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Jazz Articles about Miles Okazaki
Miguel Zenon: Golden City
by Dan McClenaghan
The alto saxophone rose to jazz prominence in the 1940s, under the influence of Charlie Parker and the birth of bebop. Important players such as Art Pepper, Lee Konitz and Ornette Coleman took the horn in their own directions, crafting distinctive alto saxophone voices. Moving ahead to the new millennium, no alto saxophonist has entered the tradition with more style and panache than Miguel Zenon. His Alma Aldentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook (Marsalis Music, 2011), Tipico (Miel Music, 2017) and ...
Continue ReadingVarious Guitarists: The Middle of Everywhere: Guitar Solos Vol. I
by Glenn Astarita
Produced by laudable guitarist/composer Joel Harrison and the Alternative Guitar Summit, The Middle of Everywhere: Guitar Solos Vol. 1 is a compelling exploration of the intersections between jazz, classical and world music traditions--think of it as a musical United Nations, where six-stringed diplomats from various genres come together to harmonize. In the album liners, Harrison states, “The idea for this project started when I presented a concert of virtual solo performances from around the world during the pandemic." Hence, it ...
Continue ReadingMiles Okazaki, Reinier Baas, Orlando le Fleming, Gregory Uhlmann & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
A playlist made of imaginary soundtracks, electro-acoustic experiments, guitar-driven alchemies and virtuosic intricacy.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Remy Le Boeuf “Stop & Go" Heartland Radio (SoundSpore) 0:16 Host talks 6:19 Slowly Rolling Camera “Silver Shadow" Silver Shadow (Edition) 7:29 Host talks 11:48 Orlando le Fleming “Sense of the Sacred" Romantic Funk: Wandering Talk (Whirlwind) 13:24 Reinier Baas “Wahid Jive" Relief Party (Dox) 20:07 Host talks 22:55 Miles ...
Continue ReadingMiles Okazaki: A Fresh Take on the Creative Process
by David Bixler
After several decades of creating music in a manner that was beginning to feel routine, guitarist Miles Okazaki was searching for a fresh way to make music. He examined the processes of artists Ed Ruscha, Sol Lewitt, and Ken Price as templates for creating. In possession of these new ideas gleaned from these artists, he went into the studio with a group of musicians who were given prompts which were recorded and formed into what Miles refers to as musical ...
Continue ReadingMiles Okazaki: Miniature America
by Alberto Bazzurro
Ventidue miniature svarianti da uno a sei minuti, con impegnati sottoinsiemi (o microgruppi, se preferite) estrapolati dal totale dei dieci elementi, sette strumentisti e tre cantanti, coinvolti nell'operazione, è quanto ci offre questo nuovo lavoro discografico (il dodicesimo, ci viene detto) a nome del cinquantenne chitarrista Miles Okazaki, con la partecipazione di svariati musicisti di punta dell'attuale scena newyorchese (e non). Ogni episodio possiede--fisiologicamente, verrebbe da dire--un aplomb cameristico di sicuro fascino, anche se è inevitabile che il ...
Continue ReadingAmerica in Miniatures And More
by Bob Osborne
The featured album on this edition is from guitarist Miles Okazaki who gathers an extraordinary cast of ten musicians to create Miniature America, a collection of 22 vignettes exploring the wonder of chance encounters and “found" compositions. I am featuring four of these pieces. The rest of the show includes brand new releases of both studio and live albums. Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Miles Okazaki “Promise Me" from Miniature America (Cygnus Recordings) 00:22 Nick Rosario “Riverside Express" from ...
Continue ReadingTrickster: Live in Brooklyn
by Troy Dostert
If one is looking for an artist whose ambition and indefatigable spirit seemed destined to withstand the rigors of the Covid pandemic and its deleterious impact on the jazz community, guitarist Miles Okazaki could be near the top of the list. A prolific and well-recorded musician before 2020, he maintained a rigorously creative schedule after it as well, with four albums released between 2020 and 2022, not the least of which was Trickster's Dream (Pi Recordings, 2020), Okazaki's resilient reclamation ...
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