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Content by tag "Karl Ackermann"
Django Bates / Frankfurt Radio Big Band: Saluting Sgt. Pepper
Django Bates stellar career has been far less celebrated than it deserves to be, at least on this, somewhat myopic, side of the Atlantic. Born in Kent, on the outskirts of London, he has achieved prominence as a multi-instrumentalist, band leader and composer. In the early part of his career he created Human Chain and the ...
read moreIsamu McGregor: Resonance
It has been five years since the release of pianist Isamu McGregor's debut Live at the Baked Potato! (Amorphous Paraphernalia Records, 2012) and his Resonance turns out to be well worth the wait. While the first album was solidly entrenched in the fusion arena, the current outing is a genre defying and eclectic collection with an ...
read moreKevin Hays / Lionel Loueke: Hope
New York/Paris-based Newvelle Records, the vinyl-only subscription label, is well into its second season of six planned releases. The second of these albums is the Kevin Hays and Lionel Loueke duo outing, Hope. Pianist Hays plays with his namesake trio as well as the Bill Stewart Trio and has worked with Sonny Rollins, Benny Golson, Ron ...
read moreBrian McCarthy Nonet: The Better Angels of Our Nature
Brian McCarthy's The Better Angels of Our Nature shares some common ground with Ted Nash whose Big Band collection Presidential Suite (Eight Variations on Freedom) (Motema Music, 2016) explored musical interpretations of great historical speeches including those of John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and Lyndon B. Johnson. McCarthy's focus is inspirited by American ...
read moreRob Mazurek: Rome
Rob Mazurek has long been entrenched in his eclectic, global and multi-media creative sphere making it easy for listeners to forget his musical roots. With his 1994 leader debut, Man Facing East (Hep Records), he had already shown signs of breaking with convention, particularly on the title track of that album. The electro-acoustic cornet and keyboard ...
read moreSatoko Fujii / Natsuki Tamura: Kisaragi
As creative pairings go, there are none who surpass trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii. The husband and wife team play together in various settings from Fujii's numerous orchestras (New York, Berlin, Tokyo), the quartet Kaze, and the (now) trio formation Gato Libre. The results are never predictable. Their duo outings, more often than not, ...
read morePEK: Leap of Faith Orchestra - Possible Universes
Possible Universes is the latest release from the multi-faceted Leap of Faith collective. In the orchestra formation, the group has released some half-dozen recordings but the “full" orchestra is a biannual occurrence where the normally fifteen-piece ensemble grows. On this album, the collaborative expands to twenty-four musicians and, as always, the long-time anchors are composer and ...
read moreJonah Parzen-Johnson: I Try To Remember Where I Come From
Chicago native and Brooklyn resident Jonah Parzen-Johnson has strong links to the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), having studied with that organization's Mwata Bowden. Parzen-Johnson--a co-leader of the Afro-beat ensemble, Zongo Junction--plays the baritone saxophone and analog synthesizers in each of his lofi solo outings, to date. His new album I Try To ...
read moreFlame Keepers: National Jazz Museum in Harlem
On 129th Street, in the heart of Harlem, Loren Schoenberg emerges from a crowded back room with an unusual looking recording. Aluminum discs like the one he holds, were the first instant, electrical means of recording. Invented in 1929 they were a means of allowing radio stations to record and archive live programs that could be ...
read moreAlexander Hawkins: Unit[e]
![Read "Unit[e]" reviewed by Karl Ackermann](https://www.allaboutjazz.com/coverart/large/AlexanderHawkins_Unite_allaboutjazz_ka.jpg)
With each subsequent release, pianist-composer Alexander Hawkins further cements his place in the top tier of modern, forward-thinking artists. The Oxford, UK native has worked as a leader in nonet, ensemble, quartet, trio and solo formats and is a member of the Convergence Quartet featuring cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Harris Eisenstadt, and bassist Dominic Lash. ...
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