Jazz Articles
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Margherita Fava: Tatatu
by Hrayr Attarian
Italian pianist Margherita Fava comes across as a mature composer and a sensitive performer on her captivating debut Tatatu. Based in Knoxville Tennessee, USA, Fava is a consummate musician and educator whose unique set of talents is on full display here as she leads a quartet on two covers and six of her poetic originals. For instance, her “Tidal Waves" has a mystical atmosphere. Over the rhythm trio's percolating refrains saxophonist Greg Tardy lets loose a lyrical melody ...
read moreMariangela Cagnetta: e-motion
by Nicholas F. Mondello
A glance at the track listing on this album might prompt the title of another tune--"So What's New?" However, after a thorough listening, a more appropriate musical response could be “I Never Knew." e-motion is an innovative, fascinating and marvelously performed modern perspective on eleven jazz standards delivered by superior musicians. The ensemble is minimal--a vocalist, an electric bassist and a drummer. That's it. The musicians' creative output is anything but. Vocalist Mariangela Cagnetta is an incredibly ...
read moreJust Music Trio: Standpoint
by Ian Patterson
Cross-pollination of music is as old as the hills, but the increasing frequency of such experimentation--the result of evermore sophisticated home recording technologies and file sharing--has obliterated the lines of latitude and longitude that traditionally separated musicians living in different countries/continents. This is leading to an ever greater number of sub-genres in all styles of music, and in jazz terms, may represent the greatest revolution in the music for forty years. It's increasingly futile to hang a name on so ...
read moreYuri Goloubev: Titanic for a Bike
by Ian Patterson
Yuri GoloubevTitanic for a BikeCaligola2011The old saying, “if you want a job done ask a busy person," certainly applies to Russian bassist Yuri Goloubev, one of the hardest-working musicians in jazz. When not touring with his own small ensembles, he's criss-crossing Europe in the trios of pianists Gwilym Simcock, John Laws and Carlo Morena, or in the quartets of saxophonists Claudio Fasoli and Mattia Cigalini. And in the two years since Metafore ...
read moreEnzo Rocco with Giancarlo Schiaffini & Ettore Fioravanti: Tubatrios Revenge
by Eric J. Iannelli
The debate over “What is jazz?" is as subject to changing collective tastes and individual preference as the age-old question “What is art?" We may never reach an answer that satisfies everyone. Hence the nature of the argument. But even proponents of the most liberal definition of the word will have to concede that labeling something a “jazz" album inevitably brings with it certain connotations. And when Tubatrio's Revenge is placed in the hands of the local ...
read morePaolo Botti Quintet: Moto Contrario
by Glenn Astarita
Violaist Paolo Botti celebrates diversity through music via his compositions and arrangements. No doubt, Botti succeeds at redefining previously explored mainstream or better yet, traditional concepts on Moto Contrario. Botti and his band cover a gamut of genres, including blues, swing, and avant-garde styles, neatly wrapped into one progressive jazz package. Where contrasting themes coalesce, divide, and multiply as the band meshes a forward thinking outlook into variable rhythmic structures and much more. They pursue contemporary classical movements amid heated ...
read moreCal Tjader: Extremes
by Derek Taylor
Serving tenure at Fantasy that stretched the span of nearly three decades Cal Tjader was a staple artist for the label. A thread that traces through almost his entire output as a leader is an abiding affection for Latin rhythms and song structures, but the drummer turned vibraphonist was also amenable to a wide range of influences and directions. The duration of his stay was marked by many of the same stylistic shifts undertaken by other jazz artists over interim. ...
read morePaolo Botti Quintet: Leggende Metropolitane
by Glenn Astarita
Modern jazz viola performer Paolo Botti brings more good news from Italy with this thoroughly intriguing set titled, Leggende Metropolitane. Here, the Paolo Botti Quintet explores free-bop based themes in concert with pensive interludes and the leader’s multifarious and somewhat penetrating mode of execution on pieces such as “Isola Pedonale” and others. However, “Ora Di Punta” boasts a burgeoning 4/4 pulse in support of soprano saxophonist Alessandro Bosetti’s angular and fleeting lines, whereas Botti exhibits an expansive comprehension of the ...
read moreCal Tjader: Black Hawk Nights
by Derek Taylor
Few musicians have matched Cal Tjader’s success at blending cross-cultural elements in a jazz setting. The venerable vibraphonist has been deceased for several decades, but his music, particularly when it comes to his Latin Jazz experiments remains incredibly popular. The reasons behind the longevity are manifold and this disc which compiles another dozen selections from Tjader’s lengthy late 50’s tenure at the San Franciso’s Black Hawk club touches upon many of them. Tjader was clearly enamored of Latin music, but ...
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