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Chris Cheek: Keepers of the Eastern Door
by David Weiner
In Keepers of the Eastern Door, saxophonist Chris Cheek leads a beautifully played, richly melodic and creatively curated set of performances, which split the difference between enchantment and fun. Cheek and his bandmates--Bill Frisell on guitar, Tony Scherr on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums--offer a mix of distinctive Cheek originals and unexpected takes on works by others. The covers are borrowed from genres outside the jazz and songbook repertoires, and the band outfits them with attractive new arrangements, tempos ...
Continue ReadingKenny Wollesen: LATRALA
by Glenn Astarita
When a February 2022 gig at John Zorn's experimental showcase The Stone was unexpectedly canceled due to Covid protocol, Wollesen seized the lemon juicer and booked the band into Shahzad Ismaily's famed Figure 8 studio in Brooklyn for the following two days. The session was engineered by Lily Wen and produced by Will Shore, a composer who plays vibes alongside Wollesen in the utopian art-jazz group Užupis. Playing together for the first time, LATRALA recorded nearly the entire album and ...
Continue ReadingElan Mehler: There Is A Dance
by Patrick Burnette
David Bowie's album The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (RCA, 1972) includes instructions on the back: “To Be Played At Maximum Volume." Had pianist Elan Mehler's new trio effort, There is a Dance, followed suit, the slogan would be something like “To Be Played Only on Rainy Afternoons." There is a Dance, which celebrates memories of Mehler's mother, is a quiet, meditative album, one more drawn to rubato than momentum. There are moments of ...
Continue ReadingNorah Jones: I Dream of Christmas
by Jim Trageser
With Tony Bennett's retirement, the mantle of legitimate straight-ahead pop crooners is now firmly in the hands of subsequent generations: Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Not pure jazz singers, of which there are numerous stellar examples, these singers are more in the Bennett-Sinatra-Fitzgerald mold, bringing a jazz sensibility to pop music. It is in the area of seasonal Christmas music that the crooners have had perhaps their greatest influence. From Andy Williams to Connie Stevens, ...
Continue ReadingPat Donaher: Occasionally
by Jerome Wilson
Occasionally sees saxophonist Pat Donaher reflecting on a few milestones in his life to date. He does this by writing and performing compositions which are all dedicated to occasions and people that have been special to him. Donaher's varied set of tunes is played here by an excellent group with Jason Palmer on trumpet, Tim Watson on guitar, Carmen Staaf on piano, Tony Scherr on bass and Allison Miller on drums. Two selections celebrate family weddings. “Wedding Day," ...
Continue ReadingSlow Poke: At Home [MP 3]
![Read "At Home [MP 3]" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/144d289ae7d7ca72d60d9d6e9c399f5d.jpg)
by AAJ Italy Staff
La pigra indolenza che marca, sin dall’apertura, questo ottimo At Home del gruppo Slow Poke è un segno indelebile del tipo di approccio che il quartetto ha scelto dal primo momento (e l’indizio principale era già ben evidente nel nome stesso che i musicisti avevano deciso di darsi). Questo album in realtà non era mai uscito ufficialmente. Era una sorta di demo fatto in casa ('at home', per l'appunto) che serviva per proporsi alle case discografiche. Poi il gruppo decise ...
Continue ReadingSlow Poke: At Home
by Donald Elfman
Formed at the home of bassist Tony Scherr, Slow Poke--David Tronzo, Michael Blake, Scherr and Kenny Wollesen--play everything slower and funkier. It's an extraordinary idea for a jam band--bring the groove way down and somehow the vibe and energy go way up thanks to the new focus. It certainly helps that all of these guys are virtuosos and truly care about the aesthetics of sound. This debut disc caught the attention of Paul Simon and producer Lee Townsend, and has ...
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