Jazz Articles

Sun Ra: Jazz in Silhouette

by Robert Mitchell
September 30, 2013

"A Certain Beat A Sudden Chord These things charm the mind with veiled enchantment That lingers long after the song is done" As with many cult artists, the back catalogue of Sun Ra is long and varied with large, less than bitesize chunks available for consumption if you so desire. Many of Sun Ra's LPs have been re-issued on vinyl, and to anyone curious about Sun Ra (and let's face it--who isn't ...

Howard and the White Boys: Made in Chicago

by Jim Santella
April 11, 2007

Howard McCullum brings Chicago blues to a worldwide audience. He and the members of his band first met in college at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb back in 1988. They've been living the Chicago blues ever since, making the Windy City their home and serving as ambassadors for their contemporary sound.

While the band's fusion of funk, R&B, and rock with contemporary blues strays pretty far from the pioneering colors of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, they've got ...

Ken Saydak: It's My Soul

by Chris M. Slawecki
August 18, 2005

Born in one of the blues' most essential cities, this Chicago native learned from some of the Windy City's best by playing piano and keyboards on tours by Mighty Joe Young and Lonnie Brooks. In the 1980s, Ken Saydak played an essential part in Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Winter's renaissance as pianist on several tours and albums, including Winter's justly famous, Grammy-nominated Guitar Slinger.

This solo album, his third, would certainly be catalogued under “blues. But listened ...

Babatunde Lea and Phenomena: Levels of Consciousness

by Rex Butters
June 8, 2004

1979's Levels of Consciousness features San Francisco Bay Area percussionist Babatunde Lea’s familiar Afro-Caribbean mix shaded by the prevalent R&B phase of the time. At the center lies his sunny positivism and furious drumming prowess. The eclectic program includes funk, soul ballads, and jazz as played by guests Julian Priester, Eddie Henderson, and Mark Isham.

Muziki’s driving piano starts his “Thailand Stick,” a hopped-up horn arrangement bouncing off the complex rhythms. Hiroyuki Shido’s bass keeps the pressure on through Martin ...

Various Artists: Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison

by Chris M. Slawecki
October 7, 2003

The mercurial Morrison has consistently honored classic blues, soul, and R&B music in the material favored by The Them, which he co-founded, as well as his own inimitable compositions as a solo artist. Here Morrison is on the receiving end of the tributes from soul and blues legends performing his compositions.

Guitarist/vocalist Little Milton begins with his soulful take on “Tupelo Honey” (sort of payback for Morrison’s cover of Milton’s “Grits Ain’t Groceries”). Other guitarists include Dan ...

Charnett Moffett: Planet Home

by Franz A. Matzner
June 25, 2003

Released in 1995, Charnett Moffett's Planet Home represents a tremendous musical accomplishment. Coming from a successful musical family, Moffett has been playing the bass since early childhood, and he has been recognized on the scene for quite some time as a master of the instrument. What Moffett had yet to do prior to Planet Home was delineate just what he was going to do with all the technique and experience he'd accumulated at such a young age. Evidently, he intends ...

Fortune / Harper / Cowell / Workman / Hart: Great Friends

by Frank Rubolino
May 1, 2003

Paris in the mid-1980s was the scene for this session of power players, but the music remains as fresh and vital today as it was when drummer Billy Hart formed the band. Almost a decade earlier, the drummer had assembled a star-studded group for Enchance (Horizon, 1977) and a threesome with Walter Bishop, Jr. called The Trio (Progressive, 1978). Upon his re-emergence as a leader, Hart claimed he was the only sideman, but his work belies that statement. For this ...

Fortune/Harper/Cowell/Workman/Hart: Great Friends

by Terrell Kent Holmes
April 6, 2003

Great Friends, originally released in France in 1986, is a reissue of the only studio recording made by a star-studded quintet that performed briefly in the ‘80s: Sonny Fortune (alto sax), Billy Harper (tenor sax), Stanley Cowell (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), and session leader Billy Hart (drums). The album was recorded right after a tour, while the collective groove was still strong, and the result is exemplary. “Cal Massey," with Cowell's deft keyboard dancing, leads off the ...

Sun Ra: We Travel the Spaceways/Bad and Beautiful

by Matthew Wuethrich
January 19, 2003

This Evidence re-issue package, like a large portion of the others, captures different aspects of the late '50s/early '60s Arkestra in transition. The first seven tracks comprise We Travel the Spaceways, recorded in Chicago between 1956 and 1960 at a variety of sessions. The second group of seven tunes were originally released as Bad and Beautiful, and is believed to have been recorded in New York sometime in 1961. Both albums sound relatively tame compared to the Arkestra’s later explorations, ...

Sun Ra: Holiday for Soul Dance

by Matthew Wuethrich
January 19, 2003

Holiday for Soul Dance testifies to not only Sun Ra’s originality, but also his courage when making stylistic decisions. This album, believed to be recorded sometime around 1958, casts Ra in the role of the traditionalist as the Arkestra interpret a batch of time-honored (and time-worn) standards. Surprisingly, this role fits better than one might expect. Ra always felt more affinity with Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington than he did with the bop and free jazz advocates. Perhaps even more ...