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Aaron Parks: Finding the Way to Little Big

By Jiaowei Hu

"Always beginning. Often perplexed. Drawn to beauty and to the absurd. I play piano, write songs, and take pictures of doors with my phone. A bit odd." So is the pianist's own account on his website, written in a few scribbled sentences. About a decade ago, Aaron Parks created much of a stir through his debut album Invisible Cinema (Blue Note Records, 2008). In the cover image, the then new star was standing right before a closing door. Ten years ...

Cathy Segal-Garcia: A Weaver Of Dreams

By Dan Bilawsky

Cathy Segal-Garcia's talents are vast, and her heart is warm and open. A significant presence on the Los Angeles scene, she can proudly wear many labels —"vocalist," “songwriter," “educator," and “scene maker and sustainer" among them. But when you boil Segal-Garcia down to her essence, she's simply a weaver of dreams, a starry- eyed wanderer and free spirit who, nevertheless, possesses strong artistic instincts and the organizational savvy to pull off one unique project after another. A look at a ...

Roger Kellaway: The Many Open Minds Of Roger Kellaway

By Dan Bilawsky

There's not a single category that can contain the wit and wonder that is Roger Kellaway. Over the past 60 years he's put his musical stamp on film, television, pop, rock, new age, ballet, and modern classical forms, garnering awards and acclaim wherever his pen and piano work happen to fall. And let's not forget jazz. While Kellaway has played with a laundry list of notables from the aforementioned realms, his jazz résumé is no less impressive. Sonny Rollins, Clark ...

David S. Ware Quartet: Théâtre Garonne, 2008

By Mark Corroto

In 2008, when this live concert was recorded, saxophonist David S. Ware was ill, but concert goers would have no idea of this fact. He has been suffering, since 1999 from kidney failure and eventually had a kidney transplant in 2009. Ware and the latest configuration of his quartet traveled to Toulouse, France, just a few weeks after recording the studio album Shakti (AUM Fidelity, 2008) in Brooklyn. By the same token, listeners of that release had no idea of ...

ALA.NI on preserving the present moment in music

By Leo Sidran

Mike Murley: Taking Flight

By Don Phipps

Mike Murley's Taking Flight is a candlelight romance of well-chosen covers and two original compositions. At times, Murley's sax sound is slightly reminiscent of Ben Webster while, when he plays ballads, one can hear echoes of John Coltrane. In short, his sound is sweet and warm. Combining this sound with the elegant contributions of his bandmates gives the album a sophisticated appeal, like sipping a cosmopolitan in black tie at a glass bar. Eschewing a drummer, Murley's ensemble ...

Moon in Scorpio and Mischief Night

By Mary Foster Conklin

Besides some spooky seasonal fare, this week we focus on new releases from vocalists Carmen Lundy, Michelle Lordi and Carrie Wicks, trombonist Michael Dease and pianist Michele Rosewoman with birthday shout outs to Nellie Lutcher (pictured), Victoria Spivey, Laura Nyro, Bobby Troup, Jane Bunnett, Esperanza Spalding, Brenda Earle Stokes, Allison Miller and Freddy Cole, among others. Playlist Roxy Coss “Don't Cross the Coss" from Quintet (Outside In Music) 00:00 Madeleine Peyroux “Honey Party" from Anthem (Verve) 05:21 Nora ...

Go: Organic Orchestra & Brooklyn Raga Massive: Ragmala: A Garland Of Ragas

By Mark Sullivan

Percussionist Adam Rudolph performed and recorded extensively with World Music originator Yusef Lateef from 1988-2013, and has performed with trumpeters Don Cherry, Jon Hassell, and Wadada Leo Smith, among others. He became a composer after being inspired by Cherry (also one of World Music's originators) while staying at his home. In the Go: Organic Orchestra he has developed a remarkable improvisational conducting style. The Orchestra has been active for nearly twenty years; their first recording was Go: Organic Orchestra: 1 ...

Ramsey Lewis & Urban Knights: VII

By Phillip Woolever

Back in 1995, an executive named Carl Griffin at Ramsey Lewis' record label reportedly conceived the idea of forming a jazz “super group" around the well-established Chicago pianist. The resulting all-star project, deemed Urban Knights, featured Grover Washington Jr. and a rhythm section with Omar Hakim and bassist Victor Bailey, who'd worked together in the early '80s lineup of Weather Report. On five subsequent albums over the next quarter century, a rotating Urban Knights cast has showcased famous players and ...

Michael Formanek Very Practical Trio: Even Better

By Don Phipps

Composer and bassist Michael Formanek's Even Better is an adventurous compilation of bluesy abstractions with surprising twists and turns. Opting for a drummer-less trio format, Formanek gives himself room to negotiate the terrain with his own intimate rhythm. He is aided and abetted by his longtime collaborator, saxophonist virtuoso Tim Berne, and guitarist extraordinaire Mary Halvorson. Formanek's style of playing is relaxed. His runs up and down the neck of the bass are, even at their most intense, ...

A Trip Into the Jazz Room with selections from DJ Paul Murphy

By Nick Davies

This shows features music from the Jazz Room complied by Paul Murphy which is out on BBE Records. The music goes deep with tracks from Imperial Tiger Orchestra, New York Ska Jazz Ensemble. Sit back, put the headphones on and be mesmerised with 50 minutes of great music. Playlist Rez Abbasi “Wedding Preparation" from A Throw of the Dice (Whirlwind Recordings) 1:55 Blue Mode “Smells Like Teen Spirit" from The Jazz Room compiled by Paul Murphy (BBE ...

Victor Gould, Eastern Rebellion, Ray Santos and More

By Joe Dimino

This week we open our show with a bright young cat that is leading the new jazz march, Victor Gould, in our mission to showcase the best and brightest in the world of jazz. From there, we shift to an elder statesman Ahmad Jamal and to others notable players on today's scene, like Champian Fulton, Andrés Vial and Rez Abbasi. A musician from London reached out to the show recently by the name of Loz Speyer and we are happy ...