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Noah Preminger: Dark Days
by Jack Kenny
Noah Preminger possesses one of the most beautiful tones in jazz, and he knows it. He is not inclined to tarnish that sound--nor should he. It is the product of years of rigorous work. His challenge, rather, lies in his relative youth, in jazz terms. Admired already, Preminger also understands that his best years likely lie ...
Ray Barretto: Together
by C. Andrew Hovan
As of this writing, it has been more than 20 years since we lost the great conguero Ray Barretto. A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, Barretto was among the first musicians to bring the conga drum into the standard jazz combo. His unmistakable touch can be heard throughout the early 1960s on a string ...
Julius Gawlik: It's All in Your Head
by Nenad Georgievski
When jazz musicians talk about composition, they often mean something closer to architecture--blueprints that guide but do not dictate. Julius Gawlik's debut album takes this idea seriously, treating written material as a starting point rather than a destination. The Berlin-based saxophonist and clarinetist has assembled a quartet that thrives on incompleteness, where sketches become conversations and ...
Alex Skolnick Trio: Prove You're Not a Robot
by Glenn Astarita
Few musicians have leapt the chasm between thrash metal and jazz with the audacity and grace of Alex Skolnick. Having made his name with Bay Area thrashers Testament in their Big Four-era ascent, Skolnick's departure from metal in the early '90s was not burnout, but a transformation fueled by his pursuit of a BFA in jazz ...
Wes Montgomery: Boss Guitar
by C. Andrew Hovan
By the time Wes Montgomery left us in 1968 at just 45, he had already produced a staggering body of work. To say he changed the way musicians approached the guitar forever is no overstatement. Thanks to producer Orrin Keepnews, Montgomery documented his prime years on Riverside, recording nearly a dozen albums between 1959 and 1963. ...
Wanees Zarour: Silwan
by Jack Bowers
There are times when not knowing what to expect can be helpful. Wanees Zarour, a Palestinian-American artist who now calls Chicago home, plays the buzuq and oud, stringed instruments from the Middle East, and couples them on Silwan with his skills as a composer to produce melodic and colorful images of his homeland interspersed with contemporary ...
Aruán Ortiz: Créole Renaissance
by Neri Pollastri
L'avevamo sentito recentemente dal vivo in vari contesti, dal duo con Don Byron al Pinocchio di Firenze fino al quartetto con James Brandon Lewis al Jazz&Wine of Peace 2025 (dove non a caso era stato il vero protagonista), ma l'occasione in cui ci aveva maggiormente colpiti era stato in solitudine, ancora al Pinocchio Jazz, nel marzo ...
Roberto Bonati: Si erano vestiti dalla festa
by Angelo Leonardi
Il CD di questa suite di Roberto Bonati, eseguita il 23 ottobre 2022 nel corso del festival ParmaJazz Frontiere e pubblicata due anni dopo, ci giunge in ritardo, quando il prolifico leader, didatta e direttore artistico ha pubblicato altri lavori con la Chironomic Orchestra e il Madreperla Trio. Ci sono però opere--come questa--il cui valore ...
John Clay: About Time
by Jack Bowers
New York-based drummer John Clay's 2025 release is About Time. For a drummer, of course, every phrase, every measure, every game plan is in essence about time, and Clay keeps exemplary time on each of the album's 10 numbers, as do the other members of his splendid quintet.Clay pilots a burnished rhythm section whose ...
Khondzi: First of Many
by Anastasia Bogomolets
First of Many is a vivid dialogue between two of Georgia's most distinguished contemporary jazz voices: pianist Papuna Sharikadze and saxophonist Khondzi. Renowned for its unique choral polyphony, expressive dance traditions, and rich musical heritage, Georgia (Saqartvelo, the country) provides the cultural background for Sharikadze and Khondzi's music. From the first notes, ...
