Results for "Album Review"
John La Barbera Big Band: Grooveyard

by Jack Bowers
Composer/arranger John La Barbera has been at the top of his game for more than half a century, and Grooveyard is simply another example of his undiminished artistry. Besides arranging everything--superbly, as always--La Barbera wrote six of the session's ten charming songs, escorting other treasures by Carl Perkins, Dave Brubeck, Curtis Fuller and Elvin Jones.
Hilario Duran: Cry Me A River

by Pierre Giroux
Hilario Durán is a renowned Cuban-Canadian jazz pianist and composer known for contributing to Latin jazz. He does not release big band efforts often, but with the release of Cry Me A River, he has reconstituted his Latin Jazz Big Band to take us on an extraordinary musical journey, effortlessly blending myriad genres into his singular ...
Matt Mitchell: Oblong Aplomb

by John Sharpe
On Oblong Aplomb pianist Matt Mitchell pays homage to the drummers in his life. In a way, it can be seen as a follow-up to his debut Fiction (Pi Recordings, 2013). That album, a duet with stickman Ches Smith, originated from Mitchell's practice of warming up for gigs with Tim Berne's Snakeoil by running through a ...
Electroscope Trio: Electroscope

by Neri Pollastri
Registrato in due diverse sessioni, la prima nel novembre del 2018 (gli iniziali otto brani, tutti piuttosto brevi), la seconda nel giugno dell'anno successivo (le due tracce conclusive, entrambe attorno agli otto minuti), Electroscope è un disco d'improvvisazione nel quale i flauti di Massimo De Mattia si stagliano nitidi ed espressivi su un variegato tappeto sonoro ...
Henry Spencer: The Defector

by Neil Duggan
In 2011, trumpeter Henry Spencer won the Best Newcomer Award at the jazz festival in the Wiltshire town of Marlborough; he went on to win the Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK in 2014. Sometimes these awards add extra pressure or, as is the case here, propel the musician to new heights. He climbs very ...
Teri Parker: Shaping the Invisible

by Dan McClenaghan
Here is how to take an artistic vision to the next level: Find a room with a lock on the door. Step inside. Engage the lock. Examine the work of those who came before you. Then begin the process of your own creativity. This worked for pianist/composer Parker--so says her sophomore recording, Shaping The ...
Kent Engelhardt & Stephen Enos: Madd For Tadd

by Jack Bowers
The masterworks on this second edition of Madd for Tadd are presented on two discs, one of which bears the name of one of composer/pianist Tadd Dameron's classic themes, Our Delight." Oddly, the other is named for the only non-Dameronian item on the menu, Central Avenue Swing," written by saxophonist and Dameron chronicler Kent Engelhardt who ...
Jean-Paul Bourelly: Black Lives - From Generation to Generation

by Vic Albani
Doppio CD o doppio vinile prodotto in HI-Res e con packaging di lusso dalla Jammin'colorS, agenzia per artisti jazz, world, funk, alternativi, hip-hop, electro e sperimentali nonché etichetta indipendente. Il lavoro che ha pubblicato in tanta pompa magna è un ampio collage di musica nera realizzato da 25 musicisti africani, caraibici e afroamericani guidati dalla visione ...
Jon De Lucia: And the Stars Were Shining

by Richard J Salvucci
All instruments can be difficult and some even look intimidating. Some are notoriously tough to play in tune. Some emit unpleasant sounds without much prompting, especially squeaks. Welcome to the world of the clarinet. Non-players often wonder how anyone coaxes pretty sounds from the beast. Some wonder how to coax out any sound at all. The ...
Rami Atassi: Dancing Together

by Gareth Thompson
The Chicago-based guitarist Rami Atassi went on a south American journey with his wife to explore Mexico and Colombia. Amid the daily background music, he heard different styles and rhythmic foundations than those he was used to and took percussion lessons locally. All this later began seeping into his solo work. A Syrian-American, Atassi ...