Home » Jazz Articles » Rudy Royston
Jazz Articles about Rudy Royston
About Rudy Royston
Album Review
Brian Landrus: Just When You Think You Know
by Angelo Leonardi
Non si può eccellere ogni volta. Dopo il superlativo Plays Ellington & Strayhorn Brian Landrus presenta un album meno palpitante ma sempre d'alto livello. Affermato polistrumentista della timbrica grave, Landrus privilegia in questo disco l'uso di sax tenore, flauto soprano e contralto agli strumenti che l'hanno reso famoso: il sax baritono. il clarinetto basso e il flauto basso. Nei quattordici brani del disco il sax tenore è protagonista in cinque ed i flauti in quattro. Al sax baritono sono dedicati ...
Continue ReadingAlbum Review
Gary Versace Trio: Three Track Mind
by Angelo Leonardi
La figura di Gary Versace sembra appartenere alla categoria dei “musician's musician," artisti molto stimati dai colleghi ma poco conosciuti dal vasto pubblico. Le sue collaborazioni sono molte e prestigiose e in quelle dove ha maggior visibilità (pensiamo all'orchestra di Maria Schneider) non suona il pianoforte ma la fisarmonica o l'organo. I suoi dischi da leader in 25 anni d'attività sono pochi e tra i recenti in piano trio abbiamo solo All for Now del 2020 e Time Frame del 2022, ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: Just When You Think You Know
by Jack Bowers
Brian Landrus, best known for his eloquent performances on baritone sax, shows his versatility--as player, composer and arranger--on Just When You Think You Know, his tenth album as leader, adding tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute and bass flute to enlarge an impressive arsenal of musical weaponry. In fact, Landrus unlimbers the baritone on only three of the album's fourteen eclectic numbers--all of which he wrote and arranged. He plays tenor sax on five selections, one or another of ...
Continue ReadingAnthony Branker: Manifestations of a Diasporic Groove & Spirit
by Dan McClenaghan
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), ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: In My Dreams
by Jack Kenny
At the opening of Beautiful Dreamer, Bill Frisell's biographer, Philip Watson, recounts a formative dream Bill Frisell once had--an experience the guitarist has said permanently altered the way he thinks about sound, color, and the nature of “real music." In the dream, Frisell enters a dark building, climbs into a vast library, and encounters hooded, monklike figures gathered around a table. “We want to show you what things really are," they tell him. First, they reveal “what colors really look ...
Continue ReadingAlbum Review
Aubrey Johnson, Helen Sung, Dave Douglas, David Hajdu: Lives of the Saints: Portraits in Song with Words by David Hajdu
by Vic Albani
Chi diavolo è David Hajdu? Ce lo insegna il web: David Hajdu (nato nel 1955 a Phillipsburg, New Jersey con origini ungheresi e italiane) è un editorialista laureato alla New York University, autore e professore statunitense alla Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. È stato critico musicale del New Republic per 12 anni ed è redattore musicale di The Nation. Ha dapprima lavorato come illustratore e poi ha cominciato a scrivere per testate di un certo livello quali il Village ...
Continue ReadingLisa Hilton: Extended Daydream
by Neil Duggan
Lisa Hilton's success story continues with her 31st release, Extended Daydream. Her considerable body of work makes frequent chart appearances and measures streams in millions. She appears in various group formats, but on this occasion, the focus is on her quintet. That quintet is based around her longtime trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Rudy Royston, augmented with the return of tenor saxophonist JD Allen, who has appeared on eight of Hilton's previous albums, along with another ...
Continue ReadingAlbum Showcase
Trending
Interview
Lou Marini: A Solo Career Starting At The Age Of 80
History of Jazz
John Coltrane in Detroit: A Brief History
Jazz Raconteurs
Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a...
Live Review
Detroit Jazz Festival 2026: A Gathering in a Great Jazz City
Live Review
The Tension Is Where the Music Lives: Miles Davis at 100,...
Radio & Podcasts
Sullivan Fortner, Jim Rotondi & Dena DeRose, Ardeshir,...
Reanimating Conversations Past
Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic
Premium
VOTE!
