Jazz Articles about Tony Moreno

Tony Moreno: Short Stories

by C. Michael Bailey
November 3, 2016

Manhattan-native drummer Tony Moreno was born into and for music, his mother, Nina Dunkel Moreno, a noted harpist, pianist and educator. Oh, and he received his first drum kit at ten-years old from... Elvin Jones who became his early mentor and teacher. Moreno has had a long and storied career, filled with memories and mementos, many of the latter lost when Hurricane Sandy made East Coast landfall in October 2012. After losing his studio, library, and trove of his mother's ...

Dan Wilensky: Group Therapy

by Charles Walker
May 19, 2011

Tenor saxophonist Dan Wilensky possesses a warm, accessible tone on his instrument, and at first glance Group Therapy seems tailor-made to feature this broad, bluesy sound on ten straightforward compositions. However, less than two minutes into “Reckless Tongue," the album opener, the syrupy head breaks down into a standstill of rests and whole notes before sliding back into the relaxed groove that carries the tune the rest of the way. This brief moment of suspense perfectly encapsulates what makes the ...

Dan Wilensky: Group Therapy

by Dan Bilawsky
May 15, 2011

Group therapy involves a collection of individuals coming together to work things out and sort through their thoughts in the same room. The same can be said for saxophonist Dan Wilensky's Group Therapy. Wilensky's wide-ranging career has involved everything from street playing and studio sessions to Broadway and a stint in Ray Charles' band. All of his experiences have helped him flesh out a personal sound that touches on everything from loose swing and free jazz to faux-Arabian fare.

Jurgen Friedrich: Pollock

by Jerry D'Souza
August 3, 2009

Pianist Jürgen Friedrich, bassist John Hebert and drummer Tony Moreno banded together in 1998 when Friedrich, who was on a visit to the United States, met the other two at a jam session. The empathy between them was instant and they decided to team up. They hit the road, creating an ambience that was snug in the comfort zone of chamber music.

Friedrich is a judicious and resolute pianist, choosing his notes with deliberation. He is in no hurry to ...

Juergen Friedrich: Pollock

by Dan McClenaghan
June 5, 2009

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), the Abstract Expressionist American painter best known for his “drip paintings" produced from 1947 to 1950, loved and was inspired by jazz. The innovative music of that time in the genre was Bird (Charlie Parker), Dizzy Gillespie and the burgeoning bebop sounds that Pollack would listen to while he created. Jazz has loved and drawn inspiration from Pollack, too--in part, perhaps, due to the improvisational aspect of the painter's best known art. The original album cover of ...

Jurgen Friedrich: Seismo

by Nic Jones
December 17, 2006

A sense of restraint pervades this whole programme of piano trio music, and it works to make it less compelling, especially when the underlying approach is oblique both harmonically and rhythmically.

On one level the trio seems to be trying to make maximum use of minimum material. While this approach can result in music that demands attention, the results here just seem to hang in the air. On “Coincidence," the three musicians seem intent on avoiding emphatic interplay and the ...