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Jazz Articles about Andrew Rathbun

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Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: The Speed Of Time

Read "The Speed Of Time" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Not one to avoid concepts and ambitious outings, Andrew Rathbun's to-date masterpiece, The Atwood Suites (Origin Records, 2018), explored the poetry of his countrywoman, writer Margaret Atwood. In 2023, he tackles time. Time is a funny thing. Its perceived speed is malleable. It tends toward an increasing velocity as one moves into middle age and beyond. It can crawl at a snail's pace (during a root canal treatment, for example) and it can race ahead with wild abandon--that ...

Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Sassofonista e orchestratore canadese, Andrew Rathbun ha 47 anni e una ricca carriera alle spalle, svolta negli Stati Uniti con studi al New England Conservatory sotto la guida di Ran Blake e dal 1997 professionalmente a New York in vari contesti. A partire dal debutto del 1999 con Scatter Some Stones, ha inciso alcuni dischi da leader, il più noto dei quali è Sculpture (Fresh Sound 2002) inciso in quintetto col suo mentore Kenny Wheeler. Con quest'ultimo Rathbun ha collaborato ...

1
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Character Study

Read "Character Study" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


The political and social landscape of the last couple of years has inspired music that expresses anger, sorrow, solidarity and other strong feelings. For saxophonist Andrew Rathbun, the times have brought up reflections on what “character" means and what is the place of integrity, honesty and conviction in the modern world. Some of this was addressed in his recent large ensemble recording, Atwood Suites, (Origin, 2018) and it's also the focus of this quintet disc. Without pointing fingers ...

4
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Andrew Rathbun is a Canadian saxophonist who has made a major musical statement here with this collection of suites, two of which are based on the poetry of author Margaret Atwood. Rathbun's writing shows the influence of another Canadian, Kenny Wheeler, in its lush sonority, the frequent gorgeous flugelhorn solos by Tim Hagans and the role of Luciana Souza, who both sings Atwood's poetry with gentle forcefulness and moans wordlessly within the orchestral ensembles, the same way Wheeler often utilized ...

4
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Paul Rauch


The mingling of jazz music and poetry is not a new concept. It has always been an amiable, yet at times, uncomfortable fit. From a verse standpoint, it is in many ways liberating. While most vocalized lyrics and spoken word forms rely on rhyme to speak to cadence and rhythm, free verse poetry liberates the narrative from the confinements of structure, and much like an improvising instrumentalist, takes spoken language into a intertwining duality with the melody within harmonic dimension. ...

2
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


In a way, the Atwood Suites have been in the works for almost two decades. When Kenny Wheeler approached Toronto native Andrew Rathbun in search for a band in 2001, the former furthermore inquired if the latter would like a composition of his own penning to be performed beside Wheeler's “Suite Time Suite." Consequently, the “Power Politics Suite," which makes for the second half of the first CD, was born, with Wheeler's and vocalist Luciana Souza's sound specifically in mind. ...

8
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


The marriage between jazz and poetry is having a true moment in the present artistic sphere. The two have long mixed and mingled, oft proving sympathetic and symbiotic in their multidirectional moves, unique cadences, and improvisational capacities. But never before has the connection been so strong and centralized. With drummer Matt Wilson's triumphant encounter with the work of Carl Sandburg, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom's exploration of Emily Dickinson's writing, saxophonist Benjamin Boone's collaboration with Philip Levine, and a handful ...


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