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Matt Ulery: Mother Harp
by Mike Jurkovic
With 15 albums of adventurous composition and daredevil artistry behind him, Chicago-based bassist-composer-bandleader Matt Ulery is, as they say back home, no slouch. And on his 16th, the raucously-inflamed and infectious Mother Harp, he follows his rock 'n' roll heart to the finish line and beyond. Mother Harp is a bevy of crazy-good stuff packed with a punk-rock punch you do not hear authentically or authoritatively anymore anywhere these days. Today it all sounds categorical, as if AI ...
Continue ReadingGustavo Cortinas: Live in Chicago
by Hrayr Attarian
Chicago composer and drummer Gustavo Cortinas is a musician with a message, one of social justice. He delivers it in a style that fuses the melodic sensibilities of his ancestral Mexico with the complex syncopations of jazz. The exciting Live in Chicago documents an unedited, two-set concert that was recorded at Constellation Chicago on December 15, 2022. The quintet interprets ten Cortinas originals, some of which appeared on his magnum opus, the multifaceted and provocative Desafío Candente (Woolgathering, 2021).
Continue ReadingMatt Peterson: Better Worlds
by Hrayr Attarian
Chicago pianist Matt Peterson is a versatile artist who defies genres. He is both an accomplished, bop-based improviser as well as a sensitive interpreter of the Western classical tradition. Both elements of his style come together on the exuberant and captivating Better Worlds, a collection of 10 of his originals as well as a unique arrangement of The Beatles' “Blackbird." One of the highlights of the uniformly superb album is “Petrichor," which opens with Peterson's smoldering chords that ...
Continue ReadingBlack Diamond: Mandala
by Glenn Astarita
This Chicago-based quartet projects a raw and vibrant soundstage, nicely balanced with breakneck speed unison lines and introspective dialogues, topped off by tenor saxophonists Artie Black and Hunter Diamond's hearty choruses. They dig deep, yet on burners like the swiftly executed bop piece “Rudy's Mood," they dish out briskly executed unison lines, leading to hyper-mode frameworks, shrewdly contrasted by a sense of openness. Hence, the band doesn't clutter things up with tireless soloing escapades. Basically, the saxophonists effectively pick their ...
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