Articles by Dan McClenaghan
Album Review
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: Kappa Ondo
by Dan McClenaghan
Stepping into the sounds of a Satoko Fujii big band performance is like slipping into an alternate universe. It is an odd sonic world, full of odd surprises. The pianist/composer has chosen 2026 to release five orchestral albums, each featuring a different ensemble. Fujii has been ambitious, consistently so, over a 30-plus-year career. Kappa Ondo is her fifth and final large ensemble recording of this project. The Kappa Ondo universe has its origins in a song written by ...
Continue Reading...Matthew Shipp / William Parker: Duo
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Matthew Ship has always been cryptic. His music does not fit into categories. And though he may not boast a Sun Ra-level of recording prolificness, he is always, always busy. And if his output as a leader ever wanes, he sits in on sideman slots with tenor saxophonists David S. Ware and Ivo Perelman (and more) with dizzying regularity. Now for the cryptic aspect: Call him an artist of cosmic consequence. He seems to think so himself. ...
Continue Reading...Clay Giberson: Moment's Notice
by Dan McClenaghan
Jazz fans with a history of listening to the innovators of the 20th century will recognise the title of Clay Giberson's trio outing, Moment's Notice, as a pick from saxophonist John Coltrane's 1958 Blue Note Album, Blue Train. It serves here as the set's closer, wrapping the show up with yet another touch of familiarity. Nine of Moments' Notice revisit the standards, tunes by Horace Silver ("Mayreh"), Keith Jarrett ("So Tender"), Wayne Shorter ("Beauty & The Beast"), and Charlie Haden ...
Continue Reading...Danny Green: Let the Music Happen
by Dan McClenaghan
San Diego-based pianist Danny Green began his recording association with Seattle's Origin/OA2 label in 2014 with After the Calm (OA2 Records, 2015), an inspired trio release featuring bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Julien Cantelm. It was an auspicious beginning. The group followed up their debut with Altered Narratives (OA2, 2016), featuring a string quartet on three tunes before taking the 'string thing' a step further with One Day It Will (OA2 Records, 2018), a full-on piano trio outing with a string ...
Continue Reading...Kevin Sun: Kevin Sun, II.
by Dan McClenaghan
In the first half of saxophonist Kevin Sun's 2026 simultaneous release project, Kevin Sun, I. (Endectomorph, 2026), the artist took the sound into an adventurous, walk-on-the-wild-side territory. His Kevin Sun, II. pulls it back closer to the mainstream--sort of. Both of the outings are sax-and-a-rhythm-section recordings--I. featuring a guitar in the chording chair, and II, with a piano. The former rises to almost John Coltrane-like freedom; the latter sounds more like Dexter Gordon or maybe Sonny Rollins, laying down some ...
Continue Reading...Henry Threadgill Zooid: Cut You Where You Was
by Dan McClenaghan
In 2001, Seth Rosner resurrected reed man Henry Threadgill's career by establishing Pi Recordings, initially for the sole purpose of releasing Threadgill recordings. Threadgill wanted to put out two albums simultaneously. Rosner said he would have agreed to four if that was what the artist requested. But two it was: Up Popped Two Lips by Henry Threadgill's Zooid and Everybody's Mouth's a Book, by Henry Threadgill & Make A Move. This was a move of genius on Rosner's part. Since ...
Continue Reading...Todd DelGiudice: Mas Alto
by Dan McClenaghan
It seems that every saxophonist at some point in their career decides to pare the music down to its essentials. It is hard to pare down beyond the sax, bass, and drums trio. The history of this musical setup is long. Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Sam Rivers, Lee Konitz and Joe Lovano (and so many more) tried the trio mode out with great success. There is always the feeling with this type of recording (studio or live) that things leaned ...
Continue Reading...Rich Halley 4: A Distant Land
by Dan McClenaghan
Saxophonist Rich Halley's music has, from the very beginning, exuded a steroid-like vibe. The sounds he makes may be able to move the Earth. It may incite a landslide. His tenor sax is as brawny as Sonny Rollins' sound, or Dexter Gordon's. And when he brings powerhouse trombonist reformist Michael Vlatkovich into the fold--a group tagged as the Rich Halley 4--the level of seismic output rises a few notches. A Distant Land, the group's eighth recording, stays in ...
Continue Reading...Kevin Sun: Kevin Sun, I.
by Dan McClenaghan
New York-based saxophonist Kevin Sun went deep into the concept of memory in his The Sustain of Memory (2020) and The Depths of Memory (2023), both on his Endectopmorph Records. The first half of his 2026 project, Kevin Sun, I goes deep into...Kevin Sun? Sun takes his inspiration from seemingly everywhere: video games, sitting on hold waiting for service from the IRS phone system (track 6, “Hold Music"), John Coltrane ( track 1, “Go In"), Ryuichi Sakamoto, heavy ...
Continue Reading...Geof Bradfield / Myra Melford / Ben Goldberg / Dana Hall: Open Or Close
by Dan McClenaghan
Ornette Coleman may come to mind at the beginning of the spin of Open Or Close. This is understandable. The title song, which opens the set, is from Coleman's pen. Additionally, the jazz collective at work here--reedmen Geof Bradfield and Ben Goldberg, pianist Myra Melford and drummer Dana Hall play loose and free, à la Ornette, with a lot of seat-of-the-pants energy. The sound has a common thread strung out between Coleman's 1968 Blue Note Records album New York Is ...
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