Home » Jazz Articles » Dennis Chambers
Jazz Articles about Dennis Chambers
Oz Noy: Triple Play
by Doug Collette
In the parlance of baseball, the triple play is one of the rarest occurrences in the game, a fielding opportunity relying as much on practice as experience. So it is altogether fitting that guitarist Oz Noy, drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Jimmy Haslip title their live outing after this most unusual gambit; the trio's combined history and preternatural chemistry make for a singular outing, one in which camaraderie takes precedence over technique (although there is plenty of the latter).
read moreBill Ortiz: Points of View
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Long associated with Carlos Santana, with whom he had a 16-year stint, trumpeter Bill Ortiz steps into the spotlight here with an auspicious and highly entertaining session. Ten selections showcase Ortiz who is supported by some of the Bay area's best. The order of the day is energy, excitement, and an overall superb show. Sunburst," an Eddie Henderson tune, launches things with a pulsing piano, driving bass, textured rhythms and Ortiz wailing, first using a Harmon mute ...
read moreSteve Khan: Patchwork
by Rafael Vega Curry
Few artists have been as successful as Steve Khan in achieving a genuine blend of jazz and Latin sensibilities, rhythms and sonorities. In fact, it can be suggested that no one else has done what he has accomplished for the jazz guitar, offering both the extensions of what Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Grant Green did in their day, plus the real sabor latino. Khan, of course, is one of the preeminent guitarists of the last few decades, ...
read moreDennis Chambers: Heartbeats and Backbeats
by Jim Worsley
We all know that Dennis Chambers is among the world's greatest drummers. In a spontaneous conversation, the gentleman proved to be as kind and generous as he is with his backbeats and grooves. He spoke candidly about the life threatening battles he has faced. Spanning from intense to humorous, Chambers opened up on his medical ordeals, the road back to health, and getting back behind his kit. And oh yes, we talked about music. Led Zeppelin might seem ...
read moreOz Noy: Snapdragon
by Mike Jacobs
It's an old sentiment but it still holds that great instrumental chops, enthralling as they may be, are fairly meaningless on their own. And quite frankly, they are pretty ubiquitous these days with the internet exposure machine going full tilt. Given all that, it's quite easy for the listener to become inured with technical prowess-- especially wizardry of the fretboard. So to say Oz Noy is a fantastic guitarist just isn't enough anymore. It's fortunate then that what ...
read moreTeymur Phell: Master Volume
by Geno Thackara
This crackling debut from Teymur Phell is a hearty, eclectic and loud funk-fusion party. He sets the tone right away with Zero to Sixty"--a title that's actually a bit misleading since it kicks off already at sixty mphand shows that he knows his way around a bass, and also has plenty of use for one with six strings, thank you very much. This jaunt as leader follows years of live and session work; he has clearly taken a lot away ...
read moreSteve Khan: Patchwork
by John Kelman
Amongst the many myths out there about music-makingespecially in jazz, where the improvisation quotient is often so highis that composing may, indeed, be work, but doesn't require the kind of relentless attention to detail that far more truthfully defines how many artists write and arrange their music. These days, one need only look to music by artists including Pat Metheny, Antonio Sanchez and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah to find music conceived with intimate and painstaking detail while, at the same ...
read more