Jazz Articles
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Tish Oney: The Best Part
by C. Michael Bailey
Dr. Tish Oney is a woman for all seasons: vocalist, arranger, composer, professor, producer. She has many irons in many fires and all of them are hot. Her fifth recording, The Best Part continues her fruitful association with guitarist John Chiodini, whose trio this time around comprised bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Ray Brinker (no mean company). This guitar-led trio provides Oney with a spare and sophisticated place from which to launch her vocal musings. Stylistically, Oney has ...
read moreLarry Ham/Woody Witt: Presence
by Geannine Reid
Larry Ham and Woody Witt's collaborative effort has brought forth the fruit of Presence, with the sophistication and melodic harmonic relationships that used to grace hard bop jazz, while still sporting just the right amount of abstract modernism from today's sound to supply a strong underpinning of the ensemble current. Woody Witt, a Houston based tenor-saxophonist, composer, and educator, with the Larry Ham Trio, comprised of pianist Ham, bassist Lee Hudson and drummer Tom Melito are a highly ...
read moreMichelle Coltrane: Awakening
by Dan Bilawsky
Yes, that Coltrane. Vocalist Michelle Coltrane, the offspring of pianist Alice McLeod (and vocalist Kenny Hagood) and the stepdaughter of saxophone icon John Coltrane, has one of the strongest musical pedigrees around. She was, quite literally, born and raised into musical legend. But her background and lineage hasn't put undue pressure on her development or musical choices. For the past two decades she's followed her own path, putting family before artistic advancement and putting her singing career on pause. Now, ...
read moreThe Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra: Welcome to Swingsville!
by Jack Bowers
Even as the likelihood of big-band success keeps shrinking, there are those who willingly laugh at the odds and stay true to their heart, which insists that they keep on swinging even when common sense says they would be better off pursuing other musical avenues. They can be found occupying small pockets of resistance in cities and towns from coast to coast, engaging in a labor of love that is no doubt intellectually and emotionally rewarding but can't possibly pay ...
read moreDoug MacDonald: Jazz Marathon 2
by Jack Bowers
For those who thought that guitarist Doug MacDonald's happy-go-lucky jazz marathon had crossed the finish line with the release more than a year ago of Just for Fun, the good news is that MacDonald and his talented teammates have found their second wind and the marathon continues through a second effervescent two-CD session taped at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Redondo Beach, CA. The group remains largely intact, with trumpeter Carl Saunders and saxophonist Pete Christlieb added and trombonist Linda ...
read moreMoutin Factory Quintet: Deep
by Dan Bilawsky
Deep. So very, very, deep. Rarely does a single four-letter word so eloquently and accurately capture the spirit of an album. Everything from the grooves to the compositions to the thought content embedded in each musician's statements can be summed up by that simple-yet-complex title. The Moutin brothers--bassist Francois and drummer Louis--formed the Moutin Factory Quintet back in 2013, expanding on their already established musical ties while giving further credence to the notion that twins share a ...
read moreSteve Wiest And Phröntrange: The High Road
by Dan Bilawsky
You don't encounter a lot of trombone-centric fusion dates these days. But then again, you also don't encounter too many musicians like Steve Wiest, the unabashedly enthusiastic veteran trombonist fronting this project. He's a true polymath, respected as a performer, educator, science fiction author, cartoonist, and composer-arranger. But he also clearly knows how to let rip and have a good time. That much is made clear on this powerful date. The High Road was born out of ...
read moreDoug MacDonald: Solo Plus
by Hrayr Attarian
The field of jazz guitarists seems to have exploded with variety of discs that put one sort of spin or another on the music. From Latin touches to rock and roll beats and from avant-garde dissonance to popish smoothness this releases run the range of sounds striving to be exeptional." It is, therefore, refreshing to hear a master of the instrument perform unadorned relying solely on his virtuosity. Guitarist Doug MacDonald does just that on the intimate and engaging Solo ...
read moreEric Olsen ReVision Quartet: Sea Changes
by Hrayr Attarian
Sophisticated pianist Eric Olsen explores the western classical canon from a jazzman's perspective on the charming and delightful Sea Changes. The several selections on the disc span the range from Georges Bizet's Carmen" to Olivier Messiaen and Jean Sibelius' modernistic compositions.Olsen's charismatic and unique interpretations mark the album with his signature elegance and forms a common thread through it. From the hard boppish rendition of the traditional Irish hymn °Be Now My Vision" to the vibrant performance of ...
read moreClark Gibson + Orchestra: Bird with Strings: The Lost Arrangements
by Hrayr Attarian
Alto saxophonist Clark Gibson's Bird with Strings: The Lost Arrangements is an ambitious undertaking and, at first glance, a bold statement. Evoking, arguably the greatest jazz musician, saxophonist Charlie Parker is not an easy task. Gibson, however, is not emulating Parker nor making any stylistic claims to his legacy. He is simply paying homage to Parker by shedding light on a long obscure slice of the latter's legendary oeuvre. Obscure because the arrangements here are sides cut for ...
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