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Big Bands, Orchestras and Soft Machines
Randy Brecker & NDR Bigband Rocks Piloo Records & Productions LLC 2019 The easiest answer isn't always the best answer, but sometimes it is. So it's both easy and proper to point out that trumpet and flugelhorn master, composer, and bandleader Randy Brecker was kind enough to simultaneously review his release with the NDR Bigband, the Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra, when he titled it Rocks. Assembled for the ...
read moreThe Jamie Saft Quartet: Hidden Corners
Saxophonist John Coltrane's spiritual side came to prominence with 1965's A Love Supreme (Impulse! Records), and that's how he rolled—with ever- increasing fervor—until the end, soaring out of the solar system with Stellar Regions (Impulse, 1967), and extending his reach deep into the galaxy with Interstellar Space (Impulse, 1967) in his search for his version of God. And now, pianist/keyboardist Jamie Saft—inspired by Jewish mysticism—gets his spiritual groove on with Hidden Corners.Bolstering a growing and superb Rare Noise ...
read moreHouston Person with the John Toomey Trio at Old Dominion University
Dizzy Gillespie said of Houston Person, “He's one of the best... He's got bull chops!" Those “bull chops" got quite a workout when Person visited Old Dominion University as the guest performer of the F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series. The tenor saxophonist arrived early in the week to preside over a series of master classes as well as rehearsing and performing with the Old Dominion Jazz Choir and Jazz Orchestra. To cap off his week Person performed with ...
read moreToft-Olsen: Special
Danish jazz singer and crooner, Hans Toft-Olsen, broke through with his second album, Four (Aarhusart, 2018), after releasing his debut with the pop-oriented, Kinky Beat (Aarhusart, 2017). While Toft-Olsen found his voice as a jazz singer on the second album, the debut still contains a fair number of gems. One of them, “Special," is now the title track of his third album. The tune is an original composition by Toft-Olsen with lyrics by Mark Davies. They collaborated ...
read moreIlmiliekki Quartet: Land Of Real Men
Finnish all-star combo Ilmiliekki Quartet creates its very own sonic landscape on the first recording in 13 years. Between minimalist percussive crescendi and nostalgic melodies led by Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Land Of Real Men demonstrates an organic gathering of musicians at the top of their game. Six of the eight tunes are originals by the bandmembers. the opener, however, is an explosive take on avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson's “O Superman" and gets the album going on a ...
read moreStan Kenton and West Coast Jazz (1950 - 1958)
In the last hour, we heard evidence of Woody Herman's capacity for talent development in the form of further work by reed players Stan Getz, Serge Chaloff, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Jimmy Giuffre. In this hour we turn the spotlight on alumni of the Stan Kenton Orchestra which produced several significant players in the West Coast cool tradition and a number of prominent vocalists. Playlist Host Intro 0:00 Stan Kenton & His Orchestra. “Art Pepper" from Stan ...
read moreLiam Noble: The Long Game
For a quarter of a century, Liam Noble has been an essential participant in the British jazz scene. Educated in music at Oxford University and jazz at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Noble released his first solo album Close Your Eyes (FMR Records) in 1994. Since then he's played in bands led by Stan Sulzmann, Anita Wardell, John Stevens, Harry Beckett, Tim Whitehead and was a member of Bobby Wellins' groups. He's also been involved in the improvisation ...
read moreJeff Lorber: Chemistry in Fusion
I don't know that anyone would confuse Jeff Lorber with a mad scientist, but you know, as they say, if the shoe fits. Lorber is far from mad, so okay, let's take that out of the equation. However, if the art of music can be further developed and shaped by scientific measures then Lorber resembles Albert Einstein. Perhaps more on his mother's side (that's a joke). Seriously now, the chemistry that the Grammy winning multi-talented keyboardist, composer, and producer captures ...
read moreEarth Songs: Music after the Age of the Anthropocene
One of the most fascinating things about art is its ability to imagine new worlds. Art can depict a world that is already there, but it can also conjure a dystopia or utopia, a future world around the corner. Whether art should concern itself with the world at all is an important question, but as the effects of climate change are felt increasingly around the globe, it has become apparent that the Earth is vulnerable. The age ...
read moreFrédéric Gomes at les Deux Moulins
Frédéric Gomes les Deux Moulins Paris / Montmartre June 13, 2019 To the right of the famous Moulin Rouge dinner show theatre in jny: Paris, a narrow cobbled street rises towards Montmartre. It is rue Lepic, where Les Deux Moulins (the two windmills) is situated. It appears as a traditional Parisian brasserie, with good food in a bar/restaurant, neon and bright lights reflecting off the copper bartop and beer taps. This brasserie ...
read moreJoseph Branciforte/Theo Bleckmann: LP1
Is sound something to bathe in? Can music envelop? Does the art of improvisation lend itself to ambient sound painting? The answer to all three questions, according to this collaboration, is “yes." LP1, the debut release on Joseph Branciforte's greyfade imprint, finds the producer and electronics ace teaming up with vocalist Theo Bleckmann to conjure variable atmospheres. The result of some studio experimentation leading up to a 2018 performance alongside the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto, the four improvisations ...
read moreAndré Carvalho: The Garden Of Earthly Delights
When eyeing the triptych oil painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Renaissance painter Hieronymous Bosch, the observer often drifts off and zooms in on a very specific segment of the painting. Defined by opposing themes and motifs, the eye wanders from left to right, from Adam and Eve in peaceful nature, over birds and buildings and gatherings of people, until all hell breaks loose on the right panel which, coincidentally, carries the unofficial title “Musical Hell." Much like the ...
read moreOcean Blues
"Ocean Blues" performed by the Dave Wilson Quartet at Chris’ Jazz Café (Philadelphia) on March 29, 2018. From the album One Night At Chris’ (2019) featuring Dave Wilson (saxophone), Dan Monaghan (drums), Tony Marino (bass) and Kirk Reese (piano).
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