Jazz Articles about Michael Sarian

About Michael Sarian

Album Review

Michael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's - Vol. II

Read "Live at Cliff Bell's - Vol. II" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
December 19, 2025

There was no reason whatsoever for listeners who enjoyed trumpeter Michael Sarian's terrific 2024 release, Live at Cliff Bell's (Shifting Paradigm Records), to feel short--changed. Capturing all the energy and excitement of a first-rate performance at the renowned Detroit jazz club from the previous year, the album traversed a wide spectrum of emotional registers and displayed the instrumental excellence which confirmed Sarian's standing as one of the premier talents of his generation. But what was left unmentioned at the time ...

Radio & Podcasts

Several Stunning Cover Versions Including Coltrane's "Alabama"

by Andy Crowther
May 9, 2025

A show as part of the International Jazz Day Celebrations, featuring several covers including “Maiden Voyage" from the stunning new album by the young pianist Hakan Basar, an astonishing version of “The Creator Has A Master Plan" with Tomoki Sanders on sax, a stirring take on Coltrane's “Alabama" from the “Live on Death Row" project, and a cumbia version of the Fela Kuti classic “Water No Get Enemy." Playlist Hakan Başar “Maiden Voyage" from Maiden Voyage (Red Records) ...

Album Review

Michael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's

Read "Live at Cliff Bell's" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
September 28, 2024

This is music for the adventurous, especially those with the ears to deal with unusual harmonies. Michael Sarian is a now-Canadian trumpet player in the mold of Enrico Rava. His gift is his sound: dark, burnished, probing, even tentative at times. He is fond of half-valve expeditions into the upper register, which, if executed properly, can smear a tone between a squeal and a shriek. It is more than appropriate for the sort of music he plays, insinuating and beguiling, ...

Album Review

Michael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's

Read "Live at Cliff Bell's" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
September 24, 2024

On March 30, 2023, Michael Sarian rolled into Detroit landmark Cliff Bell's with horn in hand. In the midst of a spring tour, that particular venue and evening provided an opportunity for the trumpeter and his bandmates--pianist Santiago Leibson, bassist Marty Kenney and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell--to do what they do best. Working through new material and strong selections from previous studio albums, this outfit delivered the goods with coiled intensity, some sturm-und-drang sophistication, open ears, sensitivity and melodic mindset. And ...

Radio & Podcasts

Michael Sarian, Matias Formica, Pandelis Karayorgis & Bill Cole

by Maurice Hogue
November 14, 2022

All hail the pure improvisers! This episode of OMJ features several great ones all at the top of their game: trumpeter Michael Sarian, Argentinean saxophonist Matias Formica, Matt Mitchell & Tim Berne, Kaja Draksler & Susana Santos Silva, Zoh Amba with a powerhouse group of friends, Boston pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, Chicago's Rooms Trio, Southeast Asia's River People, plus the always intriguing sounds of Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble. Buckle up! Playlist The Thing with Joe McPhee “The Thing" from ...

Album Review

Michael Sarian: New Aurora

Read "New Aurora" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
June 15, 2021

Giunto al quarto album da leader, Michael Sarian esplora una direzione espressiva diversa da quanto evidenziato col settetto Michel Sarian & the Chabones e con la big band The Big Chabones. Ispirandosi allo stile di trombettisti come Kenny Wheeler, Tomasz Stanko ed Enrico Rava, il trombettista—di famiglia armena, canadese di nascita, argentino di formazione e newyorchese da una decina d'anni—accentua l'estetica impressionista già evidente in Leon con brani lenti ed evocativi, talvolta legati alla tradizione musicale armena. ...

Album Review

Michael Sarian: New Aurora

Read "New Aurora" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
November 22, 2020

Trumpeter Michael Sarian leads two large-sized groups, The Chabones and The Big Chabones, that utilize multiple horns and electronic sounds in high energy arrangements. This quartet recording is a different story. Sarian is the lone horn here, playing trumpet on the first track and flugelhorn on the rest, while the music itself is strictly acoustic. Much of it has a gentle, folkish presence, although the leader's wilder impulses also make their presence known. The music's quiet side emerges ...