Jazz Articles

Cross Border Trio: New Directions

by Jerry D'Souza
December 18, 2006

The Cross Border Trio bring a freewheeling spirit to New Directions, their first album. Paquito Villa (drum set and percussion) was responsible for getting the trio together when he invited Jason Robinson (tenor saxophone) and Joscha Oetz (bass) to form a group with him. Rob Thorsen came in when Oetz moved to Lima.

The trio works interesting territory. Robinson leads the charge, his tenor the beacon for the rhythm section. He has a raw energy; he's a big brawny player ...

Ellen Weller: Spirits, Little Dreams and Improvisations

by Rex Butters
April 15, 2005

San Diego's Ellen Weller took time out from the remarkable Trummerflora Collective to create and record Spirits, Little Dreams and Improvisations, a compelling suite based on medieval Jewish possession myths extrapolated to consider the channeling of musical flow by improvising musicians. Her research team includes Vinny Golia and George Lewis, plus Trummerflora's Marcos Fernandes, Nathan Hubbard, and Lisle Ellis. The seventeen tracks feature different configurations ranging from duos to septets.

The first of six trios featuring Fernandes, Hubbard, and Weller ...

David Borgo: Reverence for Uncertainty

by Budd Kopman
February 28, 2005

The simple cardboard sleeve of Reverence for Uncertainty is decorated with what looks like clouds against a sunset, evoking a feeling of openness and freedom, of detachment from the ground and the mundane. The music is quite remarkable and Borgo is quite a player, with a wonderful sound and total control over his instruments. According to the notes, all tracks are collective improvisations while tracks #2, 4, 8, and 12 involve pre-composed material by Borgo and tracks ...

Ellen Weller: Spirits, Little Dreams and Improvisations

by Budd Kopman
February 28, 2005

With Spirits, Little Dreams and Improvisations, Ellen Weller has created an album that attempts to unite the mystical with the musical. The liner art has many hieroglyphic-type symbols, as well as spirals and other shapes that feel like they are trying to “cross over to the other side."? Jewish mysticism is clearly referenced as “dybbuk" is defined as “(Jewish mythology) a wandering soul that becomes attached to a living person to accomplish some task that it was unable to complete ...

Fjellestad/Kowald/Reason/Robinson: Dual Resonance

by Frank Rubolino
August 25, 2003

Peter Kowald crisscrossed the United States for three months in 2000, playing at a multiplicity of venues in major cities with established area artists. His pilgrimage took him to Southern California, where he joined forces in a series of duet, trio, and quartet configurations with pianist Hans Fjellestad, pianist Dana Reason, and saxophonist Jason Robinson. Eleven of the selections on Dual Resonance document these interactive encounters.

Kowald died on September 21, 2002. On New Year's Day 2003, in honor of ...

David Borgo: Massanetta Springs

by Frank Rubolino
August 25, 2003

David Borgo, who is a jazz educator at the university level, emits a relaxed, breathy tone from his tenor saxophone to give his improvisations a lilting quality. He plays with groups ranging from trio to sextet on this multi-hued recording comprised mostly of his compositions. Borgo has the history of the music down pat; his tunes offer a flavoring of post-bop structure, but he steers the bands unerringly into the current era through his gliding improvising style and tune construction. ...