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Benjamin Koppel: White Buses: Passage To Freedom
by Doug Collette
If saxophonist/composer/bandleader Benjamin Koppel has proven anything over the last few years, it is that he has no trouble finding sources of inspiration for his work. Whether it is just for the sake of blowing with a redoubtable rhythm section in the form of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade on Perspective (Cowbell Music, 2023) or illustrating his own range of style with The Ultimate Soul & Jazz Revue (Cowbell Music, 2020) and The Art of The ...
read moreChristian Howes & Richard Galliano: Southern Exposure
by Howard Mandel
Christian Howes wants you to know that Southern Exposure is not simply another violin and accordion record, some light-hearted evocation of Parisian café music. It's deeper than that," Howes, the 40-year-old violinist who is also an educator and online entrepreneur, says of his 13th album (counting self-produced projects from the 1990s). I think there's a lot of passion on the record. There's a sort of tragic feel to some of it. It's distinguished by the fact ...
read moreBilly Childs: The Winds of Change
by Neil Duggan
Billy Childs, one of the most critically acclaimed pianists in modern jazz, is in high demand as a modern classical composer. He has played and composed music ranging from orchestral to chamber works to contemporary small ensemble jazz. This has brought him five Grammy awards to date. Starting as a pianist in his native Los Angeles, he then spent six years with Freddie Hubbard's band before becoming a leader in his own right. He has performed with a ...
read moreChris Potter: Got The Keys To The Kingdom: Live At The Village Vanguard
by Ian Patterson
The title references an old gospel song, but for Chris Potter the keys in question could be those to the Village Vanguard. This is the saxophonist's third live recording from jazz's most storied club, not counting those with Paul Motian. For musicians and fans alike, this is hallowed turf. But it's not just about playing at The Village Vanguard. Documenting those dates is key--a rite of passage, to judge by the dozens of revered jazz musicians who have made live ...
read moreJohn Bailey: Time Bandits
by Jack Bowers
After working and recording for decades with some of the jazz world's best and brightest talents, trumpeter John Bailey released his first album as leader of his own group in 2018, the second in 2020 and, in 2023, his third, Time Bandits, which shares a name but nothing more with Terry Gilliam's 1981 film fantasy. Bailey leads an all-star quartet on this one, firmly anchored by drummer Victor Lewis (the timekeeper on all of Bailey's albums) and ...
read moreChris Potter: Got The Keys To The Kingdom (Live At The Village Vanguard)
by Chris May
There is a lot of heavy ordnance going off during this album. Indeed, the incoming only lets up once, and then briefly, during a performance of Billy Strayhorn's Blood Count" at the halfway point. For the rest of the sixty-one minutes playing time, the watchword is eruptive. But no PPE is required. The barrage is benign. This is the third album Chris Potter has recorded live at the Vanguard. The attraction is no surprise. Saxophonists, especially those ...
read moreFranco Ambrosetti: Nora
by Dan McClenaghan
Franco Ambrosetti's album is called simply Nora. Short and sweet, four letters, two syllables. But it could easily have been called Franco Ambrosetti with Strings," as the Swiss flugelhornist & trumpeter follows the orchestral path of alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and his groundbreaking Charlie Parker With Strings (Verve, 1950), trumpeter Chet Baker's Chet Baker with Strings (Columbia, 1953) or trumpeter Clifford Brown's Clifford Brown with String (Verve, 1955). Those early forays into orchestral jazz set the template of ...
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