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James Moody: 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Jack Bowers
When it comes to having fun, few events can compete with a birthday party. Fun is clearly at the summit of the agenda on 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, recorded at the famed New York City nightspot on March 26, 2005, to celebrate saxophonist James Moody's eightieth birthday, and released on the same date in 2025 to honor the centenary of his birth. Moody, who with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie comprised one of the most humorous and fun-loving ...
Continue ReadingJames Moody: 80 Years Young - Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Todd Coolman
It's an absolute thrill to share the memories of an unforgettable night--James Moody's 80th birthday celebration at the legendary Blue Note in New York City in 2005. This was the grand finale of a weeklong celebration that had already featured amazing performances from jazz giants like Jimmy Heath, Ray Barretto, Mike Longo, and George Wein. This live recording featuring Jon Faddis, Paquito D'Rivera, Slide Hampton, Randy Brecker, Roberta Gambarini and Cedar Walton is a true tribute to the extraordinary talent ...
Continue ReadingThe Irv Grossman Sextet: Sound Advice
by Pierre Giroux
Trumpeter Irv Grossman has assembled a stellar sextet that delivers a compelling session of straight-ahead jazz steeped in tradition and camaraderie under the title of Sound Advice. Surrounding himself with a dream team of musicians, including tenor saxophonist Sam Dillon, alto saxophonist Andrew Gould and, on several tracks, trombonist Jimmy O'Connell. The horns are supported by an unflagging rhythm section of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Todd Coolman and the irrepressible Billy Drummond on drums. The album's repertoire consists of charts ...
Continue ReadingNoah Haidu: Doctone
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Kenny Kirkland never seemed particularly interested in attaining the high level of fame enjoyed by two of his early employers, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. He worked first for Wynton, playing on four of the trumpeter's albums between 1981 and 1985, before moving into Branford's orbit, for eight albums between 1983 to 1998. These were breakout times for the famous brothers, burst-out-onto-the-scene times that were critical to their ultimate successes. And Kenny Kirkland was there, contributing his ...
Continue ReadingTodd Coolman & Trifecta: Collectables
by Dan Bilawsky
Bassist Todd Coolman readily cops to his collections in the liner essay for this delightful date, noting a fondness for accumulating baseball caps, photos and drawings of birds, timepieces, and antique fishing tackle. But it's his collections from the realm of music--also cited in his writing(s)--that shape this date. He's amassed a stockpile of favorite songs over the course of his storied career and he's filled his mental Rolodex with a cache of compatriots ideally suited to different projects. He ...
Continue ReadingTodd Coolman: Perfect Strangers
by Woodrow Wilkins
While the songs themselves aren't original to the band, the approach taken with Perfect Strangers is itself novel. Bassist Todd Coolman is an in-demand session player based in New York. He director of jazz studies at Purchase College and has also authored two books: The Bass Tradition and The Bottom Line. His associations over the years have included Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman, among others. For Perfect Strangers, Coolman brought ...
Continue ReadingTodd Coolman: Perfect Strangers
by Jerry D'Souza
A little bit of imagination is a good thing. Bassist Todd Coolman thought “outside the box" and came up with the idea of soliciting compositions from the public. He chose seven tunes which make up the program for the aptly titled Perfect Strangers. Hopefully, the voices that are heard here through Coolman, Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone), Brian Lynch (trumpet), Jim McNeely (piano) and John Riley (drums) will not remain strangers, and will continue to find avenues of expression for their ...
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