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Ricardo Pinheiro: Dança do Pólen
by Mark Corroto
The pandemic has dictated solo recordings for many artists, but for Ricardo Pinheiro, solo doesn't mean unaccompanied. He utilizes multi--tracking to great effect on Dança Do Pólen. The Portuguese guitarist's previous release Caruma (Inner Circle Music, 2020) was a trio session which he shared with two vocalists. Here he is solo, but never alone. Pinheiro delivers ten economical tracks in this 35 minute release. Opening with the most gentle notes of “Ad Perpetuam," he adds a second track, ...
read moreGabriel Vicéns: The Way We Are Created
by Mark Sullivan
Puerto Rican jazz guitarist & composer Gabriel Vicéns has been living in New York City since 2016 but, for this album, he chose to explore traditional Puerto Rican music (Bomba and Plena—music and dance styles born from African slavery and Caribbean influences) blended with his own compositional style. He was also exposed to Cuban Changüí, and began incorporating some stylistic devices from it into his guitar playing. The title tune begins the program with an infectious ostinato pattern ...
read moreRicardo Pinheiro: Caruma
by Victor L. Schermer
Ricardo Pinheiro is a guitarist from Lisbon, Portugal who has made his mark on jazz in Europe and the U.S. His sensitive, imaginative, and intimate way of playing is evident on albums such as Pinheiro, Ineke. & Cavalli: Triplicity (Daybreak/Challenge, 2018) and Pinheiro/ Ineke/ Cavalli: Turn Out The Stars (Challenge, 2021) , the former being a musical re-interpretation of bebop standards and the latter a guitar rendition of the music of pianist Bill Evans. There is a certain boldness and ...
read moreRicardo Pinheiro with Theo Bleckmann and Mônica Salmaso: Caruma
by Karl Ackermann
Ricardo Pinheiro is a Portuguese guitarist, composer and educator. He has a dozen previous recordings to his credit and leader or co-leader status on the majority of those projects. His music has covered ambient, electronic, bop, jazz standards, and jazz/poetry hybrids. Pinheiro, a Berklee alumnus, has recorded and played with Dave Liebman, Peter Erskine, Chris Cheek, Jon Irabagon and Tim Hagans, among others. Caruma is a new direction for Pinheiro. Pinheiro is joined by two vocalists, Theo Bleckmann ...
read moreCarlos Averhoff Jr.: iQba - Jazz Meets Cuban Timba
by Troy Dostert
On iQba, tenor saxophonist Carlos Averhoff Jr. employs a skilled quintet to provide dance-worthy renditions of a series of jazz classics plus an original ballad, all shaped by timba, one of the homegrown musical forms of his native Cuba. It's an effective take on Latin jazz, and provides enough strong musicianship to ensure that Averhoff's challenging arrangements are given their due. It is evident from the opening bars of the lead track, Wayne Shorter's “Yes or No," that ...
read moreTroy Roberts: Nu-Jive Perspective
by Mike Jurkovic
Though still a pup age-wise, Australian-born saxophonist Troy Roberts has two Grammy nominations under his belt and has shared the stage and studio with luminaries that have defined the musical spectrum, including Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Joey DeFrancesco, Christian McBride, Orrin Evans, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Nu-Jive Perspective, his eighth disc as leader and third with this globally boisterous quintet, is a youthful romp through all the sounds of New York's neighborhoods. Hovering in that cool zone between ...
read moreJames Weidman: Spiritual Impressions
by Jerome Wilson
There is a long tradition of using traditional African-American spirituals as a basis for jazz explorations, but that is rarely done in one session with the breadth of approaches James Weidman uses on Spiritual Impressions. From the loping reggae beat on “Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel" to the New Orleans rumba rhythm on “No Hiding Place," he and his excellent band always find a way to bring something new to these old songs. The aforementioned “No Hiding Place" ...
read moreJoão Barradas: Directions
by Bruce Lindsay
Since childhood, Portuguese accordionist João Barradas has been winning awards on his instrument at national and international level. His undoubted talent on his chosen instrument--and its midi version--is on display throughout Directions, his first album as leader. So, too, is his talent as a composer--all but one of the tracks are his original compositions. Barradas is accompanied by his excellent Portuguese quartet across these tunes and is joined by guests Greg Osby (who also produced), Gil Goldstein and ...
read moreAdam Larson: Second City
by Mike Jurkovic
For those out there who love it when a saxophonist hits the ground running, immediately taking control of the proceedings with their eyes and ears set on the far horizon, then Second City twenty-seven year old Adam Larson's fourth disc--yes fourth!--is the thrilling disc to be hearing right now. Leading a punchy and tenacious quartet comprised of keyboardist Rob Clearfield, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Jimmy Macbride Larson's sax leaps and bounds over Chicago (where the Second City ...
read moreAdam Larson: Second City
by Dan Bilawsky
When you hear “Second City" and think about improvisation, comedy comes to mind before jazz. But this music is no laughing matter. Saxophonist Adam Larson is one serious talent, as this, his fourth album to date, makes clear. While Larson has called New York home for the past decade, Second City was recorded in its namesake locale--Chicago. It's an album rooted to Larson's Midwestern upbringing but a statement of maturity that could only emerge after some serious ...
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