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Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard
Live albums can be an iffy proposition. Not so with this double CD set recorded live at New York's legendary Village Vanguard. California born Akinmusire has worked with the same band for a number of years and their communication is apparent. Pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown supply the support and the embellishment appropriate and compliment the trumpet master throughout. In a program that rides an emotional rollercoaster, Akinmusire offers 16 original compositions over ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard
Live recordings at the venerable Village Vanguard are immediately part of a storied tradition. Fully aware of the spirit of the place, trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire brought his longtime quartet with pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown--but he took the unusual step of performing all new, original compositions. This is his third Blue Note album as a leader, following When the Heart Emerges Glistening (2011) and the imagined savior is far easier to paint (2014). He also ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire at SFJAZZ
Ambrose Akinmusire SFJAZZSan Francisco, California June 15, 2017 For trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, the band is everything: “When I'm playing with other people, it's hard to produce, because I don't have that relationship. But when I play with my band, it's endless," he told the New York Times in March 2011. Akinmusire has been playing with drummer Justin Brown since they were 14 or 15 years old; they grew up together in a rough-and-tumble ...
read moreThe Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet at the Library of Congress
The Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet The Library of Congress Washington, D.C. May 20, 2017 Although he only has two major label releases to his name, Ambrose Akinmusire has established himself as one of the most exciting trumpet players in recent years. The last appearance he made on a recording was Wolfgang Muthspiel's 2016 album Rising Grace (ECM Records). The fact that the jny: Oakland-born trumpet player appeared on that thoroughly enjoyable album alongside no less than ...
read moreBray Jazz Festival 2015
Bray Jazz Festival 2015 Various Venues Bray, Ireland May 1-3, 2015 Sunshine and squall. The sun and the clouds chased each other's tails throughout the May Bank Holiday weekend of the Bray Jazz Festival. In a way the weather mirrored the music--a pleasingly eclectic, bracing mixture--and the fortunes of the festival itself, which has been buffeted by the recent storms of funding cuts, yet remains unbowed. In spite of a reduced budget ...
read moreMark F. Turner's Best of 2014
Typically, when music is labeled it gets thrown into a box that limits its artistic scope. But the four letter word “jazz" in today's environment obliterates typical categorization as found in these diverse releases. Ambrose Akinmusire The imagined savior is far easier to paint (Blue Note) In his early thirties trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is developing his own voice as one of today's brightest and most imaginative young leaders with a ...
read moreFestival International de Jazz de Montreal 2014
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal Ambrose Akinmusire By Invitation Tigran By Invitation Tord Gustavsen Quartet / Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana, Mehliana June 26-July 6, 2014 There simply isn't a festival in the world like the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Where else in the world can you find a city where, with a population of well over 1.5 million people, six square blocks are closed down for the entire duration of ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire at Dazzle, Denver, June 21, 2014
Ambrose Akinmusire Dazzle Denver June 21, 2014 Einstein taught us that time is a relative thing. Time can pass, or seem to pass, at different rates depending on how fast you are moving; especially in relation to an observer who is moving at a different speed. For Ambrose Akinmusire and his quintet, time is a relative thing too. And it may well be different for the observers than it is for the band. Akinmusire brought ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire: Painting Saviors
Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (pronounced ah-kin-MOO-sir-ee) is as imaginative as the sonic soundscapes he creates and as informative as the titles that he bestows on his songs. Ambrose Akinmusire's allure stems from the complexity of his albums; a complexity that requires the listener to fully participate and engage with the artist and ask questions as to who the characters are, what events are taking place, and the emotions that the composer is trying to convey. This type of intricacy is the ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire: The imagined savior is far easier to paint
The title's prose speaks of trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire's poetic leanings. A rising jazz star who's received a lion's share of awards and accolades yet is not resting on past laurels, he continues to search for artistic expression with in-demand chops and inventive writing that has illuminated the recordings of other artists and his own band since 2008's debut Prelude: to Cora (Fresh Sound New Talent). the imagined savior is far easier to paint is a fresh page ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire: When The Heart Emerges Glistening
A new generation of jazz musicians, unimpeded by the idiomatic constraints of tradition, has come of age since the end of the '80s-era culture wars. One such free-thinking artist is young trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, who was first discovered by saxophonist Steve Coleman at the tender age of 19. When The Heart Emerges Glistening is his first recording for Blue Note, following his 2008 debut, Prelude...To Cora (Fresh Sound New Talent). The session exudes a hearty romanticism, with Akinmusire's ...
read moreAmbrose Akinmusire: Emerging Heart
"My favorite instrument is the cello," said the easygoing young musician in early February, from his apartment in Manhattan, where he referred to himself jokingly as “a hibernating jazzman." His West-Coast roots weren't taking a firm grip in the frigid temperatures of the Northeast. “Me and strings just don't get along. I can play piano; I can play a lot of different things, drums. But strings, I just don't get." Those words came from Ambrose Akinmusire, a trumpet ...
read moreAlbum Showcase
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Lined With A Groove by Pete Coco
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One Night At Chris’ by Dave Wilson
