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Jason Forsythe: It's About Time
by Jack Bowers
It's About Time likely refers to the fact that although Jason Forsythe has been a jazz composer of note for decades, this is the first-ever recording he has released as leader of his own ensemble, in this case a world-class sextet whose heavyweight front line is manned by trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and trombonist Steve Davis. While Forsythe wrote eight of the album's nine songs--every one of which houses much to admire and commend--the ...
Continue ReadingPete Malinverni: Invisible Cities
by Thomas Conrad
They call it “the Calvino Effect." It is the fascination that Italo Calvino's unclassifiable, elusive literary works exert over artists in other media. Calvino's Invisible Cities contains unseen cities of the imagination that have inspired many paintings. It contains silent cities of dreams that have provoked much music. In Calvino's novel, Marco Polo tells of 55 cities he has visited. The descriptions are fantasies. But Marco Polo's prose-poetry and surreal urban imagery contain deeper truths than factual travelogues. ...
Continue ReadingWayne Escoffery: Like Minds
by Dave Linn
Wayne Escoffery was born in London and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11, later studying at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In the late 1990s, Escoffery started gaining recognition on the jazz scene with his tenure in the Eric Reed Septet and later joining the Mingus Big Band. After completing his studies, Escoffery moved to New ...
Continue ReadingTom Harrell: Number Five
by John Kelman
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," they say, and since coming to HighNote in 2007, trumpeter Tom Harrell has lived by that old adage, utilizing the same quintet for its auspicious debut, Light On, and three subsequent recordings, culminating in 2011's outstanding Time of the Sun. Number Five continues Harrell's winning streak with the same line-up, but if each successive recording has reflected the ongoing growth of one of today's most compelling small groups--the chemistry deeper and the interaction ...
Continue ReadingSteve Slagle: Into The Heart Of It
by Dan Bilawsky
In a storied career that's produced more than 20 leader dates, there's little that Steve Slagle hasn't explored and accomplished. Yet here we are with a true first from the veteran alto saxophonist: A stunning bouquet of ballads. Inspired by lodestar outings from legends like John Coltrane, and driven by a desire to find a personalized path through the format, Slagle essentially came to balance history with his own story. “I really ruminated over this," he explains, “and I find ...
Continue ReadingAaron Seeber: First Move
by Troy Dostert
Given that it is his debut disc, drummer Aaron Seeber's First Move seems aptly titled. The music it offers is anything but an opening gambit, however; even after a cursory listen, it is quickly apparent that Seeber has been at this game for some time. From the top-shelf caliber of his associates, to his unfailing poise behind the kit, not to mention some great instincts for repertoire, Seeber has more than a few moves up his sleeve, and they always ...
Continue ReadingSteve Slagle: Ballads: Into the Heart of it
by Edward Blanco
New York-based saxophonist, composer and educator Steve Slagle refused to let the pandemic interfere with his recording activities, and in August of 2021 completed a project covering an assortment of wonderful ballads on Ballads: Into the Heart of it. Having carved out a distinguished musical career spanning over four decades and documented on over 20 albums as leader, presenting the ballads in a slightly different way was a new challenge Slagle mastered elegantly. The album features a mix ...
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