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Brandon Sanders: Lasting Impression
by Pierre Giroux
Brandon Sanders' 2025 release, Lasting Impression, is a heartfelt reaffirmation of the core values that have shaped jazz drumming for generations. Instead of chasing novelty for its own sake, Sanders grounds the album in straightforward clarity that honours the legacy of those countless craftsmen who viewed swing as a personal responsibility. From the opening bars, he demonstrates he is a drummer dedicated to supporting the ensemble and allowing the music to breathe. The stellar band, assembled for this purpose, includes ...
Continue ReadingAcceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville
by Pierre Giroux
Bassist, composer and arranger Moppa Elliott's uniquely-titled nonet Acceleration Due To Gravity presents Jonesville a gravity- defying jazz odyssey. It pays a captivating homage to influential bassist Sam Jones by weaving a sonic tapestry which transcends the boundaries of conventional jazz. In this brief seven-track, twenty-one-minute outing, four compositions are by Elliott, with the remainder being Sam Jones' originals. The members of the octet who participated in this unusual musical excursion are trumpeter Bobby Spellman, trombonist Dave Taylor, alto saxophonist ...
Continue ReadingMoppa Elliott's Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville
by Mike Jurkovic
Whatever 'script renegade bassist/composer Moppa Elliot takes on a daily basis, he should be made to share with the rest of the world. Whatever that tonic, whatever that pill, whatever that gumbo scented elixir is, let us have it now. Elliot may not want to open up his private stash to the public, but he sure knows how to let it fly in the music he and his nonet--Acceleration Due to Gravity--put forth on the rightly raucous and ...
Continue ReadingBrandon Goldberg: In Good Time
by Mike Jurkovic
Pianist Brandon Goldberg may not have the seasoned years behind him yet, (In Good Time finds him brewing with ideas most fifteen-year-olds never tackle) but it is no more a beloved veteran than the late Ralph Peterson who, via a wisely archived voice mail, urges the young man “What's up Brandon, gimme a shout man we hook up later this week!" The drummer and cat supreme then wishes him “Peace" and a split second later the barnstorming, deftly pugilistic “Authority" ...
Continue ReadingJoel Harrison: America at War
by Angelo Leonardi
"È tutta la vita che il mio paese conduce tragiche e futili invasioni straniere. Ho sentito che dovevo scrivere su questo fatto, infondere nella mia nuova musica la sua dolorosa eredità." Queste riflessioni aprono il nuovo disco di Joel Harrison, ritornato a sette anni di distanza da Infinite Possibility a guidare un ensemble orchestrale. La storia bellica degli Stati Uniti è piuttosto lunga: in 245 anni ha combattuto 123 conflitti militari vivendo solo 18 anni in completa pace. ...
Continue ReadingSketches of Influence: The Grind - Sketches of Influence
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Shortly before the COVID pandemic went full force lockdown, Troy, New York drummer Joe Barna and his group, “Sketches of Influence" recorded this live album at the Middle C Jazz Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The audience that evening was either the most polite as listeners, or, more likely they were taken up by the killer performance of this ensemble. This album verifies the latter. The performance offers six extended tracks, all Barna originals. The opener, “The ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: The Intangible Between
by Paul Rauch
Pianist Orrin Evans has a deep understanding of the unshakeable bond between fellowship, humanity and the creative process. That knowledge has guided him through creating a remarkable catalog of music as both a leader and sideman, along the way, experiencing the fellowship of a collective of musicians he often refers to as “The Village." The Village is indeed real, and most aptly expressed musically through the The Captain Black Big Band, Evans' ensemble of anywhere between nine and ...
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