Jazz Articles about Tom Vaitsas

About Tom Vaitsas

Album Review

Paul Marinaro's Mood Ellington is an ambitious, carefully crafted double CD that regards Duke Ellington's vocal repertoire not as a fixed monument but as a living collection of work capable of endless renewal. Instead of relying on a single arranging perspective, Marinaro commissioned thirteen renowned composers, allowing Ellington's songs to be explored through multiple aesthetic lenses while remaining anchored in a consistent emotional core. Like his concept for the album's arrangers, Marinaro sought supporting musicians who would express their own ...

Album Review

Keri Johnsrud / Shawn Maxwell: C8H10N4O2

Read "C8H10N4O2" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
March 25, 2025

Vocalist Keri Johnsrud is a master of subtlety. She delivers intricate songs with elegance and grace, making them sound deceptively effortless. Saxophonist Shawn Maxwell is one of the most innovative members of the Chicago creative music scene. Both are also accomplished composers. All these elements make their collaborative effort C8H10N4O2 (the chemical formula for caffeine) stimulating and delightful. A concept album, C8H10N4O2 represents a hectic day. Bookending it are two takes of “Peace," one labeled “720 AM" and ...

Album Review

New Standard Quintet: Another Time, Another Place

Read "Another Time, Another Place" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 17, 2022

Another Time, Another Place is a well-drawn album by Chicago's New Standard Quintet whose seven original compositions may please the ears but seldom inflame the senses. The music is good—and often better than that—without prompting a listener to reach for the replay button. Of course, that could be the listener's fault, as there is nothing here that lands shy of respectable. A matter of personal taste? That's as reasonable as any assumption. Be that as it may, ...