Jazz Articles

Tim Garland: If the Sea Replied

by John Kelman
October 12, 2005

He's still in his early forties, so it may seem premature for British woodwind multi-instrumentalist Tim Garland to create a consolidating work that summarizes his musical experiences to date. But Garland's involvement in projects like the contemporary post bop of Chick Corea's Origin and Bill Bruford's Earthworks, the chamber jazz of his own Storms/Nocturnes trio, and the Celtic-meets-contemporary jazz of the now-defunct Lammas suggests he's already covered significant territory. Even that's only part of the story. Garland has ...

Tim Garland: If the Sea Replied

by Bev Stapleton
October 11, 2005

Tim Garland's wider profile probably stems from the reed player's work with Chick Corea, Bill Bruford's Earthworks, and his trio with Joe Locke and Geoff Keezer. Yet he has an extensive discography of solo recordings and collaborations stretching back to the folk-based band Lammas, which first brought him to notice in the 1990s.

He is one of the busiest players on the UK scene, having recently undertaken an extensive tour with the Acoustic Triangle trio, performing in small churches alongside ...

George Colligan's Mad Science: Realization

by John Kelman
May 17, 2005

Since emerging on the scene a scant ten years ago, pianist George Colligan has built the kind of body of work that some artists don't manage in twice or thrice the time. Appearing on over seventy recordings, including over a dozen as a leader, Colligan has proven that one doesn't have to be stylistically myopic to remain focused. Instead, he seems to have an all-encompassing musical appetite. And yet, unlike some who attempt a variety of musical styles and ultimately ...

Tim Garland: Change of Season

by John Kelman
October 15, 2004

Following two critically-acclaimed recordings with his Storms/Nocturnes trio, British woodwind player Tim Garland felt like a change. Rather than continue to pursue the more extended compositional form of Storms/Nocturnes (Sirocco, '01) and Rising Tide (Sirocco, '03), Garland wanted to return to more of a song form, and with a more conventional lineup. And while the compositions on Change of Season are less complex than those performed by the chamber-like yet rhythmically vivacious Storms/Nocturnes trio, they are no less challenging in ...

Eddie Henderson: Time & Spaces

by John Kelman
October 8, 2004

Long before Wallace Roney became a Miles Davis protege in the late '80s, Eddie Henderson had forgone his training in medicine, falling under the direct and indirect influence of the Prince of Darkness in the late '60s. With groups including Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band from '70 to '72, Henderson forged a voice whose tone may have been influenced by Davis, but with an adventurous spirit all his own. In the ensuing years, while the spirit of Miles never left him, ...

Will Vinson: It's For You

by John Kelman
October 8, 2004

It's hard to be an up-and-coming musician these days. With the major labels either reducing their rosters drastically or shutting down their jazz operations entirely, and the independent labels struggling to make a go of it, being an unproven entity can be a real challenge. Fortunately labels like John Priestley's UK-based Sirocco Music, which still clearly concentrates on established artists including Tim Garland, Eddie Henderson and Joe Locke, are still prepared to take a chance on young artists they believe ...

Joe Locke & 4 Walls Of Freedom: Dear Life

by Elliott Simon
September 25, 2004

Consider the following: A musical concept that allows for total freedom within the context of the four walls of melody, rhythm, harmony and form is brought to fruition. Each player brings to this space instrumental virtuosity, a unique timbre, and a personal sense of dynamics and coloration. The first heady energetic foray into these circumscribed confines is a success. But then terrible tragedy strikes outside the walls and we learn how Dear Life really is.

With last year's 4 Walls ...

Joe Locke & 4 Walls of Freedom: Dear Life

by John Kelman
April 6, 2004

Following one of the most critically acclaimed records of your career can be tough; doubly so when one of the key group members has tragically passed on. Vibraphonist Joe Locke, who scored big with 2003's 4 Walls of Freedom , was faced with exactly that challenge. Between the time the album was recorded and released tenor saxophonist Bob Berg met with a tragic accident, leaving the future of the ensemble in serious question. A year later Locke has managed to ...

Rodney Whitaker: Winter Moon

by John Kelman
April 5, 2004

Bringing together three like-minded artists who are leaders in their own right, bassist Rodney Whitaker delivers Winter Moon , his most assured and focused release to date. With a sense of swing that permeates the entire session, this is post bop that is reverential but still manages to say something new.

Having left the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra to pursue his own career, Whitaker is clearly developing as a composer and band leader. Bringing back saxophonist Ron Blake, ...

The Henry Hey Trio: Watershed

by Jack Bowers
March 3, 2004

Henry Hey is a fine young pianist, and his trio works together with the precision of a Swiss watch. The problem I have with Watershed lies not with the performance but with the repertoire; all save one of the compositions are Hey’s, and none has enough allure to summon more than a temperate response. Granted, that is a purely subjective conclusion, one that can’t be quantified and has little to do with the trio’s performance, which is unequivocally first-rate.