Tom Amend

Biography
Articles

Bobby Wiens: Live at Dazzle

Read "Live at Dazzle" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
October 27, 2026

A really good live jazz album captures something that even the finest studio recording often struggles to reproduce: the interaction of musicians responding to each other in real time before an audience. There is an interaction between the players and the audience that is difficult to replicate in a studio setting. With Live at Dazzle, drummer Bobby Wiens and his ensemble demonstrate that chemistry throughout the album. Denver's Dazzle is an ideal location for recording a live jazz ...

Album Review

Bobby Wiens: Focus

by Jack Bowers
August 16, 2026

There are times when superb musicianship can redeem an album that may otherwise be gauged as no more than ordinary. Focus, Canadian-bred drummer Bobby Wiens’ second recording as leader, marks one of those times. Even though the album’s dozen themes are, aside from a few outliers, matter-of-fact, they are so marvelously performed by Wiens’ talented quartet that the album’s listening experience becomes a genuine pleasure.<PWhile Wiens, who wrote and arranged the first eleven of those tunes, keeps a ...

Album Review

Bobby Wiens: Focus

by Kyle Simpler
June 18, 2026

Even though a recording is a finished product, it still captures the feeling and intensity of the session. When players have a good working rapport, everything translates through the music. Clearly, the musicians assembled by drummer Bobby Wiens for his second album, Focus, share a strong rapport, and that chemistry is evident throughout the recording. Originally from Calgary, Wiens grew up surrounded by music. He developed an interest in drums during middle school, which ultimately led to years ...