Jazz Articles

Allan Holdsworth: Live in Japan 1984

by John Kelman
February 9, 2019

The loss of Allan Holdsworth in the spring of 2017 remains the passing of one of the most distinctive and innovative guitarists of the past half century. Born in the U.K in 1946, but moving to the U.S.A. in the early '80s, most who are familiar with Holdsworth's work also know how vastly influential he became, almost from the first moments of his mind-blowing appearance on trumpeter Ian Carr's Belladonna (Vertigo, 1972), but even more so with groups in which ...

The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever!

by John Kelman
April 17, 2017

In a time when album sales are a challenge being mitigated, at least to some extent, by the release of deluxe editions and box sets, it's still more necessary than ever to grab potential listeners with imagery and words; the title of a box set can have, especially for those less than intimately familiar with the artist, either real attraction or, well, the opposite. And, at a time when more music than ever is being released (and for a myriad ...

Tim Buckley: Live At The Troubadour 1969

by Sacha O'Grady
January 14, 2017

For an artist whose recording career spanned less than ten years, Tim Buckley seemed to get a lot done. From 1966's self titled debut, to Look At The Fool, his final album released in 1974, Buckley's oeuvre is as broad as it is varied. Ever the experimental troubadour, no other singer of the time was capable of absorbing such a diverse range of styles, whether that be folk, blues, jazz, rock, or classical, Tim was the ultimate when it came ...

Enzo Favata Tentetto: The New Village

by Mark Corroto
July 6, 2009

The ancient and the modern is the theme of composer/saxophonist Enzo Favata's The New Village. Together with his Tentetto, he fuses traditional vocals from Sardinia, his home, with the American jazz lexicon. Unlike the cultural larceny of Paul Simon's Graceland (Warner, 1986), Favata's music coalesces into an ingenuous expression of music.

The saxophonist has immersed himself in Sardinia's culture, releasing traditional music of the past. Here, he invites a quartet of traditional singers, the Tenores di Bitti, a ...