Jazz Articles about Seth Lewis

About Seth Lewis

Album Review

A really good live jazz album captures something that even the finest studio recording often struggles to reproduce: the interaction of musicians responding to each other in real time before an audience. There is an interaction between the players and the audience that is difficult to replicate in a studio setting. With Live at Dazzle, drummer Bobby Wiens and his ensemble demonstrate that chemistry throughout the album. Denver's Dazzle is an ideal location for recording a live jazz ...

Album Review

Bobby Wiens: Focus

by Jack Bowers
August 16, 2026

There are times when superb musicianship can redeem an album that may otherwise be gauged as no more than ordinary. Focus, Canadian-bred drummer Bobby Wiens’ second recording as leader, marks one of those times. Even though the album’s dozen themes are, aside from a few outliers, matter-of-fact, they are so marvelously performed by Wiens’ talented quartet that the album’s listening experience becomes a genuine pleasure.<PWhile Wiens, who wrote and arranged the first eleven of those tunes, keeps a ...

Album Review

Bobby Wiens: Focus

by Kyle Simpler
June 18, 2026

Even though a recording is a finished product, it still captures the feeling and intensity of the session. When players have a good working rapport, everything translates through the music. Clearly, the musicians assembled by drummer Bobby Wiens for his second album, Focus, share a strong rapport, and that chemistry is evident throughout the recording. Originally from Calgary, Wiens grew up surrounded by music. He developed an interest in drums during middle school, which ultimately led to years ...

Album Review

Spencer Zweifel: The Life or Death Situation

Read "The Life or Death Situation" reviewed by La-Faithia White

by La-Faithia White
November 30, 2024

Spencer Zweifel is an accomplished jazz pianist who graduated in 2019 with a degree in jazz studies from the University of Northern Colorado. He won best pop/rock soloist in the 2018 Downbeat magazine student awards. In 2021, Spencer completed a master's in jazz studies at William Paterson University, where he studied with Bill Charlap, Aaron Diehl and Geoffrey Keezer. In 2020 he formed the Spencer Zweifel Quintet, which has released two records, including Before It's Too Late (Self Produced, 2022). ...

Album Review

Denin Koch: It Comes in Waves

Read "It Comes in Waves" reviewed by Geannine Reid

by Geannine Reid
August 13, 2024

Guitarist Denin Slage-Koch's third album, It Comes in Waves, is a contemporary jazz outing featuring eight original compositions and a reimagined pop classic. Known for his exceptional technique and thoughtful compositions, Slage-Koch has assembled a group of highly skilled musicians to bring his vision to life. Slage-Koch's skill as a composer is evident in tracks like “The Road Home" and “The Philosopher (for Wayne Shorter)." In “The Road Home" one can hear beautiful harmonic progressions and tension/resolution patterns developed throughout ...

Album Review

Zach Rich: Solidarity

Read "Solidarity" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 21, 2024

Solidarity consists for the most part of warm, gentle chamber jazz ably performed by Denver-based trombonist Zach Rich, his quintet, a four-piece string section and half a dozen invited guests. Besides playing elegant trombone, Rich, who teaches at Denver's Lamont School of Music, wrote and arranged all of the album's eight handsome songs. The strings are present on the first six numbers; the seventh, “What Is America Rated?," features Julian Carey's spoken word, while the last, “The ...

Album Review

Brad Goode: The Unknown

Read "The Unknown" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
February 12, 2023

One of the joys attached to reviewing music is the exposure to artists who otherwise might not show up on the radar. For every Pat Metheny there are a hundred highly-creative, lower-profile, hugely-talented guitarists plucking the strings; for every Brad Mehldau plying the trade ten dozen marvelous, relatively unknown pianists show up in the mailbox or the downloads. And for every Ralph Alessi out there blowing their horns, you will--with just a bit of digging--encounter scores of trumpeters riding below ...