Jazz Articles

Steve Davis Quartet: Alone Together

by CJ Shearn
May 20, 2007

Trombonist Steve Davis has been a veteran of the New York scene for many years. Hailing from Binghamton, New York, he quickly established a presence as one of the best trombonists in the area as a teenager. Upon his arrival in New York City in the mid-1980s, Davis' talents were noticed by such luminaries as drummer Art Blakey and saxophonist Jackie McLean. Davis' quartet release on Mapleshade, Alone Together , is a tip of the hat to his former boss--a ...

Larry Willis: Sanctuary

by Franz A. Matzner
August 25, 2003

Antediluvian of method or anachronistic of taste, dedicated purist or obdurate conservative, iconoclast or ludite, the debates surrounding Mapleshade owner, engineer, and producer Pierre Sprey will most likely never reach a definitive conclusion. Regardless of what label one chooses to apply, Mapleshade productions possess a distinct sound related directly to Sprey's dedicated traditional recording methods. Using a system of careful mike placement and recording directly to two-track analog, Sprey recreates the classic '50s era studio conditions, enabling jazz musicians to ...

Frank Foster's Loud Minority Big Band: We Do It Diff'rent

by Jack Bowers
June 25, 2003

Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band is more limber than loud -- although it doesn’t shrink from shouting whenever that’s appropriate on this persuasive in-concert album recorded in June ‘02 at NYC’s Jazz Standard, when the seventy-three-year-old Foster was recovering from a stroke that immobilized his left arm and left leg and limited his role to that of emcee.

As one would expect from an old hand who joined the Count Basie Orchestra half a century ago and fronted the ...

Windmill Saxophone Quartet: A Touch of Evil

by Jerry D'Souza
May 25, 2003

Music finds its playground in the imagination. The saxophone quartet has worked well for legions of the persuasion, and it sure does work for these four players. The word saxophone confines them, for they use more than that particular vestige--but then what’s in a name? Not only do they go about their calling with a sense of purpose, direction and adventure, they call on other musicians for added timbral texture. The one time they go down the trail by themselves ...

Gerard D'Angelo Trio: Not What My Hands Have Done

by Dave Nathan
February 1, 2002

This album recorded in May of 1993 has finally emerged from the Mapleshade label's vaults to be released eight years later in 2001. Why it took so long to see the light of day is a puzzler. Brooklyn born pianist Gerard D'Angelo has been on the jazz scene since 1988 when he teamed with Dave Meade and Frank Wagoner to form Primary Colors. He made an album or two with the group. But until this release, D'Angelo has been pretty ...

Bob Kindred with Larry Willis: Gentle Giant of the Tenor Sax

by Dave Nathan
February 1, 2002

Bob Kindred traveled to the bucolic surroundings of Mapleshade's recording studio in rural Maryland to team with pianist Larry Willis for a session of more than 60 minutes' worth of “gentle" but not outdated jazz performances. In some respects Kindred is a throwback to Ben Webster and the tender side of Stan Getz. His playing recalls that distinctive rasping timbre and excellent rhythmic momentum that characterized Webster, especially in his later years. But Kindred also shows that he is not ...

Andy McCloud's Gentlemen of Jazz: Blues For Bighead

by AAJ Staff
August 1, 2001

Bassist Andy McCloud convenes the Gentlemen of Jazz--his working band--to produce a satisfying set of straight-ahead improvised music. Around jazz since the New York loft scene, McCloud worked with likes of Elvin Jones in the late ‘70s, Clifford Jordan in the early ‘80s, and Hilton Ruiz through the ‘90s. Blues for Bighead represents McCloud’s first disc as a leader. The all-original program of blues and blues-oriented pieces provides some engaging twists: for one, the presence of Steve Nelson on vibes ...

The C-Nuts: Blitzkrieg Bop and Other Jazz Mutations

by Dave Nathan
June 1, 2001

Mapleshade Records created the offshoot Wildchild! Label to record fun stuff from the R&B, soul, rock and country musical genre. Fine. But that's not what's happening with this C-Nuts release - - a play on the name of the popular Squirrel Nut Zippers band? True, one can hear some R&B, especially when Jon Ozment or Derek Wille turns on the organ. But the charts are closer to post bop, with the emphasis on swing. Listen to the aptly named “Sultans ...

Monica Worth: Never Let Me Go

by Mathew Bahl
February 1, 2001

The CD package describes Monica Worth as “a rich, throaty alto with echoes of Rosemary Clooney and Morganna [sic] King.” It is a claim that raises an interesting question. Can a singer simultaneously evoke both Ms. Clooney’s earthy directness and Ms. King’s highly stylized abstractions? The answer, of course, is no. While the influence of Ms. King’s esoteric approach to jazz singing is evident, the use of Ms. Clooney’s name appears to be a marketing ploy.

Ms. Worth’s singing sounds ...

Walter Booker Quintet: Bookie's Cookbook

by AAJ Staff
February 1, 2001

Although bassist Walter Booker has played with some of the biggest figures in jazz history (Cannonball and Nat Adderley; Stan Getz; Sonny Rollins; Thelonious Monk), recorded material under his own name remains elusive. Bookie's Cookbook documents a September '99 swinging session from his working quintet. This group features the versatile sounds of Cecil Payne's baritone sax, which span the range from throaty bellows to birdlike flight. Payne and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave cover most of the melodic ground: laying down solos ...