Jazz Articles about Paul Motian

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Paul Motian: Time and Time Again

by John Kelman
March 30, 2007

One sax, one guitar, one set of drums. Who could imagine that such a spare combination could sound so rich, so complete? Drummer Paul Motian's collaboration with guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano is well into its third decade together but, instead of settling into comfortable predictability, Time and Time Again finds the trio continuing to evolve.

The trio's artistic success is all the more uncanny for its avoidance of conventional role playing. Unlike other bass-less trios, where everyone ...

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Paul Motian: Time And Time Again

by J Hunter
March 29, 2007

Of all the things that make me hold my head about Jazz at Lincoln Center, the most ridiculous item showed up in an article on the first year in their new digs, Frederick Rose Hall. In a section on J@LC's organizational mindset, an unnamed staffer reportedly dissed Paul Motian as a drummer because, “He doesn't swing. Talk about missing the point! Like his former employer, Thelonious Monk, Motian shuns conventional structure and the constraints they automatically place on his instrument ...

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Aa.Vv.: Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 26, 2007

Strettissimo collaboratore di Duke Ellington per quasi trent’anni, Billy Strayhorn è uno dei grandi autori della storia del jazz. Basta scorrere i titoli dei brani contenuti in questo album per rinfrescarsi la memoria. Oggi, a quarant’anni dalla sua scomparsa, l’etichetta Blue Note pubblica questo CD, nel quale alcune delle sue più famose composizioni vengono interpretate da un nucleo di artisti davvero impressionante. Al di là del singolo brano, o della declinazione che ad esso viene attribuita dai singoli musicisti, quello ...

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Gordon Grdina / Gary Peacock / Paul Motian: Think Like The Waves

by Nic Jones
September 11, 2006

We should always be grateful for music that's greater than the sum of its parts, and here's a case in point: a guitar trio that covers a whole lot of ground in celebrating the timeless virtues of subtle, intuitive interplay--and celebrates the eternal joy of conclusively making its point without raising its collective voice.

Of the three musicians here, Paul Motian, who might the most readily associated with a subtle, sly approach to the maintenance of a musical pulse, is ...

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Paul Motian Trio 2000 + 1: On Broadway, Vol. 4: Or The Paradox of Continuity

by Tom Greenland
August 31, 2006

Remember the Push-Me-Pull-You, the two-headed llama from Dr. Dolittle? Like Hugh Lofting's imaginary beast, the latest effort from Paul Motian (cum Trio 2000 + One) seems to be heading in several directions at once. Like the previous three recordings in the On Broadway series, it features “standards from the Great White Way in a relatively understated and interactive group setting, but the rendering of each tune differs radically, with crucial changes in the supporting cast.

Pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, featured on ...

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Paul Motian Trio: At The Village Vanguard

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 23, 2006

Una nuova veste grafica ed un’eccellente rimasterizzazione caratterizzano la ristampa di questa incisione del 1995, originariamente prodotta dalla label tedesca JMT. Formazione tra le più longeve ed apprezzate del jazz contemporaneo, il trio di Paul Motian propone anche qui un flusso sonoro libero ed aperto, capace di conferire insolite sfumature alla formula del trio ed avvicinare al jazz fasce di pubblico sempre più larghe. Principale icona del chitarrismo jazz dell’ultimo decennio, Frisell imprime il marchio più riconoscibile all’opera in esame, ...

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Paul Motian Trio 2000 + One: On Broadway, Vol. 4: Or The Paradox of Continuity

by Samuel Chell
July 10, 2006

On the year of his 75th birthday, Paul Motian has released Volume 4 in his ongoing On Broadway series. This time his group, Trio 2000 + One, features saxophonist Chris Potter and bassist Larry Grenadier, augmented by pianist Masabumi Kikuchi on five of the thirteen tracks and vocalist Rebecca Martin on the remaining eight. No matter that not all of the song selections are associated with Broadway: all are staples of the American Songbook, ranging from the torchy “Everything Happens ...