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Jakob Bro / Joe Lovano: Once Around the Room
by Mike Jurkovic
The thrumming double basses of Larry Grenadier and Thomas Morgan initiate the conversation. Then the scattered insistence of rhythm by drummers Joey Baron and Jorge Rossy enters, pushing Once Around the Room into consciousness with all the anticipation and hushed intent of an orchestra tuning before a performance. Airy clusters of guitar courtesy of Jakob Bro and electric bassist Anders Christensen introduce Joe Lovano's aching call summoning the spirit to make known “As It Should Be," the first of the ...
Continue ReadingCharles Lloyd: Trios: Chapel
by Dan McClenaghan
Blue Note Records has a history of boasting strong stables of players. In the 1950s and 60s, we could look to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter--and if ever there was an incomplete list compiled, that one is it. Time rolls on. Twenty years (or thereabouts) into the new millennium, the label hosts an all-star roster once again--pianist Gerald Clayton, saxophonist Melissa Aldana, sax man Immanuel Wilkins, guitarist Julian Lage, and--to ...
Continue ReadingJacob Garchik: Assembly
by Hrayr Attarian
Trombonist and composer Jacob Garchik is versatile and restlessly inventive. His past work has ranged from a brass-only orchestra to a guitar-heavy ensemble as well as a unique take on gospel music. His sixth release, the provocative Assembly, evokes film soundtracks with a touch of fantasy. The nine originals make a cohesive whole with a creative momentum which does not slack. The opening track “Collage" has two distinct layers; in the background Garchik and soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome ...
Continue ReadingJacob Garchik: Assembly
by John Chacona
Trombonist Jacob Garchik has an interest in musical subtraction. His 2012 release The Heavens: The Atheist Gospel Trombone Album (Yestereve Records) presented religious music stripped of religion. Clear Line (Yestereve Records) from 2020 featured a 13-piece big band with no rhythm section. Now comes Assembly, an inquiry into what a jazz quintet sounds like when added to itself. Garchik declares both method and intent in his song titles; the first three cuts are “Collage," “Pastiche" and “Bricolage." The ...
Continue ReadingJacob Garchik: Assembly
by Mark Corroto
As a consequence of the global pandemic, we have been schooled in the science of virology. Under certain conditions viruses mutate and reorganize into something completely new. That is bad. Mutations can also be heard in the adventurous music of Jacob Garchik. That is good. His trombone leads his Atheist Gospel Trombone Album, his big band, plus Banda de los Muertos, a Mexican brass band. He can be heard in ensembles lead by Anna Webber, Henry Threadgill, Mary Halvorson, John ...
Continue ReadingChet Doxas: You Can't Take It With You
by Jerome Wilson
Tenor saxophonist Chet Doxas has been getting attention in recent years by collaborating with prominent musicians such as Dave Douglas and Carla Bley. On this album he explores his own compositions in a trio with two sympathetic partners, pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Thomas Morgan. Doxas' music here falls into one of two general styles, slippery blues-inflected pieces reminiscent of Jimmy Giuffre's trios with Jim Hall or more abstract work where the three musicians take on roles complementary to each ...
Continue ReadingJen Shyu and Jade Tongue: Zero Grasses: Ritual for The Losses
by Hrayr Attarian
Calling vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu brilliant, and her style unique, underestimates both her ingenuity as a composer and the distinctiveness of her oeuvre. Shyu has forged her own path in creative music with an intrepid spirit and restless innovation. Her eighth release as a leader is the intensely personal Zero Grasses: Ritual For The Losses. A cycle of songs which is equally about bereavement and injustice as it is about solace and hope, its message transcends the individual, reaching ...
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