Jazz Articles about Roy Nathanson

Roy Nathanson, Leap Day Trio, Jimmy Rushing and a Lot More

by Jerome Wilson
May 17, 2023

This episode contains a wide range of jazz artists, from Roy Nathanson and the Leap Day Trio to Jimmy Rushing and Meredith d'Ambrosio. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Paul Smoker Notet “Goodbye, David II" from Cool Lives (Alvas) 00:56 Avram Fefer Quartet “Bedouin Dream" from Juba Lee (Clean Feed) 7:28 Host Speaks 15:10 Cathrine Legardh/Sigurdur Flosason “Empty Glasses" ...

Roy Nathanson: Nearness And You, Duets and Improvisations

by John Sharpe
November 16, 2016

All the selections on Nearness And You come from saxophonist Roy Nathanson's June 2015 residency at the Stone in NYC, and feature a galaxy of current and past collaborators. Throughout his career, from the Lounge Lizards via the Jazz Passengers to Sotto Voce, Nathanson has brought an irreverent approach to the serious business of music making. Hoagy Carmichael's “The Nearness Of You" forms a golden thread that holds the program together. But as the reedman explains in the liners, it's ...

Roy Nathanson: Nearness And You, Duets and Improvisations

by Mark Corroto
April 13, 2016

On saxophonist Roy Nathanson's 2009 disc Subway Moon (Yellowbird), he covers the R&B song “Love Train" a huge hit for The O'Jays in 1973. Nathanson's version was a relaxed take on the age old wish for world peace. By decelerating the music he accelerated the intimacy. He utilizes the same device on Nearness Of You, an album of duets and improvisations recorded with his friends and longtime playing partners during his 2015 residency at The Stone in New York.

Roy Nathanson's Sotto Voce: Complicated Day

by Paolo Peviani
November 10, 2014

Roy Nathanson, Curtis Fowlkes, Sam Bardfeld... Non sono i Jazz Passengers, peraltro recentemente “Reunited," ma poco ci manca. Sono i Sotto Voce, band di cui Roy Nathanson è unico leader, e che si muove su territori simili a quelli dei Jazz Passengers ma con maggiore enfasi sull'orecchiabilità, sulle voci, sulla parola (tutti i brani dell'album sono cantati). L'approccio è quello consueto di Nathanson, che alterna composizioni originali a cover imprevedibili ("I Can See Clearly Now" di Johnny ...

Roy Nathanson: Subway Moon

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 26, 2010

Il mondo della metropolitana e della quotidianità newyorchese sono al centro di questo CD, dove si ritrovano alcuni dei più interessanti versi dell'eclettico Roy Nathanson. La cifra stilistica che lo informa ricalca quella dei Lounge Lizard, formazione di culto in cui militò Nathanson, prima di divenire leader ed animatore dei Jazz Passengers. Non c'è un vero motore centripeto in questa interessante proposta, che trae linfa da varie fonti: jazz e soul, Africa e perfino musica concreta. Una musica magnificamente interpretata, ...

Subway Moon

by Jakob Baekgaard
February 10, 2010

Subway Moon Roy Nathanson Soft cover; 134 pages ISBN 978-3-00-025376-8 Buddy's Knife 2009

Poetry, like music, is about movement. Both art forms move from one note, or word, to another, trying to catch the essence of the moment. Saxophonist and composer Roy Nathanson has long worked with both words and music, sometimes uniting the two as he did on Sotto Voce (Aum Fidelity, 2006). Subway Moon, however, represents the first ...

Roy Nathanson: Subway Moon

by Mark F. Turner
July 2, 2009

If the expression “renaissance musician" existed in the dictionary, it would probably show a picture of saxophonist Roy Nathanson. The leader of the Jazz Passengers has undergone numerous artistic rebirths throughout his career as a member of The Lounge Lizards, performing with Debbie Harry, Elvis Costello, and Marc Ribot, composing for film and theater, acting, teaching, and even hosting a radio drama. He also holds a degree in poetry, which is put to splendid use on Subway Moon. Inspired by ...