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Graham Villette
Ardeshir: Introducing Ardeshir
by Jack Bowers
For more than 35 years, starting in the mid-1950s, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers set the gold standard for small-group hard bop jazz in the U.S. and around the world, a benchmark at which Canadian tenor saxophonist Ardeshir Pourkeramati's charismatic quintet/quartet takes dead aim on the leader's superlative debut recording, Introducing Ardeshir. This is hard bop the way it should be played, with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm bolstered by resourceful solos and razor-sharp group interplay--on ...
Continue ReadingNoah Becker: Mode for Noah
by Jack Bowers
Alto saxophonist Noah Becker guides a splendid trio of western Canadian sidemen through their paces on Mode for Noah, which consists of seven of his original compositions. Becker's music is glossy and well-balanced, as are his solos, which, to his credit, do not quickly bring to mind any of his contemporaries. He plays mostly without vibrato, like Lee Konitz or Paul Desmond, among others, but without their singular voice or peerless artistry. Becker is simply quite good ...
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