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Joanne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic
by Jack Bowers
This new recording showcases not one but two of Joanne Brackeen’s conspicuous talents, and is uplifted not only by her exemplary keyboard work but her persuasive writing as well. Brackeen, now some 30 years removed from her early service with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, writes with clear images in mind, and the results can be observed in such charming sound portraits as “Pink Elephant Magic,” “Ghost Butter,” “Filene’s,” “Beethoven Meets the Millennium in Spain” and “Cram ’n Exam” (a note–heavy ...
Continue ReadingJoAnne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic
by Jim Santella
From the march tempo and hard bop power of “Pink Elephant Magic" to the drifting ballad waltz time of “Filene’s," JoAnne Brackeen’s latest album covers a lot of territory. The pianist’s seven compositions, coupled with three familiar pieces, provide variety and result in a well-rounded set. Bret Primack’s informative liner notes are available on the ‘net at http://www.arkadiarecords.com . Brackeen has a forceful keyboard style that drives her ensemble with percussive power. Her thirty-year career includes experience with Art Blakey, ...
Continue ReadingJoanne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic
by Bob Margolis
A Master pianist other than a Flanagan, or a Peterson, is faced with the daunting task of recording something that separates them but allows for their brilliance to shine through. The subject of this piece has consistently been able to do this, primarily using vehicles other than the trio or solo format. Putting together perhaps her finest band since the late 1980's quartet featuring Billy Hart, Cecil McBee and Gary Bartz, pianist and composer Joanne Brackeen has just put out ...
Continue ReadingNicholas Payton: Payton's Place
by John Sharpe
Payton's Place is trumpeter Nicholas Payton's third date on his own and it's a wide- ranging effort that's loaded with great tunes and a host of high class guest artists. This 24 year-old jazz star has produced some fine CDs in the past, but perhaps the presence of fellow trumpet dynamos Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove challenged him to raise his playing just a notch higher. This trumpet trio does “battle" on the joyously swingin' “Three Trumpeteers," trade licks on ...
Continue ReadingNicholas Payton: Payton's Place
by Jim Santella
Think of all the great jazz quintets over the years that have used trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. They're at the core of the answer to the “What is Jazz?" question, and Nicholas Payton's fourth release as leader honors that tradition. Along with tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Anthony Wonsey, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Adonis Rose, the young trumpeter weaves his modern mainstream compositions around echoes of jazz legends; nine of these twelve pieces are Payton's originals. ...
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