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Various Artists: BBC Jazz Awards 2006
by Chris May
As a boy, I was told that wedding reports in our local newspaper generally concluded with the remark that the nuptial gifts were “both numerous and costly." A similarly de rigueur riff accompanies the publication of lists of awards nominations today, with “both varied and of a very high standard" the preferred epithet.
Sometimes the claim has substance, and sometimes it doesn't. It accurately describes BBC Jazz Awards 2006, a two-CD set cherrypicking the best of British jazz activity over ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Downbeat The Ruler: Killer Instrumentals from Studio One
by Norman Weinstein
If a reggae instrumental compilation seems rather out of place in the context of a jazz site, rest assured that many of the players on these eighteen selections were or are major Jamaican jazz players. In a just world, their fame would be taken for granted in both jazz and reggae contexts. In our imperfect world, it's important to know that these jazz players of a high order aren't exactly slumming when they play three-minute reggae instrumentals. ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: The Rough Guide To Planet Rock
by AAJ Staff
Here's an interesting first: after a long string of successful compilations in the Rough Guide world music series, one that actually falls flat. The subject matter could not be broader--there is probably no single international genre as enormous and diverse as rock. So what went wrong? Johannes Heretsch, the veteran DJ and Berlin radio host who put this collection together, made some borderline picks.
It must be said that these sixteen tracks cover a vast range of geographic and musical ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Atlas Jazz Explosion
by David Rickert
Rhythm & blues was a powerful musical force in the '50s, influencing the direction that many jazz musicians followed and paving the way for rock and roll. There was quite a market for R&B 45s, and small labels featuring eager young unknowns were able to carve out a niche in at least some jukeboxes. Many of these obscure but still worthy records remain stashed away, but Empire Musicwerks has resurrected some of the better efforts from the Atlas, Mambo and ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Freedom of the City 2005
by Francis Lo Kee
As stated in the liner notes to the first set with this title, “The Freedom of the City festival was set up as an annual event [starting in 2001], in order to showcase the phenomenal London improvised music scene. Though this recording was made in just one day (May 1, 2005), it contains enough music to fill two CDs. Many of the musicians who performed in 2001 are back, with mixed results. The first really impressive track ...
Continue ReadingBlues In The Pocket & Blue Funk
by Jim Santella
These two albums from Tower Records' “Exclusive CDs from Blue Note compilation series feature the kind of blues feeling that should not be overlooked by any generation. The music world has many creative artists who approach a performance as a daring feat that requires the technique of a wizard and a similar degree of stamina to back it up. They're sometimes the same ones who forget about true feelings.Communicating with an audience requires the ability to remain genuine, ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: The Royal Dan: A Tribute
by John Kelman
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker--better known as Steely Dan--have an uncanny ability to adopt a perfectionist approach and yet create deeply resonant music, despite the hundreds of hours spent honing it. Filled with memorable melodies, infectious grooves and no shortage of jazz harmonies, Dan is the perfect crossover band. Over the years it's provided grist for innovative and iconic solos by artists like guitarist Larry Carlton and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. And that's no small feat, since such a considered approach ...
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