Jazz Articles

Andrew Cheshire: The Four Ages of Bob

by Mark F. Turner
December 9, 2004

The Four Ages of Bob , the tenth release by guitarist Andrew Cheshire, continues on the path of his previous recordings with inventive, stylized, and captivating music. The cover art and liner notes (also produced by Cheshire) elaborate on a fictional character named Bob whose life has been filled with change. From concept to composition, the recording effectively parallels Bob's life with music that varies in mood, tempo, and execution. Cheshire's quintet of solid musicians (also including piano, saxophone, and ...

Andrew Cheshire: The Four Ages Of Bob

by AAJ Staff
December 6, 2004

Andrew Cheshire's last album, Pavane Pour Une Infante Difunte , was one of the finest guitar trio CDs of the past twelve months. With The Four Ages Of Bob , Cheshire has expanded the trio into a quintet and recorded another outstanding record. This time the Philadelphia-based guitarist chronicles the progress of Bob, a sort of archetypal American optimistic free spirit, from the 1960s through an anger-drenched 1980s, and up to his incarnation as a 1990s computer geek who ultimately ...

Andrew Cheshire: Pavane Pour Une Infante Difunte

by AAJ Staff
January 3, 2004

Guitarist Andrew Cheshire isn't well-known, even within the jazz community, but he ought to be. On Pavane Pour Une Infante Difunte, his eighth CD on his Joule label, he reveals himself to be a thoughtful, always interesting, and at times inspired improviser.

This CD is the product of Cheshire's working trio, a tight, fluid group that can swing hard or rock out as the music requires. Cheshire likes to segue from rock or funk beats to swing tempos. He also ...

Andrew Cheshire: Morning Song

by C. Michael Bailey
October 5, 2003

Andrew Cheshire is an excellent Philadelphia (area)-based jazz guitarist who has been releasing music on his Joule Records label since 1996. Of note is the superb Water Street Revival, accumulated over several recording sessions, and an introspective solo guitar project, Guitar Noir. Mr. Cheshire arrives today with a guitar-organ offering that is as much original as it is steeped in the genre’s traditions. Joined by organist Dan Kostelnik and drummer Jay Rosen, the guitarist performs songs that insinuate melody and ...

Andrew Cheshire: Faces

by Mark F. Turner
February 11, 2003

Chances are you probably haven’t heard of guitarist Andrew Cheshire. But as with the majority of jazz musicians, popularity is not synonymous with talent. Mr. Cheshire is a self-taught and self produced artist, and his latest release, simply titled Faces, is a collection of selected works from 1991 to 2001.

This is Cheshire’s seventh recording on his own recording label, Joule Records. The new release gives a glimpse into the skills in his jazz repertoire. The configurations range from ensemble ...

Andrew Cheshire: Guitar Noir

by C. Michael Bailey
May 1, 2002

Joe Pass in reduction

Guitar Noir is a moody little solo guitar soundtrack from the vastly underrated Andrew Cheshire. Cheshire is well known for having an omnivorous appetite for musical genre that is apparent on his five some releases on his record label Joule. Difficult to categorize, Cheshire's playing ranges from Jeff Beck Fusion to Joe Pass Mainstream.

A perfect soundscape for a dense and twisted mystery thriller, Guitar Noir finds Mr. Cheshire investigating the darker side of the solo ...

Andrew Cheshire: Magic

by Dave Hughes
March 1, 2001

Magic , Pennsylvania-based guitarist Andrew Cheshire's fifth CD as a leader, is a highly interactive, improvizational affair. Operating with just bass and drums in two different personnel combinations, the sound is, as you would expect, open and sparse. The bassists and drummers also chart their own improvizational course throughout most of the tunes, so the outing is pretty open-ended and free, although the underlying meter and chord structure of each tune usually remains evident.

The first half of the program ...

Andrew Cheshire: Magic

by Derek Taylor
June 1, 2000

Of all jazz genres free jazz is arguably the most misunderstood. Ask your average throng of Wynton Marsalis disciples to describe its attributes and adjectives such as “loud”, “dissonant”, “abrasive,” “self-indulgent” are likely to spring from their lips in reply. Though many free improvisers incorporate elements in their music that could be described with these kinds of appellations there are others that come at the approach from a completely different direction. Andrew Cheshire is one such cat. His sound on ...

Andrew Cheshire: Water Street Revival

by C. Michael Bailey
April 1, 2000

The All-Music Guide rates Andrew Cheshire's Water Street Revival as a “Best of Artist". Released in 1998, this collection is culled from four different sessions recorded between 1990 and 1991. Cheshire surrounds himself with a stable of talented musicians, performing in a quintet with vibes, and a trio. In the quintet setting, Cheshire plays with a controlled grace, relying more on his exceptional compositional skills rather than his chops. The title cut and “Search for Truth" are intelligently convoluted and ...

Andrew Chesire: This Is Me

by Mark Corroto
December 1, 1999

I’ve heard that Georgia O’Keefe never played records as background music while she painted, nor would she play them while she ate. She loved music and believed you either listened, you painted or you ate. Multi-tasking wasn’t an option. In today’s world where we get music as background to sports highlights and the national news, listening is secondary to everything but driving (don’t get me started on the cell phone exception). Today’s message, stop and LISTEN. The latest by guitarist ...