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Rudy Royston: Flatbed Buggy
by Troy Dostert
A veteran rhythm-man whose long list of credits includes work with Bill Frisell and Dave Douglas, Rudy Royston already had a couple releases on Douglas's Greenleaf Music label (303, from 2014, and Rise of Orion (2016), and now Flatbed Buggy continues this promising track record with a winsome set of music that manages to pull off the difficult trick of sounding simultaneously earthy and refined. Royston intended the music to capture memories of summers spent with his father ...
Continue ReadingRudy Royston Trio: Rise Of Orion
by Karl Ackermann
The visceral style of drummer Rudy Royston was considerably toned down on his leader debut 303 (Greenleaf, 2014), a septet outing where the drummer often worked within the context of an ensemble player. Pared down to a trio formation for Rise Of Orion, Royston retains the services of the ubiquitous saxophonist Jon Irabagon and bassist Yasushi Nakamura from his original group. Without a chordal instrument, and in this more intimate setting, Royston is free to unleash his more forceful side.
Continue ReadingRudy Royston Trio: Rise Of Orion
by Dan Bilawsky
303 (Greenleaf Music, 2014) was the debut we were waiting for from drummer extraordinaire Rudy Royston, but it wasn't necessarily the debut we were expecting. Instead of playing the chops-and-brawn card that he always holds somewhere in his hand, Royston took a more thoughtful approach. He wowed with multidimensional maneuvers instead of brute force, using a uniquely patterned septet to good advantage. This follow-up date is more in line with the expectations that were defied on 303, but it's hardly ...
Continue ReadingJD Allen: Americana
by Angelo Leonardi
Con questa profonda, austera e appassionata indagine sul blues, JD Allen intende ribadire la sua centralità nell'ambito della musica statunitense (“il blues è la porta d'ingresso -dice nelle note -per il passato e il futuro della musica americana; la fonte da cui gospel, jazz, rock, country, rhythm & blues e hip hop sono formulati. Lo spirito del blues, sia esso sottile o esplicito, riesce a manifestarsi in ogni genere di musica americana"). Non è una questione secondaria e ...
Continue ReadingJD Allen: Americana
by Franz A. Matzner
JD Allen is an artist who always delivers. He is also an artist who takes risks, willing to explore his limitations, and then break them; to expose his vulnerabilities, and reflect upon their source and meaning. His experimentation is not obvious. It spirals inwards, orbiting the central axis of jazz, while traversing its various trajectories with elegance, depth, and intense regard to produce deeply personal statements that draw in audiences and listeners like moths to flame. His latest ...
Continue ReadingRudresh Mahanthappa: Bird Calls
by Dave Wayne
On Bird Calls, alto saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthappa takes on the music of Charlie Parker in a personal and profound way, accompanied by his whip-smart, uber-hip and youthful backing band. Let's face it, folks; this is the sort of thing a jazz fan's daydreams are made of. The result doesn't disappoint; Bird Calls is a masterpiece, and will certainly grace many a critic's year end “Top 10" list. It's evident that Mahanthappa thought this album through from ...
Continue ReadingRudresh Mahanthappa: Bird Calls
by Dan Bilawsky
Charlie Parker has been deified, his methods have been codified, and his recordings have been analyzed ad infinitum. Six decades have passed since he left this realm, yet he remains the lodestar for a significant portion of the jazz community, from the aspiring to the elite, and his influence hasn't waned one bit. Given all of that, it's astonishing to realize that so few players have taken chances by looking beyond the songs, the music theory, the recordings, and the ...
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