Jazz Articles about Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets: New Morning - The Paris Concert

by John Kelman
August 6, 2009

YellowjacketsNew Morning - The Paris Concert Heads Up International2009A group that has, on occasion, ventured along the fine line between contemporary jazz and that of the smoother variety, Yellowjackets has always been a performing band. Now approaching its 30th anniversary as a collective, it's the group's eighth year with a consistent line-up that includes, in addition to co-founders Russell Ferrante (keyboards) and Jimmy Haslip (bass), long-timer Bob Mintzer (saxophone and EWI - ...

Yellowjackets with Mike Stern: Lifecycle

by Woodrow Wilkins
June 9, 2008

For the better part of three decades, Yellowjackets have insisted and persisted on doing things their own way and by themselves. So it's fitting that when they deviate from their normal approach and bring in guitarist Mike Stern, the resulting project is titled Lifecycle. The first Yellowjackets recording in fifteen years to feature a guitarist, Lifecycle brings together two powerhouses in modern music. The quartet of Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, Bob Mintzer and Marcus Baylor has stood the ...

Yellowjackets: What's In a Name?

by Ian Patterson
February 6, 2007

2006 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Yellowjackets. It has been a quarter of a century of continuous evolution, both musically and in terms of changes in band personnel.

From their R&B beginnings with guitarist Robben Ford in '81 right through to the sophisticated and utterly distinctive brand of jazz that they play today, the Yellowjackets have moved with the times, absorbing different aspects of world music and adding new rhythms and influences to the pot. ...

Yellowjackets: Twenty Five

by Woodrow Wilkins
August 9, 2006

Longevity in music is something to be celebrated--especially in jazz, where a “hit occurs with the frequency of a winter storm in August. With Twenty Five, the Yellowjackets have reached a milestone attainable only with sustained excellence. Originally named the Robben Ford Group after the band's leader and guitarist, the Yellowjackets began buzzing in 1981 with Ford, Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson. After a few personnel changes, the current lineup of Ferrante, Haslip, Bob Mintzer and Marcus ...

Yellowjackets: Twenty Five

by Jeff Winbush
July 10, 2006

For some veteran bands, a live album can be a way to buy time until the next studio release. For the Yellowjackets, Twenty Five offerns an opportunity to celebrate 25 years of growth, change and development. Following the addition of Bob Mintzer on tenor saxophone in 1990, the band's evolution from smooth jazz to serious contemporary music was solidified. Since then, Mintzer's sax has become the predominant sound of the Yellowjackets, a decision that founding members pianist Russell Ferrante and ...

Yellowjackets: Altered State

by Jim Santella
May 17, 2005

Fusing South African rhythms with soothing R&B melodies, the Yellowjackets continue to put up a refreshing performance that's made to suit easy listening audiences. Their mellow harmony and relaxed rhythmic pulses belie a loyalty to leisure suits, platform shoes with awkward heels, and hangin' out at the disco. The band began in the late 1970s, when those things were in vogue. The core element in their performance has never left them.

Bob Mintzer employs the tenor saxophone for ...

Various artists: A Jazz Portrait Of Brian Wilson - Wouldn't It Be Nice

by Mark Sabbatini
March 26, 2005

This is definitely no day at the beach. Whether that's good or bad is highly subjective for A Jazz Portrait Of Brian Wilson, a 17-song tribute by contemporary artists such as Don Grusin, the Clark Burroughs Group and The Yellowjackets. Originally a 1997 Blue Note release, it was remastered and rereleased by IN2N Entertainment in 2004. Those not expecting instrumentals close in form to the Beach Boys leader will hear interesting ideas at work. But there's no question ...