Jazz Articles about Peter Washington

About Peter Washington

Album Review

It is always a treat to hear a singer who trusts the song. On Hey Love!, recorded at Van Gelder Studios in October 2025, Lucy Yeghiazaryan takes the direct route, usually the most forgiving. There are no conceptual detours here, no attempts to modernize the Great American Songbook by dismantling it. Instead, Yeghiazaryan takes control of the tradition, accompanied by musicians who understand its swing. And it is a great group of players. Tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart, who also co-arranged ...

Album Review

Lucy Yeghiazaryan: Hey Love!

Read "Hey Love!" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright

by Katchie Cartwright
June 19, 2026

The excellent New York-based singer Lucy Yeghiazaryan and her stellar band may have you thinking back to Carmen McRae in the 1950s as you listen to Hey Love!--groups with Wendell Marshall, Kenny Clarke, and other hard bop-era musicians. On her 2026 release, Yeghiazaryan has the ubiquitous Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums, with Tardo Hammer at the piano, Grant Stewart on tenor saxophone, and Bruce Harris on trumpet. Johnny O'Neal sings with her at the piano on ...

Album Review

Bennie Wallace: French Postcard

Read "French Postcard" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
May 2, 2026

In 2001, saxophonist Bennie Wallace released a breakout album, Moodsville (Groove Note). It was Wallace in the quartet setting, with Mulgrew Miller on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums--an all-star cast. What was striking about the sound was its immediacy, its authenticity. It was a bunch of time-tested Great American Songbook tunes and jazz standards laid down with an insouciant grace and relaxed confidence. No bells and whistles, but rather an unpretentious trip into the tradition ...

Album Review

Eric Scott Reed: Out Late

by Neil Duggan
July 25, 2025

Prioritizing energy and passion over musical precision, pianist Eric Scott Reed recorded every track on his album Out Late as a first take, with all musicians performing together in one room. Nothing was added later--this old-style approach gives the recording its vintage feel. As Reed explains, “We rehearsed a song for a few minutes, and once everybody got the melody under their fingers, we went ahead and made a track while it was fresh. The energy is there; the rawness ...

Album Review

Noah Haidu: Standards III

Read "Standards III" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
July 14, 2025

Standards III, the ninth album by New York-based pianist Noah Haidu, is essentially a trio date with a guest appearance on one number ("Slipstream") by alto saxophonist Steve Wilson. As was true on Standards (Sunnyside, 2021) and Standards II (Sunnyside, 2024), the inclusion of several unfamiliar themes (including some by Haidu) stretches the meaning of “standard" well beyond what most listeners would consider acceptable. To be fair, there are a liberal number of standards on all three ...

Album Review

Noah Haidu: Standards III

Read "Standards III" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
June 26, 2025

Noah Haidu's Standards III is a study in jazz fluency--an exploration of melody, form, and interplay that reanimates familiar repertoire with both reverence and daring. Following the strong creative thread laid in the first two installments of the standards theme (Standards, 2023 and Standards II, 2024; both on Sunnyside), Haidu again enlists legendary bassist Buster Williams and veteran drummer Billy Hart, whose intuitive communication with the pianist borders on telepathic. Joining this outing is a younger trio, featuring bassist Gervis ...

Album Review

Sullivan Fortner: Southern Nights

Read "Southern Nights" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
May 17, 2025

On Southern Nights, pianist Sullivan Fortner sets out to capture lightning in a bottle and succeeds with radiant charm. Joined by the impeccable Peter Washington on bass and the restless Marcus Gilmore on drums, Fortner opts for total spontaneity: no rehearsals, no retakes, no isolation. The result is a recording that feels alive and as richly human as a live club set, yet marked by an almost telepathic cohesion. The album opens with the title track ...