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Jazz Articles about Johnathan Blake
Terell Stafford: Between Two Worlds
by Neil Duggan
Family is a major theme on Terell Stafford's Between Two Worlds, with compositions dedicated to his daughter, mother and wife. His band has been playing with him so long they must feel like family too. They include tenor and soprano saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, drummer Johnathan Blake and bassist David Wong. In fact, Wong plays with Stafford every week as part of the renowned Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Percussionist Alex Acuña is the new member of the family.
read moreJohnathan Blake: Passage
by Dave Linn
The drummer Johnathan Blake was born in Philadelphia in 1976. His father was the esteemed jazz violinist and educator John Blake Jr. who played in many diverse settings, (most notably Archie Shepp and McCoy Tyner), before releasing seven albums under his name. He died in 2014. Blake (the son) began studying music at a young age, later attending William Paterson University studying with Rufus Reid and Steve Wilson. He eventually received a master's in composition at Rutgers University where he ...
read moreTom Harrell: Number Five
by John Kelman
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," they say, and since coming to HighNote in 2007, trumpeter Tom Harrell has lived by that old adage, utilizing the same quintet for its auspicious debut, Light On, and three subsequent recordings, culminating in 2011's outstanding Time of the Sun. Number Five continues Harrell's winning streak with the same line-up, but if each successive recording has reflected the ongoing growth of one of today's most compelling small groups--the chemistry deeper and the interaction ...
read moreMarshall Gilkes: Cyclic Journey
by Dan Bilawsky
Wonders never cease with Marshall Gilkes. Having previously reached extraordinary heights as a leader on a breakout quartet set, two standout quintet dates, a pair of essential releases with the WDR Big Band and one stunning trio album, this celebrated trombonist and composer now moves beyond known borders. Directing and fronting a sui generis assemblage merging a top-shelf rhythm combo with a brilliant brass ensemble, he uncovers and explores the conventions of his own cyclic journey. “I wrote the music ...
read moreHarry Skoler: Living in Sound - The Music of Charles Mingus
by Angelo Leonardi
Tra i vari tributi alle composizioni di Charles Mingus, pubblicati nell'anno del centenario della nascita, questo di Harry Skoler conferma la plasticità di quei temi, articolati e mutevoli, frutto della sua complessa personalità. L'autore e primo solista di questo progetto è un clarinettista--già allievo di Jimmy Giuffre al New England Conservatory e da anni professore al Berklee College--la cui vita è stata radicalmente influenzata dalla passione per l'opera di Mingus. In collaborazione col sassofonista ...
read moreOded Tzur: Isabela
by Mario Calvitti
A due anni di distanza dall'eccellente disco di esordio su ECM Here Be Dragons, preceduto da due CD pubblicati per Enja, che aveva sollevato lodi sperticate da parte di un po' tutta la critica, il sassofonista israeliano (ma basato a New York) Oded Tzur prova a bissarne il successo e non fallisce. Il nuovo lavoro ribadisce in pieno l'ottima impressione suscitata dall'album precedente e conferma il sassofonista come uno dei più interessanti tra gli astri nascenti del nuovo jazz internazionale. ...
read moreJason Palmer: Live From Summit Rock In Seneca Village
by Jack Bowers
With Covid-19 generally having had its way in recent years, shuttering many venues at which jazz musicians were accustomed to performing, it is a pleasure to hear an actual concert with a real live audience--even if the group is a piano-less quartet striving to hold its listeners' interest through five extended numbers whose collective playing time is over an hour. Trumpeter Jason Palmer's ensemble was recorded outdoors in May 2021 at the historic Seneca Village site in New York City's ...
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