Articles by Cicily Janus
Paul Wertico: All In A Day's Work
by Cicily Janus
Seven-time Grammy winner Paul Wertico, a name long-synonymous with innovation and Herculean energy/talent in the world of drums, has stepped out of the box once again to present an album that defies genre boundaries. In addition to the usual suspects of his trio including guitarist John Moulder and bassist Brian Peters, Wertico has combined forces with Israeli guitarist Dani Rabin and saxophonist Danny Markovitch to form the Mid East/Mid West Alliance. The product of this marriage of talent recently came ...
read moreRicky Sweum: String Theory
by Cicily Janus
The fog has lifted off of the coast of Seattle with the rise of Origin Records. As the fisherman of jazz today, they've cast their nets and pulled in a catch of fresh, raw and bold talent. Their latest catch: saxophonist Ricky Sweum.Pulling Your Own Strings, which came out in mid-August 2009, has received some of the highest accolades from today's best musicians including Dave Liebman who quotes Ricky as being a burning tenor player with technique and ...
read moreBobby Broom: Swept Away by the Music
by Cicily Janus
Bobby Broom is a veteran jazz guitarist, originally from New York City and currently operating from the Chicago jazz scene. He's been the staple side dish of soul and jazz for over thirteen years at Pete Miller's Steakhouse in Evanston, IL. He's also busy performing regularly--not only Chi-town, but throughout the world with his own groups, the Bobby Broom Trio and the Deep Blue Organ Trio, and with saxophone icon Sonny Rollins. But Plays for Monk (Origin, 2009) is a ...
read moreRudder: Evolving Their Groove
by Cicily Janus
Unleashing their heavily rooted and pedigreed vine upon the jazz world, Rudder has succeeded in blurring genre lines with their irresistible groove. This NYC-based foursome with Henry Hey on Keyboards, Tim Lefevbre on Bass, Keith Carlock on Drums and Chris Cheek on Sax has continued throughout the past years to scale the wall of success in both the jazz and jam-band scenes. Their new release, Matorning, released in April through Nineteen-Eight Records promises more of their intelligent, head-knocking originality. Matorning ...
read moreKurt Elling: Recasting Brilliance
by Cicily Janus
When Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane recorded their one and only album together they created a moment that shaped the art of vocal jazz. An instant of beauty transformed into history. Despite a bias towards the original recording, after listening to Kurt Elling's lustrous and drawn butter version, it was clear the past could be silenced to make way for innovation. This is Elling's first recording since his hit, Night Moves (Blue Note), in 2007. To say that this album ...
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