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Robby Ameen: Live at the Poster Museum
by Jack Bowers
Unlike some drummer-led albums, wherein it is hard to determine who is actually piloting the ship, there are no doubts about who is in charge on Live at the Poster Museum--and that would be none other than Robby Ameen whose sharp and forceful timekeeping enlivens the heart and soul of every number, lending them a sizable ...
Luis Vicente: Come Down Here
by John Sharpe
Portuguese trumpeter Luis Vicente hits pay dirt with Come Down Here. Although he explores a range of styles from poised but unfettered outings such as Chamber 4 (FMR, 2015) and For Sale (Clean Feed, 2015), to fire music collaborations with the likes of tenor saxophonist John Dikeman on House In The Valley (Clean Feed, 2023), the ...
Jackson Potter: small things
by Dan Bilawsky
Grandiose gestures are well and good, but it's actually the small things, both independent and aggregated, that often prove most impactful. Those micro events or occurrences can lead to serious matters or link together to create an incredibly meaningful web of wonders at the macro level. That's a fact that Jackson Potter most certainly recognizes. For ...
Western Jazz Collective: Dark Journey: The Music of Andrew Rathbun
by Jack Bowers
The Western Jazz Collective is a seven-member co-op group that actually hails from America's Midwest--more specifically, Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo--where the ensemble's crew serve as members of the faculty. The designation Western" thus refers to the university rather than the septet's geographic location. Be that as it may, what infuses and animates ...
Ron Magril: Inspired
by Neil Duggan
This is the second album as leader from Israeli guitarist & composer Ron Magril. It follows on from his debut, Until Now (Ubuntu Music, 2022). That album featured a hard-bop quartet. Inspired finds Magril in an organ trio setting, paying tribute to his musical heroes, Wes Montgomery and Grant Green. All eight tracks on ...
Jon Irabagon: Server Farm
by John Sharpe
Artificial Intelligence would have a hard job pinning down saxophonist Jon Irabagon's defining characteristics. When a player is as talented as Irabagon, who can turn his hand to almost any style, sometimes the challenge is to find a focus that stimulates. On Server Farm, Irabagon has taken the notion of AI and the ever increasing prevalence ...
Omar Thomas Large Ensemble: Griot Songs
by Alberto Bazzurro
Dopo una lunga gestazione, giunge a noi questo che è il terzo lavoro del Large Ensemble diretto dal compositore newyorchese Omar Thomas (incisione del maggio 2024), un doppio album ambizioso e di chiaro intento anche didascalico in cui l'orchestra appare eloquentemente come il naturale prolungamento del gesto autoriale, con risultati di notevole impatto, sette brani di ...
Randal Despommier: South
by Dan Bilawsky
Growing up in Metairie, Louisiana--a mere six miles from New Orleans--alto saxophonist Randal Despommier's formative experiences were rooted in the Crescent City's fertile sonic soil. A stone's throw away from the action, he was able to cut his teeth on the local scene(s) and put his horn to good use in Mardi Gras parades. In addition, ...
Zlatko Kaučič: Zlatko Kaučič@70 - Inklings
by Mark Corroto
I am tempted to call Inklings, a tribute to 70-year-old Slovenian drummer, composer, and percussionist Zlatko Kaučič, a celebration of his long and inspirational career. Yet, I hesitate, for much like the indefatigable octogenarians Han Bennink and Louis Hayes, Kaučič shows no signs of slowing down. It would not be surprising if he, like Roy Haynes, ...
Brent Laidler: Hidden Gems
by Jack Bowers
The Hidden Gems alluded to by guitarist Brent Laidler on his third recording as leader comprise unique and seductive melodies and chord changes he uncovered while taking time during the Covid pandemic to skim through and sight-read some 14,000 tunes in 'fake books' and on his laptop computer, most of which never made it past that ...


