Jazz Articles
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Shawn Maxwell's Alliance: Bridge
by Dan Bilawsky
The eponymous debut from Shawn Maxwell's Alliance was a giant step forward for the saxophonist/composer; his previous albums all had musical merit, but all were built with limited color schemes, hewing, for the most part, to jazz norms. With Shawn Maxwell's Alliance (Chicago Sessions, 2014), Maxwell stepped way outside the box, writing music for a dectet that was anything but formulaic or commonplace. Now, less than a year later, Shawn Maxwell's Alliance returns with the shorter, but no less intriguing, ...
read morelePercolateur: Pop Manouche
by Dan Bilawsky
Something different and exciting is brewing on lePercolateur's Pop Manouche. This Chicago-based, Hot Club-indebted outfit finds a way to blend the sonic sensibilities of Django Reinhardt's famed band into an alt- pop/alt-folk/alt-instrumental format on their debut album, creating something unique in the process; it's as if songstress Sam Phillips, the beyond-category Pink Martini, indie folk band Hem, Reinhardt, and a few other unlikely collaborators got together to make some music. The core instrumentation--violin, multiple guitars and bass--immediately ...
read moreAaron Koppel: Multiverse
by Dan Bilawsky
The city of Chicago has always been a breeding ground for musicians looking to expand the horizons of their own art and the styles that they represent, so it should come as no shock that guitarist Aaron Koppel was born and raised in this Midwestern musical mecca. Koppel, who made his initial entrée into the world of leader-on-record with The Wild Call Of The Multi-Tasker (Self Produced, 2007), and followed that up with Falling Together Falling Apart (Chicago Sessions, 2009), ...
read moreMakaya McCraven: Split Decision
by Dan Bilawsky
Drummer Makaya McCraven supposedly “thinks about rhythm last" when composing, yet his music is all about rhythmic perspicacity. McCraven, who was born in Paris, spent his formative years in Massachusetts and eventually uprooted himself to move to Chicago, uses rhythm as a thickening agent, call to arms, catalyst and continual game changer, throughout this engaging debut. McCraven put together a piano trio for his first leader date, but he doesn't make the same old piano trio music. ...
read moreMatt Nelson Trio: Nostalgiamaniac
by Alex Marianyi
According to The Oxford English Dictionary, nostalgia is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past," and a maniac is “an obsessive enthusiast." Chicago pianist Matt Nelson embodies both qualities on Nostalgiamaniac. The sentimentality of his ballad playing and the keen musical citation of past generations of jazz musicians clearly display the conversation he's having with his own past, and his dedication to music. Without losing momentum in his constant foray into modernity, Nelson ...
read moreChicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble: Blueprints
by Nicholas F. Mondello
When cooking a marvelous soup or stew from scratch with all the finest ingredients, there's that special moment when the culinary creation rushes to a boil and marvelous flavors burst out explosively into the air. It's the penultimate moment only surpassed by the delicious devouring. Contentment follows. The selections contained in the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble's fine Blueprints are wonderfully reminiscent of a musical recipe that simmers slowly and then bursts into a fiery buffet. This is ...
read morePaul Wertico: Impressions Of A City
by Hrayr Attarian
Almost 40 years after its inception and despite many detractors among master musicians and critics, jazz-rock fusion continues to have a tenacious hold on both creators and consumers of instrumental music. Percussionist Paul Wertico's Impressions of a City puts a modern spin on the genre by creating a work that brings together jazz like improvisation and the sound of rock jam bands. The concept behind the CD is interesting; it is supposed to be free musical impressions ...
read moreShawn Maxwell Quartet: Maxwell's House
by Dan McClenaghan
Chicago-based multi-reedist Shawn Maxwell's third disc as a leader, Maxwell's House, follows in the footsteps of his Originals (Self Published, 2006) and Originals II (Self Published, 2008). All three sets possess a solid mainstream quartet sound, with the piano/bass/drums rhythm team fronted by the leader's tangy-toned alto saxophone.The disc opens with the highly-caffeinated title tune. Maxwell spits sharp notes into the stop-and-go rhythm that gives way to fluid and intensely-pretty piano turn by Matt Nelson. The leader then ...
read moreHoward Levy: Tonight and Tomorrow
by Matthew Warnock
Tonight and Tomorrow is an intellectually stimulating and highly enjoyable album by virtuoso harmonicist Howard Levy. Featured on both harmonica and piano, even performing both simultaneously on “Sandi," Levy and his trio--bassist Larry Gray and drummer Ernie Adams--perform together as if they've been on the bandstand for years. With an uncanny ability to interpret and anticipate each other, the trio sounds as one instrument as it weaves its way through the album's various tempos, feels, grooves and harmonic progressions.
read moreShawn Maxwell Quartet: Maxwell's House
by Matthew Warnock
Maxwell's House is a hard-swinging, deep in the pocket release by Chicago- based alto saxophonist Shawn Maxwell. The maturity displayed by all four musicians on the album is both refreshing and exciting. Instead of building energy and interest with long-streams of notes, Maxwell and pianist Matt Nelson favor shorter lines, longer-held notes and a strong focus on tone to draw in their audience. There is a solid sense of groove and swing across the quartet and the laid-back nature of ...
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