Jazz Articles

Bill Bruford: The Summerfold Collection 1987-2008

by John Kelman
September 2, 2023

Intrepid percussionist/composer/bandleader Bill Bruford began his career in the late '60s art-rock arena with Yes and, later, King Crimson, but jazz has always moved underneath, like an eddying current. His early recordings, well documented on the companion Winterfold Collection, may not speak the language of jazz, but they possess its spirit. By 1986, Bruford was looking for a new path. Crimson had again dissolved, the 1981-'84 incarnation having provided him with the opportunity to explore nascent electronic drum ...

Bill Bruford: The Winterfold Collection 1978-1986

by John Kelman
September 1, 2023

It's often easy to judge artists based on where they are now, but when you have a recorded legacy as rich as that of Bill Bruford, it's far better to view the body of work as a whole. As divergent as the intrepid percussionist/composer/bandleader's career has been, there are common threads running through all his work, making the earlier, electrified and amplified material on this Winterfold Collection fit contextually as a logical antecedent to his more recent unplugged and improvisation-centric ...

Dominick Farinacci: Lovers, Tales & Dances

by Hrayr Attarian
September 12, 2009

The mass appeal of a jazz recording does not necessarily compromise its value or its artistic integrity; it simply means that the artist has mastered the difficult task of balancing the creative and the commercial. Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci has done just that on his debut album, Lovers, Tales & Dances. Farinacci sounds a lot like Clifford Brown, with the same lyricism albeit without the same range, mastery and fluidity. Some of the material also hints at Brown's ...

Jenny Scheinman: Jenny Scheinman

by John Kelman
August 1, 2008

Those only familiar with Jenny Scheinman's two discs for Tzadik--The Rabbi's Lover (2002) and Shalagaster (2004)--may be taken aback by the violinist's leap into singer/songwriter turf on Jenny Scheinman. Others who've followed her work with Americana-centric guitarist Bill Frisell on albums including the sample-rich Unspeakable (Nonesuch, 2004) and the more compositionally focused History Mystery (Nonesuch, 2008) may find her covering material by Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits and Jimmy Reed to be far less of a stretch. And those who picked ...

Bob James: Angels of Shanghai

by Jeff Winbush
September 26, 2007

Albums by Bob James come in two flavors. One is polished, professional and predominantly safe smooth jazz featured on most of solo output and all of his collaborations with the “supergroup," Fourplay. This is where James has established his reputation as one of the more reliably radio-friendly musicians in the business.The other side which is consistently more interesting, is his more creative outings which he demonstrates through his straight-ahead trios, Straight Up (Warner Bros., 1995) and ...

Jean-Luc Ponty: The Acatama Experience

by John Kelman
May 22, 2007

It's been six years since Jean-Luc Ponty last released a studio disc. Contrasting with the more heavily produced Life Enigma (JLP, 2001), The Acatama Experience places greater emphasis on the violinist's working band. It's also a record that consolidates his early years as a straight-ahead player with his 1970s fusion and later forays into funk and African rhythms. And it's a true merging, not just an unfocused mix of diverse styles. Legendary bop pianist Bud Powell's “Parisian ...

Bob James: Urban Flamingo

by Tracey Nolan
May 1, 2006

Bob James has never decided whether he's a jazz musician or an R&B musician. He doesn't have to--he can be both, simultaneously, playing funky, infectious tunes that are melodic and groove hard. Urban Flamingo, his most recent effort, could be written off simply as “lifestyle music," or smooth jazz doomed to become background ambience at wine tastings and on weekend boat trips. But pay more attention to James' compositions and soloing and you'll find there is much more at work ...

Nelson Rangell: Soul To Souls

by Mark Sabbatini
April 19, 2006

If you've never heard saxophonist Nelson Rangell, you may find Soul To Souls a pleasant step beyond typical smooth radio fodder. Listeners familiar with his work will find it, for better or worse, a return to safety.

Rangell put out unpolished fusion albums with scattered moments of innovation during his early years, hit a brief peak during mid-'90s, and has since lapsed into lukewarm territory. He took a detour for the better on My American Songbook Vol. 1 ...

Apollo's Fire, Jeannette Sorrell: Scarborough Fayre-Traditional Tunes from the British Isles and the New World

by C. Michael Bailey
March 31, 2005

Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century popular music provides a unique prism through which to view how our present structures have evolved. Scarborough Fayre-Traditional Tunes from the British Isles and the New World is a cleverly programmed cycle of songs and song types common in Britain and America before and after American independence. It is enlightenment, for example, to learn the celtic roots of bluegrass music. And just how close the two sound alike. The celtic tradition looms large in this collection ...

Imani Winds: The Classical Underground

by Russ Musto
March 27, 2005

Imani Winds is a contemporary woodwind quintet whose music is quietly breaking down the artificial barrier between the classical and jazz idioms. The group's members--Valerie Coleman (flute), Toyin Spellman (oboe), Mariam Adam (clarinet), Monica Ellis (bassoon), and Jeff Scott (French horn)--are young Afro-Americans intent on integrating their American Negro and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions into their chosen field of creative expression. The disc opens with Scott's arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's “Libertango, which adds percussionist Rolando Morales Matos on cajon, ...