Jazz Articles

Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita: Transparent Water

by Dan Bilawsky
February 20, 2017

Omar Sosa would make an excellent global ambassador. He seems to make friends and erase boundary lines wherever he goes. Back in 2012, the Cuban pianist connected with Senegalese kora guru Seckou Keita through a mutual musical associate--drummer Marque Gilmore. Sosa and Keita struck up a quick friendship at that initial meeting, ultimately leading to the creation of this radiant collaboration. They laid down the basic tracks for the project in 2013 and added some other worldly (and otherworldly) voices ...

Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita: Transparent Water

by Roger Farbey
December 29, 2016

Cuban Pianist Omar Sosa and Senegalese kora player and vocalist Seckou Keita have assembled an extraordinary album seamlessly melding Latin American and West African music. Additional guest instrumentalists bring with them a host of other sounds predominantly emanating from the Far East. The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument whilst the sheng is a Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes. The bawu is a Chinese wind instrument and the geomungo is a traditional Korean type of ...

Gilad Atzmon And The Orient House Ensemble: Songs Of The Metropolis

by Bruce Lindsay
April 8, 2013

The metropolis is central to the life of a jazz musician. It's where the work is, where the conservatories are, where the music emerged and developed. Gilad Atzmon, the saxophonist and composer who's been described as the hardest working man in UK jazz, writes that Songs Of The Metropolis is “A pursuit of the sound of the city." It's a pursuit that takes him to seven of the world's most famous cities, to a small English seaside town and to ...

Amira Medunjanin: Amulette

by Nejra Majdanac
March 26, 2012

Singer Amira Medunjanin's third studio album, Amulette, consists of ten Songs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia, all combining the beauty of cultural musical differences. She has come a long way since her debut, Rosa (Snail Records, 2005), recorded with Mostar Sevdah Reunion and her follow-up. Zumra (World Village, 2010), her collaboration with accordionist Merima Kljuco.Unlike those first two, Amulette is edgier, with inventive arrangements and a lot of emotion. Producer/keyboardist Bojan Z (Zulfikarpasic) has truly ...

Kayhan Kalhor & Ali Bahrami Fard: I Will Not Stand Alone

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 21, 2012

Iranian kamanche virtuoso and innovative composer Kayhan Kalhor is known for his international collaborations with cellist Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the Persian-Indian ensemble m: Ghazal = 23569, and the Brooklyn Rider string quartet . I Will Not Stand Alone, is a spellbinding meditation on one of the most difficult stages in his life. Kalhor was part of the Green Movement civil uprising in Tehran, which was later squashed by the Iranian regime after disputed national elections. ...

Omara Portuondo & Chucho Valdes: Omara & Chucho

by Chris May
May 17, 2011

Omara Portuondo and Chucho ValdésOmara & ChuchoWorld Village2011 After 50 years of carrying a torch for Bueno Vista Social Club singer Omara Portuondo, pianist Chucho Valdés has finally succeeded in getting her into bed. The rear sleeve photo on Omara & Chucho shows the pair side by side between the sheets and smiling broadly, although, admittedly, both appear to be clothed, and are mugging it up for the camera. ...

Gilad Atzmon and The Orient House Ensemble: The Tide Has Changed

by Bruce Lindsay
October 17, 2010

The genre-conflating musical behemoth that is the Orient House Ensemble, led by multi-instrumentalist, composer, essayist and political commentator Gilad Atzmon, celebrates its 10th anniversary with the release of its seventh album, The Tide Has Changed. Funny, eerie, romantic and intriguing by turns, this is a work of tremendous warmth and strength. Atzmon's spirit and soul inhabit every one of his compositions, and his playing is truly exceptional, staking a genuine claim to being one of the finest saxophonists in contemporary ...

Catherine Russell: Inside This Heart Of Mine

by Marcia Hillman
May 13, 2010

Singer Catherine Russell covers a lot of jazz territory on her new CD--performing material from vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, New Orleans, Delta blues, the Swing Era and the Django-esque '30s. Accompanying her on this journey is a full battery of musicians that replicate the sounds of each of the styles covered: musical director Matt Munisteri (guitar and banjo), Mark Shane (piano), Lee Hudson (bass), Brian Grice (drums), Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet), John Allred (trombone) and Dan Block (saxophone and clarinet) complete ...

Catherine Russell: Sentimental Streak

by Karen Hogg
February 12, 2008

Sentimental Streak, the sophomore effort from singer Catherine Russell, is a paean to both her musical and familial heritage. For Russell, the two are inextricably intertwined; her father, the late pianist Luis Russell, was the long-time musical director for Louis Armstrong while Carline Ray, Russell's mother, is an accomplished guitarist, bassist and vocalist who has performed with Doc Cheatham and Wynton Marsalis, among others.

Produced by multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell, the CD has a warm, live feel ...

Son De La Frontera: Son De La Frontera

by Chris May
January 21, 2006

Son De La Frontera's radical ambition on this album is simultaneously to look forwards and backwards--forward to Andalusian retentions in modern Latin American music, back to flamenco's own birth in Moorish music ("Moorish" in a flamenco context being a description as approximate as Jelly Roll Morton's “Spanish tinge," encompassing a diversity of North African and Levantine styles). The roots flamenco quintet succeeds brilliantly and thrillingly, particularly in its rediscovery of flamenco's deepest Gypsy roots in ancient North Indian and Afghani ...