Home » Jazz Articles » Michael Sarian
Jazz Articles about Michael Sarian
Several Stunning Cover Versions Including Coltrane's "Alabama"
by Andy Crowther
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) ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's
by Richard J Salvucci
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, ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's
by Dan Bilawsky
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 ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian, Matias Formica, Pandelis Karayorgis & Bill Cole
by Maurice Hogue
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 ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: New Aurora
by Angelo Leonardi
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. ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: New Aurora
by Jerome Wilson
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 ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: New Aurora
by Friedrich Kunzmann
With New Aurora, Canadian trumpeter Michael Sarian takes a few steps down a different path to his past projects, leaving bigger ensembles and electric instrumentations behind to focus on ten arrangements carried out in an acoustic quartet setting. In this more dynamic light, the trumpeter is given space to unfold and spread his melodic voice and personal language. Sarian takes advantage of this in a minimal way. A heightened sense of sophistication can be heard as a result, leaving the ...
Continue Reading
