Home » Jazz Articles » Tomeka Reid
Jazz Articles about Tomeka Reid
The Hemphill Stringtet: The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
by Troy Dostert
One of the most multifaceted saxophonists to come out of the 1970s-80s jazz avant-garde, Julius Hemphill exuded both fervid power and delicate sensitivity, always with an underpinning of swing to help anchor him within the jazz tradition. While his iconic releases like Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972) and Flat-Out Jump Suite (Black Saint, 1980) are rightly considered classics, exemplifying Hemphill's rich harmonic sensibility and improvisational prowess, sometimes forgotten are the wonderful duet releases he recorded with one of his go-to colleagues, ...
Continue ReadingThe Hemphill Stringtet: The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
by Mark Corroto
Let us borrow a famous tagline from the dairy industry: Got Hemphill? If not, it is time to take a closer listen. Julius Hemphill (1938-1995) was a towering figure in the creative music scenes of both St. Louis, where he co-founded the Black Artists' Group (BAG), and New York's vibrant loft jazz scene of the 1970s and '80s. At a time when Miles Davis was going electric and fusion bands were battling for airtime against the neo- conservative ...
Continue ReadingThe Hemphill String Stringtet: The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
by Glenn Astarita
The Hemphill Stringtet's debut album, Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill is a vibrant tribute to the late jazz composer and saxophonist Julius Hemphill (1938--1995). This string quartet, featuring violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin and cellist Tomeka Reid, reimagines Hemphill's compositions with a fresh chamber music perspective. Formed in 2022, the ensemble aims to amplify Hemphill's legacy as a pivotal Black American composer while infusing his blues-inflected jazz with improvisational flair rooted in African American traditions. ...
Continue ReadingRob Mazurek Quartet: Color Systems
by Alberto Bazzurro
In parallelo con lavori che spaziano dal solo all'orchestra, Rob Mazurek, uomo-musica ormai giunto sulla soglia dei sessanta ma non per questo meno vorace e curioso di un tempo, ci regala questo album in quartetto (e che quartetto!) imperniato su sei brani comprensivi di altrettante dediche (del resto non è una novità). La sua tromba cementa l'insieme campeggiandovi da cima a fondo, per una musica piena, vitale, ricca di spunti e continue variazioni di rotta, pur con un punto d'arrivo, ...
Continue ReadingTomeka Reid, Martin Bejerano, Roxana Amed And More
by Hobart Taylor
PlaylistBruna Black & John Finbury “Nosso Cais" from Va Revelacao (Self Produced) Eric Alexander “Serenade to a Cuckoo" from Timing Is Everything (Cellar Live) Nicki Parrott “What The World Needs Now" from Feelin' Groovy (Arbors) Host Speaks Paul Freeman “Visions of Ishwara" from Black Composers Series Volume 8 (Sony) Tomeka Reid Quartet “Turning Inward / Sometimes You Just Have To Run With It" from 3+3 (Cuneiform) Host Speaks Lenny Marcus Trio “Ode to Jamal" from Blackwater Sessions (Self Produced) Fay ...
Continue ReadingTomeka Reid, Isidora Edwards, Elisabeth Coudoux: Reid/Edwards/Coudoux
by Hrayr Attarian
Leave it to Relative Pitch Records' Kevin Riley's ingenuity to release a unique, live session which brought together three of the world's preeminent cellists-improvisers. The result is the provocative, captivating and simply titled Reid/Edwards/Coudoux. On it, American Tomeka Reid joins forces with Chilean Isidora Edwards, and German Elisabeth Coudoux for four multilayered conversations. “Could You Imagine" opens with woody groans and resonant percussion which set an expectant mood. The overlapping angular phrases paint a dissonant and moving musical ...
Continue ReadingTomeka Reid Quartet: 3+3
by Chris May
Jazz cello has come a long way since Fred Katz's pioneering work with Chico Hamilton in the 1950s. Back then, the instrument was looked on as a novelty turn. In 2024, while still relatively avant-garde, its presence in a lineup is less exceptional. A pivotal point was American cellist Adbul Wadud's By Myself (Bishara, 1977), an album Tomeka Reid has acknowledged as an inspiration, and which may have played a part in her transition from classical music to jazz around ...
Continue Reading
