Jazz Articles
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Becoming Ella Fitzgerald
by Katchie Cartwright
Becoming Ella Fitzgerald Judith Tick 560 Pages ISBN: 978-0-393-24105-1 W.W. Norton & Company 2024 In his 859-page monograph The Swing Era (1989), composer and historian Gunther Schuller skipped past Ella Fitzgerald. In 2011, when Judith Tick asked him about the omission, he responded that “there wasn't room to cover two singers, and he had chosen Billie Holiday" (Becoming Ella Fitzgerald, p. 429). Tick's meticulously researched and insightful Becoming Ella Fitzgerald fills that hole ...
read moreLizz Wright: Shadow
by Chris May
The singer Lizz Wright made a brief stopover in London in March 2024, on a tour previewing Shadow. She appeared for one night only at Cadogan Hall, a 900-seat auditorium big enough when full to feel buzzy but small enough still to remain close to intimate. It was a perfect setting for Wright and her characteristically à la carte programme of jazz, gospel, blues and folk music from multiple traditions. Shadow is an exquisitely crafted, low-key production ...
read moreWonderful now
by Scott Lichtman
What do you get when you combine the high-velocity beats of electronica with the virtuosic proficiency of fusion, the pristine sound quality of an ECM label record and the “goes down easy" catchiness of smooth jazz? When composed and performed at the highest level, it sounds like Anatole Muster's album, Wonderful now. This album gets better with repeated listening. Muster, who is 22 years old, creates nearly every sound on his orchestrations (except for several cameos), composes, writes ...
read moreShabaka: This Is The Moment To Make Patient Music
by Leo Sidran
Shabaka Hutchings grew up between the UK and Barbados. He started playing clarinet as a young boy in Barbados and eventually moved back to England to go to music school in the early 2000s.After college he began a period of working furiously on a kaleidoscopic range of projects and became an icon of the new sound of London jazz, which integrated African rhythms and modes, Caribbean and Middle eastern sounds and was largely danceable.Shabaka himself has ...
read moreKirke Karja / Étienne Renard / Ludwig Wandinger: Caught In My Own Trap
by John Sharpe
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt developed a style he termed tintinnabulation, because of its resemblance to pealing bells. While pianist Kirke Karja doesn't use the same technique as her esteemed countryman, the sustained resonances of her playing on “Caught In My Own Trap “often suggests trouble in the belfry. That is certainly the case on “Take My Tender Heart," the first number on the wonderful album by the cosmopolitan trio of Karja, French bassist Étienne Renard and German drummer Ludwig Wandinger. ...
read moreRichard Ruttenberg, Tass Petridis, Eyot, asnd Nataraj
by Len Davis
Futuristic music by Richard Ruttenberg and Jimmy Haslip. Bassist Tass Petridis, Everything Yes, Eyot, and London band Nataraja. Altered, with guitarist Jeff Miley, Apostolos Anthimos, Rez Abbasi, Bob Berg and Jean Marc. Belkadi. Playlist Ruttenberg-Haslip-Crockett “Willis" from Cold Fusion (Self Produced) 00:00 Tass Petridis “Ready Or Not" from The OG Sessions Vol 3 (Self Prod) 07:43 Everything Yes “Skrt Skrt" from Volume 2 (Self Produced) 15:24 Eyot “The Crest Of A Wave" from Quindecennial (Ropeadope) 23:18 Nataraja “Spirit ...
read moreJim Baker / Steve Hunt / Jakob Heinemann: Horizon Scanners
by Glenn Astarita
In jazz and improvisational music, the Chicago scene has long been a fertile ground for innovative soundscapes and daring musical ventures. Horizon Scanners, the latest offering from the captivating Chicagoan piano trio of Jim Baker, Steve Hunt and Jakob Heinemann, stands as a testament to this rich musical tradition. It invites listeners on an enthralling journey through sound, emotion and exploration. As the album evolves, it delves into angular, deeply exploratory soundscapes. Thus, Baker's dexterous harmonic variations blend seamlessly with ...
read moreTake Five with Tap Dancer Petra Haller
by AAJ Staff
Meet Petra Haller Petra Haller, based in jny: London, UK, is a respected figure in the fields of tap dance and music. Honored as a Rising Jazz Artist by Jazzwise Magazine and mentioned as one of Reader's Digest's “10 Female Jazz Musicians You need to Know" Haller has swiftly risen in prominence in the UK and beyond. Haller's artistic niche includes jazz, free jazz, improvised music and multimedia performances. In 2018, she initially collaborated with pianist Richard Lewis ...
read moreAlice Coltrane: The Carnegie Hall Concert
by Mike Jurkovic
The most perfect of time machines, with no errant destinations and no abrupt landings, The Carnegie Hall Concert transports one to a time when artists took their art seriously, when it was sacrosanct. Alice Coltrane's harp comes on like the siren lure of angels, like a missionary, calling all to stop their labor. It seems to say, “Come to listen, come to wonder, come to rest, don't be afraid." And Coltrane wasn't, not ever. Here she was with ...
read moreBrother Jack McDuff: Ain't No Sunshine
by Pierre Giroux
At The Gallery, Seattle Washington 1972, Brother Jack McDuff, master of the Hammond B-3 organ, showcased his unparalleled talent, backed by a tight-knit ensemble of seasoned musicians. The result is a never-before-released live recording in a deluxe limited-edition hand-numbered 180-gram 2-LP set, produced by record executive and tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds. The amazing sounding group that complemented McDuff's playing was comprised of Leo Johnson, tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet, Dave Young, tenor and soprano saxophones, Vinnie ...
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