Articles by Jeff Cebulski

Album Review

Amanda Gardier: Transmutations: Bjork Rearranged

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by Jeff Cebulski
October 22, 2026

With the same studio ensemble as assembled for her notable previous album, Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson (Self Produced, 2024), the alto saxophonist and now flutist Amanda Gardier continues her musical interpretations of others' art on Transmutations: Björk Reimagined (TIDEL). Recorded in January 2024, after playing release shows for Auteur, Gardier had planned to record a Bjork song when she realized that her supporting cast--guitarist Charlie Ballantine, bassist Jesse Whitman, and drummer Peter King--would complement her ...

Album Review

Kevin Fort: Chiaroscuro

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by Jeff Cebulski
August 24, 2026

The combination of piano and guitar seems to be a potential no-brainer for artistic jazz expression, yet not many successful attempts exist, on record anyway. The obvious victories and inspirations are the two albums by hall-of-famers Bill Evans and Jim Hall , Undercurrent (Blue Note, 1962) and Intermodulation (Verve, 1966). The Chicago-area pianist Kevin Fort is transparent about the influence of Undercurrent in notes that accompany Fort's album with under-heralded guitarist Andy Brown, Chiaroscuro. Yet the stronger comparison ...

Album Review

Connor Bernhard: Pathways

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by Jeff Cebulski
May 20, 2026

Nearly five years after his debut album Altitude (BASE Records, 2020), Chicago trumpeter Connor Bernhard gathered most of that album's cohorts for his second recording as a leader, Pathways. What also returns is the same bright, engaging horn that distinguishes Bernhard and lifts the proceedings significantly. His band--the three repeaters Julius Tucker on piano, Jeff Swanson on guitar, and Clif Wallace on drums, joined by Evan Salvacion Levine on bass--follows through with their own engaging support. The unusual combination of ...

Album Review

Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!

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by Jeff Cebulski
April 30, 2026

Spring arrives; along with the typical climactic inconsistencies, the jazz market blooms. One of the early blossoms is a minor label treat, Dance! Skip! Hop! from the cellist Tomeka Reid and her quartet. This could be a major season for the adopted Chicagoan Reid, who is also featured on an ECM album from pianist Craig Taborn, Dream Archives (ECM Records, 2026). Dance! Skip! Hop! Is the album of choice, the second album from the quartet that includes the guitarist du jour Mary ...