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RADIO January 5, 2020

James Carter, Milt Jackson, Logan Richardson and More

This week we open with a live cut from Newport Jazz recorded by James Carter and his Organ Trio. From there, we do what Neon Jazz is known for .. doing interviews and probing into the life of today's jazz musician, as we profile Kit Downes and hear new music from Kansas City-native Logan Richardson. Then, we look back to the music of Milt Jackson and into the right now with Todd Marcus. Playlist James Carter Organ Trio ...

LIVE REVIEW March 8, 2014

The James Carter Organ Trio at FlynnSpace

By Doug Collette

The James Carter Organ Trio Flynn Center for the Performing Arts/FlynnSpace Burlington, VT February 22, 2014 There were no Motown tunes among the eclectic mix of material that the James Carter Organ Trio played during their early show at FlynnSpace, but shortly into their set, when the threesome hit their stride on a brisk and insistent improvisation during “Melodie Au Crepuscule," lines from Martha & The Vandellas' “Dancing in the Street' came to mind: ..."There'll ...

EXTENDED ANALYSIS October 20, 2011

James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads

By C. Michael Bailey

James Carter Organ Trio At the Crossroads Emarcy Records 2011 Jazz has many faces. Some are searching and expansive, like those of alto saxophonists Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, seeking the outer edges of the music. Some are reverent and deferential, like the Modern Jazz Quartet and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, trying to lend respectability to the music borne in the whore houses of New Orleans' Storyville district. But like every family, ...

ALBUM REVIEW October 13, 2011

James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads

By Troy Collins

A ubiquitous presence in the mid-1990s, saxophonist James Carter faded from the limelight when Atlantic Records disbanded its jazz department in 2000. Undeterred, Carter forged ahead, eventually signing with EmArcy Records in 2008, turning misfortune into opportunity. In addition to releasing Carter's engaging Present Tense the same year, the label also issued his long-awaited premiere of composer Roberto Sierra's “Concerto for Saxophones," featured on Caribbean Rhapsody (2011).Picking up where Atlantic left off, EmArcy continues to encourage Carter's stylistic ...

ALBUM REVIEW October 9, 2011

James Carter Organ Trio: At The Crossroads

By Mark F. Turner

No one brings more swagger and flavor with their playing than multi-reedman James Carter. A zealous nod to the blues, gospel, and jazz, he looks back to the music's rich history and presses onward in At the Crossroads with his organ trio including organist Gerard Gibbs and drummer Leonard King Jr., who have performed together for nearly ten years Carter has been sometimes criticized as being too loud and showy but he's a unequivocal virtuoso, with encyclopedic ...

ALBUM REVIEW June 17, 2011

James Carter: Caribbean Rhapsody

By Dan Bilawsky

Reconciling the improvisational nature of jazz with the semi-rigid confines of classical constructs like the concerto has never been easy. While concertos are meant to highlight a soloist, making this format seem like a perfect home in which a jazz instrumentalist can dwell, the oft-scripted nature of all parts involved, including the solo, works against one of the key principles in jazz: spontaneous composition. While James Carter's collaboration with composer Roberto Sierra should rightly be hailed for all of the ...

EXTENDED ANALYSIS May 26, 2011

James Carter: Caribbean Rhapsody

By C. Michael Bailey

James CarterCaribbean RhapsodyEmarcy2011 Multi-reedist James Carter is both a student and master of all things saxophone. He is a keeper of the jazz flame much in the same way trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is, without Marsalis' conservative inclinations. Carter has been inventive in his projects, two of which were the well-received Chasin' The Gypsy (Atlantic, 2000), addressing the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt, and Gardenias For Lady Day (Sony, 2003), tipping his ...