Jazz Articles

Horizons Quartet: Horizons Quartet

by Mike Jurkovic
July 23, 2021

Quite often it's not so much the music itself that compels you to sit and listen but the feeling the music stirs within. You begin to recall moments from the past that have made you feel of a certain place and time when things were just a bit more either out there or, as in the case of tenor/soprano saxophonist Dan Wilkins debut Horizons Quartet in a bit more safer, steadier space. That's not to imply that the ...

Kenny Kotwitz & the L.A. Jazz Quintet: When Lights Are Low

by Jack Bowers
August 29, 2020

Imagine the following conversation: “Hi, my name is Kenny Kotwitz. I'm an accordionist and I want to record a centennial tribute to Art van Damme. Would you care to join me?" Okay, it probably didn't go down quite like that but the premise, in these days of rap, heavy metal, acid rock, new wave, bubblegum pop, crass and outrageous behavior and whatever else it takes to incite the music market, is no less improbable. Braving the odds, not only did ...

Gene Perla: Bill's Waltz

by Alexander M. Stern
November 12, 2008

Gene PerlaBill's WaltzPM Records2008

Bill's Waltz, bassist Gene Perla's well-executed tribute to his former boss, drummer Elvin Jones, is one of those albums that could only exist in this modern world of digital recording techniques and studio trickery--and therein lies the rub. Many jazz listeners are conservative in their conception of what recorded jazz is and how it should be made. To these listeners, jazz should be recorded live in the studio ...