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Nathan Ellman-Bell
Slow Tiger: Slow Tiger
by Max Kutner
Listening to the music of Slow Tiger is akin to an encounter with an enormous, saturated rainbow. Their self-titled debut recording offers a kaleidoscopic palette of sonic color and otherworldly energy that remains endlessly fresh and nuanced. It is handily one of the best releases this year and yet another gem to come from the burgeoning Endectomorph label in NYC. Slow Tiger began as a touring collective in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. Keyboardist JP Schlegelmilch put a tour together ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's - Vol. II
by Troy Dostert
There was no reason whatsoever for listeners who enjoyed trumpeter Michael Sarian's terrific 2024 release, Live at Cliff Bell's (Shifting Paradigm Records), to feel short--changed. Capturing all the energy and excitement of a first-rate performance at the renowned Detroit jazz club from the previous year, the album traversed a wide spectrum of emotional registers and displayed the instrumental excellence which confirmed Sarian's standing as one of the premier talents of his generation. But what was left unmentioned at the time ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's
by Richard J Salvucci
This is music for the adventurous, especially those with the ears to deal with unusual harmonies. Michael Sarian is a now-Canadian trumpet player in the mold of Enrico Rava. His gift is his sound: dark, burnished, probing, even tentative at times. He is fond of half-valve expeditions into the upper register, which, if executed properly, can smear a tone between a squeal and a shriek. It is more than appropriate for the sort of music he plays, insinuating and beguiling, ...
Continue ReadingMichael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's
by Dan Bilawsky
On March 30, 2023, Michael Sarian rolled into Detroit landmark Cliff Bell's with horn in hand. In the midst of a spring tour, that particular venue and evening provided an opportunity for the trumpeter and his bandmates--pianist Santiago Leibson, bassist Marty Kenney and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell--to do what they do best. Working through new material and strong selections from previous studio albums, this outfit delivered the goods with coiled intensity, some sturm-und-drang sophistication, open ears, sensitivity and melodic mindset. And ...
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Ludovica Burtone: Sparks
by Angelo Leonardi
È un debutto discografico davvero significativo, questo di Ludovica Burtone, violinista friulana di formazione classica con un diploma in composizione del Berklee College of Music e un ottimo curriculum di collaborazioni con jazzzisti statunitensi e internazionali. Inciso a New York con un ensemble comprendente un quartetto d'archi e ritmica, più alcuni ospiti di rilievo (Melissa Aldana, Sami Stevens), il percorso musicale colpisce e affascina per la padronanza con cui Ludovica unisce le varie fonti d'ispirazione.
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Sam Decker: Shrove
by Angelo Leonardi
Il titolo di questo disco è preso dal primo movimento del balletto Petrushka di Igor Stravinsky ed è indicativo della formazione del sassofonista Sam Decker. Laureato al New England Conservatory è stato molto attratto dal grande innovatore russo e da altri compositori del Novecento come Dmitrij Shostakovich e Bela Bartok. La musica di questo disco ne risente ma il suo taglio espressivo è un jazz contemporaneo dove libera improvvisazione e astratto camerismo convivono con le radiose melodie folk che impregnano ...
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Sebastien Ammann's Color Wheel: Resilience
by Alberto Bazzurro
Lo svizzero Sebastien Ammann, di professione pianista e compositore, guida in questo elegante, solido album un quintetto dalle geometrie ben definite e dai percorsi espressivo-espositivi conseguenti. Magari non vi si respirerà tutta l'originalità di questa terra, ma il lavoro d'insieme (soprattutto) è ottimamente congegnato e condotto, e sul piano solistico tutto procede analogamente, col trombone di Samuel Blaser una spanna sopra gli altri (peraltro sempre all'altezza della situazione). Subito l'iniziale “Yayoi" ci introduce eloquentemente entro i meandri ...
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