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Jazz Articles about Sandy Eldred
Norman David: Intention
by Victor L. Schermer
Saxophonist/composer/arranger/band leader Norman David grew up and matured as a musician in Montreal and moved to Boston to study with the late, revered, and multifaceted Herb Pomeroy at the famed Berklee College of Music. While there, in 1980, David founded a large jazz ensemble just a few members short of a full big band called the “Eleventet." It melded the improvisational qualities of a small ensemble with the rich sound and interactional possibilities of a big band. He found it ...
Continue ReadingMichael Hudson-Casanova: Echoes of Thought
by Richard J Salvucci
Art Blakey would always open with a theme. Over the years, the theme changed, just as did Bu and his musicians. But the context was always the same. “Pay attention, y'all. This is Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers." If a listener is old enough to remember that moment, and willing to make due allowance for a Philly band “in the tradition," well, there you are. “Spin the Context" starts us. “The Old Days, Whenever They Were," is right on ...
Continue ReadingU.S.E. Trio: Twilight
by Mike Jurkovic
Stealing conspiratorially under your feet, the dark balladry of Twilight speaks modal, stark, humorous. Then perhaps it recoils and rebuilds. Shifts shapes and defines. Says yes when it means no and vice versa. So, at the behest of their own slippery, interior curvature, U.S.E. Trio, saxophonist Andrew Urbina, drummer Matt Scaranoand bassist/leader Sandy Eldred, follow-up the enjambments of Impact (LabelWhoAble, 2020) with the rhizome like Twilight. A boisterous, worthy successor, Twilght opens with “Tonal Gravity," and maybe your ...
Continue ReadingU.S.E. Trio: Impact
by Mike Jurkovic
There is an underlying, unsettled tone in the music of Philadelphia bassist Sandy Eldred which can only be likened to earthquakes and their subsequent tremors. Just when you think you are on solid ground the whole landscape shifts, the whole perspective tacks left, bends right, veers down the wrong center lane and u-turns. It is quite intriguing really, which makes listening to Impact--the third release by Eldred and his U.S.E. Trio of drummer Matt Scarano and saxophonist Andrew Urbina--a truly ...
Continue ReadingNorman David: The Eleventet - Please Call
by Victor L. Schermer
Clarinetist and soprano saxophonist Norman David founded and has been leading Philadelphia's Eleventet for over three decades. After thirty years playing in in and around the city, the band found their recording groove with their first CD, At This Time (Norman David/Coolcraft, 2011). Now, in this new release, they deliver swinging and ear-popping sounds while at the same time offering nuances, subtleties, and creative ideas that generate interest for the more serious listener. David plays a mean soprano sax, while ...
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