Jazz Articles

Gaea Schell: In Your Own Sweet Way

by Pierre Giroux
September 5, 2023

Gaea Schell's In Your Own Sweet Way is a captivating journey through the realm of jazz that delivers a fresh perspective on a variety of compositional forms, including Latin-tinged originals to innovative interpretations of songs from the Great American Songbook. Although Schell originally grew up in Alberta, Canada and received her formal education in the piano-jazz studies program from McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec, she presently resides in San Francisco. She is joined on the project by some top Northern ...

Anson Wright: Only Love

by Geannine Reid
July 12, 2020

The young Anson Wright began his thirst for knowledge at Princeton and left post-graduate studies at Columbia to quench a different thirst, his musical creativity. Living in New York City's East Village, Wright was able to absorb performances by Charles Mingus at the Five Spot, which ignited his passion for improvisation. Wright is a gifted fingerstyle guitarist who has played with Howard Roberts, John Stowell and Jerry Hahn, as well as Charlie Parker protege Bob Newman and veteran pianist Harry ...

Anson Wright & Tim Gilson: Ukiah's Lullaby

by Raul d'Gama Rose
November 1, 2009

The two men, guitarist, Anson Wright and bassist, Tim Gilson enjoy a special relationship. Most duos are close-knit units. In a few very special instances, the two musicians thrive on something uncannily telepathetic. For instance, they will complete each other's phrases without missing a beat or a phrase. Whether they enter behind or on the beat they know where the “idea" is going. Even their shadows follow one another's and intersect as though it was predestined. The duos of Glenn ...

Mel Brown Quartet: Girl Talk

by Stephen Latessa
August 18, 2005

The notes on the back cover of Girl Talk, the new disc from the Mel Brown Quartet, proudly proclaim that the band has “over 100 years of collective experience. Indeed, an easy, lived-in approach defines the ten tracks on the album. It is the work of veterans whose professionalism yields consistently solid results. The musicians--Mel Brown (drums), Dan Balmer (guitar), Ed Bennett (bass), and Tony Pacini (piano)--are all bandleaders in their own right. Based in Portland, Oregon, the band came ...

Ed Bennett: Tourology

by Todd S. Jenkins
January 1, 2001

Ed Bennett’s quintet is a superior group from Portland, Oregon, which has become a hotbed of jazz activity. The bassist boasts an admirable resume including stints with Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Sonny Stitt, the Akiyoshi-Tabackin Big Band, and a number of West Coast stalwarts.Tourologyis his fourth album on his own label, Saphu. While the disc’s back cover emulates the appearance of classic Blue Note LPs, the music within is skewed solidly toward West Coast coolness.

The unusual alto-trombone ...