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Miles Okazaki: Thisness
by Troy Dostert
A guitarist as freakishly talented as Miles Okazaki demands a listener's full attention. This is the case whether one is parsing his fiendishly complex compositions, or beholding his astonishing technique, or simply taking in all the shifting meters and grooves that permeate his music. From the remarkably ambitious Work (Volumes 1-6), his self-released solo document in 2018 of the complete works of Thelonious Monk, to his recent albums with his Trickster quartet, like Trickster (Pi Recordings, 2017) or The Sky ...
Continue ReadingOhad Talmor Trio: Mise En Place
by Mark Corroto
The cry was heard, “nobody said there was going to be math involved!" Sorry kids, the music heard on saxophonist Ohad Talmor's Mise En Place is in fact related to the abstract science of number, quantity, and space, and this is an upper level course on the intricate. Seven of the nine compositions were penned by the French-born, raised-in-Switzerland, Israeli saxophonist now living in Brooklyn. A student of Lee Konitz and both Hindustani and Brazilian musics, he ...
Continue ReadingJane Monheit: Come What May
by Richard J Salvucci
Some reviews should be easy, particularly when the artist is established, celebrated, and universally esteemed. Almost anyone interested in contemporary jazz and pop singing knows Jane Monheit. Quoting SFJAZZ directly, “In 1998, Monheit was a finalist at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Vocals Competition, taking second to the late Teri Thornton. She recorded twelve albums, was a GRAMMY nominee for her 2004 Sony release Taking a Chance on Love, and has worked with Terence Blanchard, Ivan Lins, Michael ...
Continue ReadingOhad Talmor: Long Forms
by Glenn Astarita
New York City-based tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger Ohad Talmor and associates provide all the 'jazz' news fit to hear on this superb effort, comprised of thorny time signatures, shifting detours and offbeat mini-grooves, enamored with the leader's whizzing solos and more goodness. Acclaimed due to his arrangements for the late sax great Lee Konitz and affiliations with top-shelf musicians on a global basis, Talmor's multidirectional works often proceed with a semblance of micro-suites, embedded with simmering, odd-metered passages, and fluctuating ...
Continue ReadingOhad Talmor Newsreel: Long Forms
by Angelo Leonardi
Maturato accanto a Lee Konitz con cui ha inciso vari dischi in tre distinti progetti (il nonet del grande sax contralto, il Konitz-Talmor String Project e la big band a loro nome), Ohad Talmor è tra gli esponenti più creativi della sua generazione. La sua statura di compositore, supportata dalla formazione classica e dall'interesse per molte espressioni musicali, caratterizza il suo impegno nelle varie formazioni che guida: il trio, il sestetto, in nonetto e la big band. ...
Continue ReadingMiles Okazaki: The Sky Below
by Vincenzo Roggero
Tre quinti dei Five Elements di Steve Coleman più il pianista dei Snakeoil di Tim Berne sono roba da spellarsi le mani e The Sky Below, a tre anni di distanza da Trickster -acclamato debutto del quartetto con Craig Taborn al pianoforte, qui rimpiazzato per l'appunto da Matt Mitchell—non delude le attese. L'avvicendamento tra due fuoriclasse delle tastiere non mina gli equilibri della formazione guidata da Miles Okazaki ma l'utilizzo da parte di Mitchell di fender rhodes e sintetizzatore Prophet ...
Continue ReadingMiles Okazaki: The Sky Below
by Glenn Astarita
Electric guitarist Miles Okazaki—also using electronics—and his rhythm section comprise three-fifths of alto sax great Steve Coleman's current band, as keyboardist Matt Mitchell rounds out this quartet for the leader's second release for Pi Recrodings, but his fifth album overall. And while the album length is a little over 39-minutes, many artists are cutting back some to accommodate the resurgence of LPs. However, quality is the key as Okazaki's idiosyncratic playing and multitiered compositions yield the knockout punch, framed on ...
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