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Curt Bley
New Standard Quintet: Another Time, Another Place
by Jack Bowers
Another Time, Another Place is a well-drawn album by Chicago's New Standard Quintet whose seven original compositions may please the ears but seldom inflame the senses. The music is good—and often better than that—without prompting a listener to reach for the replay button. Of course, that could be the listener's fault, as there is nothing here that lands shy of respectable. A matter of personal taste? That's as reasonable as any assumption. Be that as it may, ...
Continue ReadingJoshua Jern Jazz Orchestra: Lockdown
by Jack Bowers
After taking a pleasant and romantic Midnight Stroll in 2019, trumpeter/composer Joshua Jern's Chicago-based Jazz Orchestra (like almost everyone else) began a coronavirus-decreed Lockdown but has emerged two years later from that self-imposed hiatus swinging harder and more often than ever. As before, most compositions and all arrangements are by Jern; and as before, the orchestra performs them with ardor and panache. This time around, however, there is a formidable new “weapon" on two tracks ("A Stretch ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
