the performance history of material ranging from “Con Alma," to “How About You?," to “An Affair To Remember," to “Evidence." On the other, Kocour's arrangements and improvisations are brimming with fresh ideas and ...
read moreMichael Kocour: Speaking in Tongues
by Hrayr Attarian
Recording a tribute album is a brave and often thankless undertaking since listeners and reviewers are bound to compare the musician doing the recording to the one to whom homage is being paid. This becomes a more courageous act when the subject of the album is not one but two giants of modern music: pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious. Monk. Michael Kocour is up to the task on the tasteful and interesting CD, Speaking In Tongues. Kocour ...
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