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Jazz Articles about Rodney Whitaker

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Liner Notes

Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest

Read "Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest" reviewed by Gary Fukushima


For most of his life, Jordan VanHemert has been on a quest of growth and mastery as a saxophonist, composer and musician. But equally important have been his efforts to contextualize some of the difficulties of his life experiences within the deeper themes of his DNA, discovering in the process resilience, optimism and joy. Jordan's music is meant to convey empathy and solidarity to others who have also faced challenges in their lives. This album, Jordan's fifth as a leader, ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest

Read "Survival of the Fittest" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Although the title of saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album, Survival of the Fittest, may elicit images of a crash course in self-defense, that is not at all what he had in mind. The music is thematic, he says, and represents the twin lodestars of adversity and resilience. Even that, however, becomes largely irrelevant once VanHemert and his supporting cast launch what is at its heart a narrative of contemporary post-bop jazz. It is a cast that varies in ...

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Album Review

Ben Markley: Tell the Truth

Read "Tell the Truth" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Ben Markley, who has already earned wide praise as a pianist, educator and leader of the Ben Markley Big Band, brandishes his sturdy composing and arranging chops on Tell the Truth, wherein he leads an able-bodied Colorado-based quintet through its paces on eight of his typically melodious and sunlit original compositions. According to Markley, the pieces were written to parallel the classic 1960s Blue Note quintet recordings, with guitarist Steve Kovalcheck replacing the customary trumpet lead and ...

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Album Review

Anthony Stanco: Stanco's Time

Read "Stanco's Time" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Anthony Stanco. Keep the name in mind, as you are likely to hear it mentioned soon enough as the most recent link in a chain of renowned bop trumpeters that started with Dizzy Gillespie and has numbered among its illustrious members Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, Carmell Jones and a host of other luminaries. Now, after a lengthy period during which no one stepped forward to assume the mantle of bop trumpeter extraordinaire, and as ...

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Album Review

Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Paul Rauch


In their fourth collaboration on Origin Records, bassist and bandleader Rodney Whitaker and Central Michigan composer Gregg Hill strike gold once again, backed by a formidable gathering of musicians. Hill's music has experienced a surge in interest due to his prolific releases on Origin, which have featured musicians in and around the impressive jazz faculty roster at Michigan State University, a program with Whitaker at the helm. Hill's compositions have a notable sound uniquely tied to both urban ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Rodney Whitaker, Julia Hulsmann, Jeremy Pelt and Amina Claudine Myers

Read "Rodney Whitaker, Julia Hulsmann, Jeremy Pelt and Amina Claudine Myers" reviewed by Hobart Taylor


New music from bassist Rodney Whitaker and from his proteges Kasan Belgrave and Nanami Haruta... Also Julia Hulsmann, Jeremy Pelt and Peter Lenz.Playlist Kasan Belgrave “Down 4 the Count" from Dual Citizen (Tribe) 0:00 Nanami Haruta “ Sister Tosa" from The Vibe (Origin) 7:38 Rodney Whitaker “Mosaic" from Mosaic (Origin) 14:17 Yulia Musayelyan “ Carnavalito" from Strange Times (Wherego Music) 22:33 Host Speaks 29:16 Jeremy Pelt “Invention #2 Black Conscience" from Woven (HighNote) 30:22 Claire Cope & Ensemble ...

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Liner Notes

Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Michael Dease


At just fifty-six years young, Rodney Whitaker has cemented his legendary status as a sought-after bassist extraordinaire and, arguably the pre-eminent jazz educator of his generation. The Detroit, Michigan native, recently elected to the hallowed ranks of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, that includes such innovators as Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., continues to firmly establish himself as a superb interpreter of original music, notably through his fruitful association with composer Gregg Hill. Mosaic is ...


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