Jazz Articles about Steve LaSpina

About Steve LaSpina

Album Review

Few books have provoked such acclaim and disdain as Ulysses (1922), James Joyce's dense and dazzling opus. Banned in the UK, subject to an obscenity trial in the USA, scrutinized, vilified and glorified, it has inspired and baffled in equal measure. Its experimental stream-of-consciousness style--liberally laced with puns and mordant humor--has proven a literary Everest for many, an indigestible slog for others. Even Joyce's wife allegedly observed: “Why don't you write books people can read?" With ...

Album Review

Savage & Smit: Of Course

Read "Of Course" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
February 11, 2025

It was pretty much etched in stone that by the middle of the Grateful Dead's second set--and those second sets of its post-Jerry Garcia spin-offs--there occurred a period of musical and mental improvisation they wisely named “Space." That indefinite stretch of musical time aptly defines the dreamscapes within of course. Hosted by the Hudson Valley collaborative of Rick Savage- trumpet/flugelhorn, Ian Smit-guitar/fx, pianist/composer Joe Vincent Tranchina, bassist Steve LaSpina and drummer Pete MacDonald the disc's ten lucid fluidities hit the ...

Album Review

Matt Panayides: With Eyes Closed

Read "With Eyes Closed" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
February 10, 2025

This is a charming recording: reflective, tranquil and built around the compositions of some of the most distinguished players and composers of what ought to be called the American Jazz Songbook. Here you have music written by Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Cedar Walton and Chick Corea, to name only the figures in one strain. If taste runs to Jimmy van Huesen, Frank Foster, Henry Mancini, or Jules Stein, well, that is more than adequately covered. Pianoless trios are ...

Album Review

Ellie Lee: Escape

Read "Escape" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
June 24, 2024

The term “promising" is typically used to describe a new arrival on the jazz scene. It may be synonymous with “hard to pigeonhole," or, perhaps, not yet completely realized in some stylistic sense. In the case of Ellie (Seunghyung) Lee, the word is misleading. Lee conjures up echoes of other distinguished players, but she clearly has something original to say. Her compositions, which comprise the bulk of the material here, have a vibe of their own, which comes from a ...

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Album Review

Ellie Lee: Escape

Read "Escape" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 24, 2024

South Korean Ellie Lee's debut highlights her significant skills as a composer and pianist, grabbing listeners' attention from the get-go. It plunges us into a universe where melody and emotion fuse to spin tales sans words. The opening title track ushers in a vibe that is both comforting and invigorating, laying down the red carpet for an album that intertwines through the tapestry of human emotions with elegance and a touch of flair. Lee's piano skills are a ...

Live Review

Steve LaSpina Quartet at William Paterson University

by David A. Orthmann
July 30, 2015

Steve LaSpina Quartet William Paterson University Summer Jazz Room Wayne, NJ July 23, 2015 At William Paterson University, jazz is taken seriously. Undergraduate and graduate courses are taught by some of the most distinguished names in the business, and the music is presented to the public with care and attention to detail. The past, present, and future are all part of the experience of pursuing a degree or attending a jazz concert at ...

Album Review

Maud Hixson: Don't Let A Good Thing Get Away

Read "Don't Let A Good Thing Get Away" reviewed by David Bittinger

by David Bittinger
July 6, 2013

This collection of songs by veteran composer Michael Leonard has deep roots but contemporary character. It was laid down in New York's legendary Nola Recording Studio, whose clients have included Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie. The outstanding instrumentalists--cornetist Warren Vache, bassist Steve LaSpina, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, and pianist/arranger Tex Arnold--have worked with such luminaries as Benny Goodman and Stan Getz.In 2008, Twin Cities-based vocalist and music researcher Maud Hixson, working with Arnold, began reviewing the prolific work of ...