Jazz Articles

Ulysses Owens, Jr.: Falling Forward

by James Nadal
July 27, 2017

Amidst a successful trajectory as a sought-after drummer with some of the premier jazz bands in the business, Ulysses Owens, Jr. has decided to take a giant step outside his comfort zone with Falling Forward, his fourth venture as leader. In a radical departure from typical jazz ensemble configurations, the assembled group consists of Owens, bassist Reuben Rogers, and vibraphonist Joel Ross, known collectively as Three. The instrumental sparseness is an obvious intent to expand individual contributions, as the triangular ...

Soren Bebe Trio: A Song For You

by Jakob Baekgaard
September 14, 2012

Danish pianist Søren Bebe has carved a niche for himself with his particular brand of mournful Nordic ballads, which have enchanted not only Europeans, but also a Japanese audience that has embraced the bittersweet nostalgia that imbues many of his compositions. Thus, it is no coincidence that the Japanese label, Spice of Life, picked up the release A Song For You, an album that sees Bebe in the familiar company of his trio with electric bassist Niels Ryde ...

Stephanie Nakasian: I Love You

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 11, 2007

Jazz Vocalist Stephanie Nakasian has an active history over the past several decades, working with vocal jazz legend Jon Hendricks and Family in the mid-1980s. Around that time, I first saw Nakasian when she appeared with Phil Woods. Nowadays, Nakasian resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she has been recording and, with her pianist/partner, Hod O'Brien, has a daughter who sings and records under the name Veronica Swift.

I Love You was released in Japan in ...

Ove Ingemarsson Quartet: New Blues

by Jack Bowers
August 16, 2005

New Blues offers more than an hour of agreeable post bop jazz, handsomely wrapped and ably performed by tenor saxophonist Ove Ingemarsson's quartet from Sweden, similar to much of what I've heard from other groups here and abroad. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's similar to much of what I've heard from other groups here and abroad. In other words, it seems to me I've heard these songs before; or if not these particular songs, then ...

Ulf Wakenius: Tokyo Blue

by Jack Bowers
August 20, 2004

Guitarist Ulf Wakenius, who has performed with a number of jazz heavyweights from Oscar Peterson and Michael Brecker to Ray Brown and Jack DeJohnette, writes that his new release, Tokyo Blue, is designed to express the various aspects of his musical temperament, from sweetness to swing. The album is evenly divided between the two components, with five ballads and five medium- to up-tempo numbers, on each of which Wakenius shows his admirable versatility and technique.

Wakenius plays unaccompanied on Michel ...

Lars Jansson/Bohusl: Temenos

by Jack Bowers
August 10, 2004

Lars Jansson is what one would call the complete package: a marvelous composer, resourceful arranger and masterful pianist, comfortable in any framework from trio to large ensemble, as he is on this scintillating new release by Sweden's world-class Bohuslän Big Band.

This is Jansson's third recording with the triple-B, and as on the others ( The Blue Pearl; One Poem, One Painting ) he has written and arranged every number, none of which is less than persuasive. As I noted ...