Jazz Articles about Pete McCann

About Pete McCann

Album Review

Quella che Pete McGuinness guida a New York è tra le poche orchestre capaci di coniugare smagliante professionalità tecnica, ricercatezza e fantasia. È una big band incantevole eppure è meno nota di quanto meriti e quest'album è solo il quarto registrato in due decenni di vita. McGuinness ha operato come trombonista dalla fine degli anni ottanta e come bandleader dal 2006, dopo aver messo a frutto gli studi svolti con Bob Brookmeyer e Bill Holman. Da qualche anno ha dovuto interrompere l'uso del ...

Album Review

Pete Mills: This Is Now

Read "This Is Now" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 15, 2026

As usual, swing is king on This Is Now, Canadian-born tenor saxophonist and composer Pete Mills' sixth recording as leader, one wherein the high-powered opening number (and title song) sets the pace for what is to come on this bright and upbeat session while showing that Mills and his quintet mean serious business. As is true of most contemporary tenors, you would be hard-pressed to pick Mills out of a lineup; on the other hand, his technique is ...

Album Review

Pete Mills: This Is Now

Read "This Is Now" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 28, 2026

Let us imagine asking a sociologist whether something like musical FOMO, fear of missing out, exists. Pete Mills makes a convincing case that it does with This Is Now. Even though we have the recorded evidence, there is a lingering sense that something special happened in the room, something listeners can hear but not fully share. The result is a kind of envy: Mills and his band are clearly having a great time, and their camaraderie radiates across all twelve ...

Album Review

Anthony Branker: Manifestations of a Diasporic Groove & Spirit

Read "Manifestations of a Diasporic Groove & Spirit" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
March 10, 2026

At the time of this writing (early 2026), the United States is beset by an odious president, a racist sociopath who seems hellbent on erasing all references to achievement or success of anyone of African descent--leaving aside that we are all of African descent; but some made the relocation to North America involuntarily. Stubborn resistance and unvarnished artistic statement--shoulders pulled back, chins jutting forward--are tools to fight the evil fool(s), and Anthony Branker does his part. Uppity (2013), ...

Album Review

Pete McGuinness: Mixed Bag

Read "Mixed Bag" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
June 12, 2025

With Mixed Bag, Pete McGuinness once again affirms his place among the elite of modern big band composers and arrangers, presenting a luminous tapestry of jazz idioms that ranges from the exuberantly traditional to the adventurously modern. As the title suggests, the album is a delightful potpourri. However, rather than feeling scattered or unfocused, McGuinness weaves his eclectic inclinations into a coherent and emotionally engaging statement. He brings to bear not only the encyclopedic command of a seasoned jazz craftsman ...

Album Review

The Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra: Mixed Bag

Read "Mixed Bag" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 4, 2025

Award-winning arranger Pete McGuinness has chosen to name the fourth recording by his stellar New York-based Jazz Orchestra Mixed Bag, a term whose meaning may be construed as positive or less so, depending on the context. As he explains in the album's liner notes, McGuinness accentuates the positive, writing that to him, “Variety has always been the spice of life. I don't like the feeling of being pigeon-holed into a certain bag...For this project...I've included many 'bags' that I love ...

Album Review

Joe Fiedler Trio 2.0: Dragon Suite

Read "Dragon Suite" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
April 16, 2025

Joe Fiedler steers this trio with the gusto of a trombone maestro who has gigged everywhere from Sesame Street's cheery lanes to prolific stints in the modern and free jazz realms. Guitarist Pete McCann and drummer join him Michael Sarin for a duo with pedigrees juicier than a medieval feast. McCann's strings have sung for heavyweights like Lee Konitz and Maria Schneider, his fingers weaving through jazz's tapestry with a knack for both finesse and fire. Sarin is a rhythm ...