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John Yao and His 17 Piece Instrument: Points In Time
by Jack Bowers
The insuperable spirit of swinging big-band jazz is everywhere apparent on Points in Time, the seventh recording by New York-based composer, arranger and trombonist John Yao, and the second with his marvelous 17-Piece Instrument, a decade after its well-received debut, Flip-Flop. (See Tao, 2015). As on that earlier album, the playlist consists of seven of Yao's original compositions (and one outlier) written with the band in mind to exemplify in musical terms experiences and emotions Yao has ...
Continue ReadingJohn Yao and his 17 Piece Instrument: Points In Time
by Pierre Giroux
Trombonist and composer John Yao presents a heartfelt and personal retrospective with Points In Time. This ambitious album delves deeply into the emotional and professional journey he has undertaken over the past twenty years in New York City. Leading his precisely coordinated ensemble, aptly called His 17-Piece Instrument, comprised of talented musicians from various points along Yao's timeline. The eight original compositions in this session stem from key moments in Yao's life and artistic development. This work is not just ...
Continue ReadingRuss Spiegel: Nitty Gritty
by Jack Bowers
The phrase Nitty Gritty has a number of meanings, among the most oft-repeated of which are “mundane," “ordinary" and “commonplace." Guitarist Russ Spiegel surely had another definition in mind when naming his seventh album, whose aftermath brings to mind several graphic expressions. But mundane, ordinary and commonplace are not among them. Instead, words like seductive, panoramic and ambitious arise to describe the banquet that Spiegel and his (for the most part) organ trio have set before the ...
Continue ReadingTim Armacost: There is Something About Believing
by David Bixler
On his new recording, Something About Believing, tenor saxophonist Tim Armacost is joined by trumpeter Tom Harrell and baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan as well as the outstanding rhythm section of bassist John Patitucci and drummer Al Foster. Listening to the music one is struck by the comfortability of master improvisers doing what they do best, however, in this episode of LINER NOTES Tim explains that this recording is a snapshot of a journey that he embarked on a number of ...
Continue ReadingRuss Spiegel: Caribbean Blue
by Jack Bowers
Pleasant music with ample color and variety--that's an apt description of Caribbean Blue, the latest albulm from California-bred, Florida-based guitarist Russ Spiegel, who has surrounded himself with world-class musicians and given them rein to canvass ten of his generally engaging compositions and bring them admirably to life. While everything on offer is respectable, it is the album's midsection--tracks 3-8--that rise above the others and lend the session much of its vitality and charm. After harmonica virtuoso Hendrik ...
Continue ReadingJohn Lang: Now Ear This
by Jack Bowers
For what it is, bassist John Lang's fourth album, Now Ear This, is quite well done. For jazz fans, the dilemma lies there, precisely in what it is--a series of eleven rock/fusion themes, nine written by Lang, which would be right at home on a smooth jazz/easy listening radio station, for example, but whose jazz content would earn them no more than a tenuous place on any playlist beyond that. Tempos are more or less proximate, as is the steady ...
Continue ReadingTim Armacost: Time Being
by Luigi Sforza
La natura di un fenomeno è data dalla sommatoria di vari fattori, da una parte ci sono gli elementi che lo compongono, caratterizzandone i connotati, dall'altra il modo in cui quelli si combinano, e che ne costituiscono la forma. La capacità del demiurgo, dell'artista, si manifesta nell'abilità di manipolare la materia in modo che l'accostamento delle parti --per quanto riconoscibili o riconducibili a segni e stilemi preesistenti, strutturati e ampiamente usati --porti a risultati nuovi, ovvero ad opere originali e ...
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