Jazz Articles about Various Artists

Island Music from the Caribbean

by AAJ Staff
March 17, 2004

We're almost forty releases down the road in Nonesuch's Explorer reissue series, devoted to traditional and folk music from around the globe. Africa, Indonesia, and Latin America have seen broad coverage; much still lies ahead. But each record is a living document of musical tradition and culture that are sometimes millennia old. Field recordings are rarely audiophile quality, but that's not really the point here.

As part of its Latin American releases spanning from Mexico and the Caribbean ...

Various Artists: Zen: A Ninja Tune Retrospective

by AAJ Staff
March 6, 2004

Back in the day, my very first exposure to the electronic/chillout label known as Ninja Tune came in the form of Coldcut, a duo of Jonathan More and Matt Black. Let Us Play (1998) was a discovery of the highest order, an audio CD matched with an interactive CD-ROM. More and Black, the founders of Ninja Tune in 1995, had something very seriously groovy going on. To quote from “More Beats & Pieces,"

Honey, I got rhythms I ...

Various Artists: Ultimate Mancini

by Jim Santella
March 2, 2004

Who hasn't been touched by the familiar songs of Henry Mancini?

Preferring to release interpretations that forge ahead and don't simply imitate the originals, Concord has invited several guests to make this album something special. No one can perform 'Moon River' like Stevie Wonder, for example. His appearance here, with Take 6 providing a delicate vocal accompaniment, stands out head and shoulders above all the others. And, as you know, there have been numerous arrangements of that tune ...

Various Artists: Soul Comes Home

by C. Michael Bailey
February 25, 2004

Soul Comes Home (CD and DVD) resulted from the April 30, 2003 celebration of the opening of the Stax Museum of America Soul Music in Memphis, Tennessee, performed at the famous Orpheum Theater. A portion of the proceeds from the CD and DVD is to be donated to the Stax Museum and Music Academy.

On hand were the royalty of Memphis and Muscle Shoals music from their heyday during the mid-‘60s to mid-‘70s. For the most part, the ...

Various Artists: Bar Room Blues

by C. Michael Bailey
February 7, 2004

Compilations assembled from several recent releases by a given record company serve the important role of exposing the said label’s talent roster to the public in as efficient manner as possible. Telarc Blues has taken the practice to the next level by assembling their collections with a theme. The label displayed its sense of humor with the 2002 release of This is What We Call The Blues Vol. 420 as a takeoff on the ever popular NOW (That’s What I ...

Various Artists: Africa Straight Ahead

by AAJ Staff
February 6, 2004

Africa Straight Ahead is the latest curve ball tossed by Heads Up since label head Dave Love visited Cape Town in 1998 and fell in love with South African jazz. Normally devoted to jazz on the softer side, the label's Africa Series put out two volumes of Smooth Africa in 2000 and 2003.

Tapping the smooth side of South African jazz made sense given the generally placid nature of that country's music. However, we now have Africa Straight ...

Various Artists: New School University Jazz Program 2002/2003

by AAJ Staff
January 21, 2004

In two decades, the New School has become a veritable musical institution. Regularly graduating first-rate musicians under the tutelage of some of the greatest living artists, it continues successfully to pump out one amazing class after another. This sampler is a superb cross section of that fine up-and-coming, and in some cases arrived, talent. Drummer Nick Collins leads a sextet, adding syncopated colorful licks around the upbeat swinging tempo of his “Ginza Samba.” While maintaining the ferocious ...