Jazz Articles about Rich Halley

About Rich Halley

Album Review

Saxophonist Rich Halley's music has, from the very beginning, exuded a steroid-like vibe. The sounds he makes may be able to move the Earth. It may incite a landslide. His tenor sax is as brawny as Sonny Rollins' sound, or Dexter Gordon's. And when he brings powerhouse trombonist reformist Michael Vlatkovich into the fold--a group tagged as the Rich Halley 4--the level of seismic output rises a few notches. A Distant Land, the group's eighth recording, stays in ...

Album Review

Rich Halley 4: Dusk And Dawn

Read "Dusk And Dawn" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
November 21, 2024

Alla testa del suo collaudatissimo quartetto, il settantasettenne tenorsassofonista dell'Oregon Rich Halley confeziona il suo nuovo album, solido e affidabile come sempre (incisione in quel di Portland nel novembre 2023), per quanto, alla lunga (questo dovrebbe essere il sesto capitolo del gruppo dal 2011, tutti su Pine Eagle, anche se nel caso in oggetto dopo un'attesa di nove anni), certi meccanismi, oliatissimi e del tutto congrui, non possano per forza di cose sorprendere più, il che ci fa dare una ...

Album Review

Rich Halley 4: Dusk And Dawn

Read "Dusk And Dawn" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 30, 2024

Rich Halley 4's Dusk and Dawn, is a noteworthy testament to the power of jazz as a narrative medium. The album captures the essence of transitional moments, both in time and sound, weaving a tapestry of intricate melodies and intriguing improvisational sequences. Halley, a veteran of the jazz scene with twenty-six recordings as a leader and collaborations with luminaries like Vinny Golia and Oliver Lake, brings his extensive experience to bear on this project. From the opening track, ...

Album Review

Rich Halley: Fire Within

Read "Fire Within" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
February 10, 2024

The cover and title of Rich Halley's latest, Fire Within, have a menacing edge, alerting us to the incendiary qualities that are always a part of the tenor saxophonist's music. But one of the remarkable things about Halley's output is that it is never one-dimensional; there are abundant nuances and surprises to keep a listener engaged, with plenty of rhythmic fervor and lyricism even amidst the more anarchic moments. And as he is united once again on his third outing ...

Radio & Podcasts

Finding The Fire Within With Rich Halley And More

by Bob Osborne
January 18, 2024

On this show we feature recent and new releases from Rich Halley, Pat Thomas's Ism, Angel Bat Dawid, John Herberman, Pernille Bévort 3, Joe Santa Maria, Rajna Swaminathan, Rebecca Nash, Ancient Infinity Orchestra, Isaiah Collier, Christoph Gallio Dominic Lash & Mark Sanders, and Blue Moods featuring Art Hirahara, Diego Rivera, Boris Kozlov and Vinnie Sperrazza.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Rich Halley “Following The Stream" from Fire Within (Pine Eagle Records) 00:56 Ism “Niloo's Dream" from Maua (577 Records) 17:22 ...

Album Review

Rich Halley: Fire Within

Read "Fire Within" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
November 25, 2023

The name of free form saxophonist and raconteur Rich Halley may not roll off the tongue or be a secret G7 password, but he sure kicks up a lot of dust. Put him in the same room as piano slaying Matthew Shipp, bassist Michael Bisio, and drummer Newman Taylor Baker and rest assured all hell will break loose. And when all hell breaks loose it sounds hydrogen-charged and animated like Fire Within--a runaround Hail Mary with a post-rock punch and ...

Album Review

Rich Halley: Boomslang

Read "Boomslang" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
January 9, 2022

Jazz has, to some extent, always been about making connections and pointing out interrelations. Ever since Buddy Bolden blew his cornet in New Orleans around the start of the twentieth century, listeners have been playing connect the dots, linking Bolden's innovations to King Oliver and Oliver's to Louis Armstrong, likewise Buck Clayton to Dizzy Gillespie and Kirk Knuffke, and so on. Jazz has both an oral and aural tradition that contextualizes innovation within the traditions but maybe more importantly allows ...