Jazz Articles

Bruce Saunders: 8x5

by John Barron
March 3, 2008

The evolving jazz musician is one who refuses to rest on past laurels. The examples of Miles Davis and John Coltrane quickly come to mind as stalwarts on a never ending quest for fresh sounds. Even with a handful of releases under his own name and an impressive list of sideman credentials, jazz guitarist Bruce Saunders fits the mold of a musician intent on expanding his comfort zone.

On 8x5, Saunders, with Gibson 335 in hand, explores the ...

Frank Vignola: Vignola Plays Gershwin

by Andrew Velez
December 8, 2007

With the Brothers Gershwin we're talking about the very summit of the Great American Songbook, words and music that have for the most part passed into the language. They are true evergreens that retain their capacity to swing, and provide fertile opportunities for a musician as varied in range as guitarist Frank Vignola. The only surprising thing about this album may be why Vignola didn't make it sooner. With a versatility on his part that ranges from swing to bop ...

Jonathan Kreisberg: The South of Everywhere

by John Kelman
December 5, 2007

When thinking of younger guitarists making a difference, names that seem to crop up often are Rosenwinkel, Monder and Rogers. Undeniably fine guitarists all, but add Jonathan Kreisberg to that list. New for Now (Criss Cross, 2005), demonstrated Kreisberg's successfully transition from his early days as a prog-rocker and fusion-meister to modern mainstreamer, while Unearth (Mel Bay, 2005) made clear his imaginative compositional skills, blending cerebralism with a grounded, visceral edge. The South of Everywhere continues Kreisberg's evolution on a ...

Jonathan Kreisberg: The South Of Everywhere

by Glenn Astarita
November 20, 2007

New York-based guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg provides a lesson or two here, on his second date for Mel Bay Records. It's not all about chops or technique. He adds credence to that notion via thoughtful compositions and small ensemble-led arrangements that communicate his penchant for fusing power-packed dynamics with memorable melodies. Kreisberg is well-equipped in the technical domain. But it's more about quality and substance that underscores this largely exhilarating effort. With everyone's favorite session keyboardist Gary Versace manning ...

John Pisano: John Pisano's Guitar Night

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 3, 2007

In 1997, guitarist and entrepreneur John Pisano convinced a Los Angeles club owner to allow him to promote a series of jazz guitarists, who would perform on a weekly basis, with a different artist appearing each week. The debut of this series began at Papashon's and was later moved to Donte's (now long shuttered). The weekly event is still going strong almost ten years later, currently at Spazio's. Pisano has been providing the guitarists who work in this setting as ...

Frank Vignola: Vignola Plays Gershwin

by Dan McClenaghan
May 31, 2007

"I like a Gershwin tune," Frank Sinatra sings on the Burton Reed/Ralph Freed classic, “How About You." Guitarist Frank Vignola apparently loves a Gershwin tune, passionately.Vignola--with twelve CDs as a leader under his belt--is a versatile musician who sites an array of influences: Django Reinhardt, Joe Pass, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Christian. On Vignola Plays Gershwin he leans in a swinging gypsy direction, bringing a Django vibe to fourteen George Gershwin melodies.The guitarist's quartet includes ...

MB3: Jazz Hits Volume 1

by Michael P. Gladstone
March 14, 2007

As a corporation, Mel Bay has been well known for decades for providing guitar instructional material. A rather recent change has been the corporate venture as a jazz music label. MB has issued multiple albums from their roster of jazz guitarists. The three plectrists featured on Jazz Hits Volume 1 are Vic Juris, Jimmy Bruno and Corey Christiansen. These veterans are supported by bassist Jay Anderson, who also served as arranger, and drummer Danny Gottlieb. The session was recorded last ...

Dave Stryker: The Chaser

by Rick Erben
February 21, 2007

This chapter in guitarist Dave Stryker's musical book, which already includes some 25 titles as a leader or co-leader in settings ranging from trios and quartets to his Blue to the Bone band, Trio Mundo and the exciting Stryker/Slagle Band, is a neoclassic organ trio outing providing ample opportunity for his agile playing with its warm, resonant tone. He's accompanied by organist Jared Gold, whose sound exhibits the influences of Larry Young's harmonic chording and Jimmy Smith's virile attack, along ...

Mel Bay 3 (MB3): Jazz Hits Volume 1

by Gaylord Smith
February 7, 2007

Those who like jazz guitar in abundance should string along with this solid offering from Mel Bay, a budding label exclusively aimed at fans of that musical genre. Unlike the guitar trio music released by Concord back in the '80s, this disc has a more modern bent, rather than coming from a Swing Era perspective. The tunes, which should be de rigueur for modern jazz fans, are largely circa 1950s/'60s.

The members of MB3--which seems to stand for ...

Jonathan Kreisberg: Unearth

by Eric J. Iannelli
June 11, 2006

Two objective characteristics set Unearth apart from guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg's four previous releases. First, it's a quintet outing, as opposed to the trios that created his eponymous 1996 debut, Trioing (2000), Nine Stories Wide (2004) and New for Now (2005). Second, it's original material from start to finish, which yields a strangely contradictory effect. Kreisberg the musician subsumes himself into a larger group, leaving himself less exposed as a performer than he would be in a trio, but Kreisberg the ...