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Spike Wilner Trio: Plays Monk & Ellington
by Jack Bowers
Not to mince words, this is a splendid album by New York-based pianist Spike Wilner and his trio, recorded in January 2022 at GP's Juke Joint, which must double as a recording studio, as there is no audience. No matter the venue, it is difficult to wander too far astray when playing the music of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington, even though the album could have been called Plays Monk & Ellington & Strayhorn as the last two numbers, “U.M.M.G." ...
Continue ReadingPatty Lomuscio: Star Crossed Lovers
by Paul Beard
The Italian singer Patty Lomuscio had long dreamed of making an album in New York with pianist Kenny Barron. Now she has done so. Alongside Barron is drummer Joe Farnsworth, bassist Peter Washington and Vincent Herring on alto saxophone. The title track, comes across really well. Lomuscio's talents start to shine through and then with the next offering, “This Can't Be Love," it becomes obvious that a certain British Dame has influenced this Mediterranean songstress: her scatting is ...
Continue ReadingAdam Shulman: Just The Contrafacts
by Pierre Giroux
For those who may be scratching their heads about the word contrafact, in the jazz medium it designates a musical composition in which a new melody is overlaid on a familiar harmonic structure. This form really became prominent in the bebop era, where the artists (who were generally short of financial resources) could create new compositions over which they could improvise and record without worrying about paying royalties for copyrighted materials. During the depths of the ...
Continue ReadingJim Snidero: Live at the Deer Head Inn
by Jack Bowers
Any short list of the finest alto saxophonists playing today must include the name Jim Snidero who has been a force to reckon with on the New York City jazz scene for almost four decades. Snidero earns high marks on his latest album not only for his typically sharp and fluent improvisations but also for his resourcefulness in assembling a quartet to perform Live at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Gap, PA, during a devastating coronavirus pandemic. The recording ...
Continue ReadingPeter Bernstein: What Comes Next
by Paul Rauch
In a world defined by uncertainty, the global jazz community saw an impressive number of important new recordings released during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Most were recorded before the shutdown, and released thereafter. Guitarist Peter Bernstein hit Sear Studios in New York in June 2020, months after the onset of the pandemic, looking for inspiration. He had a hunch that things could work out. Just before the stay-at-home order hit, Bernstein had played with pianist Sullivan Fortner and drummer ...
Continue ReadingRalph Peterson & the Messenger Legacy: Onward & Upward
by Paul Rauch
Generally speaking, legacy bands are created to preserve the music of an artist. They feature innovative interpretations of an artist's compositions or past performances to share with future generations of listeners. In the case of drummer Ralph Peterson, his ambitious efforts to honor the continuum of his mentor Art Blakey are forward thinking, about a collective gathering of resources that stress creative thought and individuality. Just as the true legacy of the Jazz Messengers portends, contributors are charged with replenishing ...
Continue ReadingIn The Moment
by David A. Orthmann
The trail of splendid hard bop influenced recordings extends well beyond the genre's heyday of the 1950s and '60s. A case in point is trumpeter John Swana's appropriately titled In The Moment. The 1996 release on the Criss Cross Jazz imprint merits the exalted status of its celebrated predecessors. Captured in a one-day studio session, despite the familiar stylistic lineage it sounds fresh, spontaneous and unsullied. A sextet of intrepid, strong-willed individuals fully commit themselves to a program of compelling ...
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