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David Janeway: Forward Motion
by Dan McClenaghan
New York City-based pianist David Janeway began his music journey studying classical music at age five. The move to the Big Apple happened in 1978, and became a permanent move in 1986. He has been a busy presence there for four decades, in various ensemble configurations. Still, he gravitates--especially on recordings--toward the piano trio, with Distant ...
Michael Dease: Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Jack Bowers
Even though all but unsung outside his customary locale, Michigan-based composer Gregg Hill has drawn into his orbit a small but well-respected circle of jazz artists including bassist Rodney Whitaker, guitarist Randy Napoleon and trombonist Michael Dease, all of whom have recorded albums dedicated to Hill's diverse and sophisticated music. Found in Space is Dease's second ...
Gardyn Jazz Orchestra: Vinyl Brews
by Jack Bowers
Alto saxophonist Jon C. Gardner not only leads the piquant and powerful Philadelphia-based Gardyn Jazz Orchestra, he also wrote and arranged every song on Vinyl Brews, an in-concert performance recorded in December 2023 at Chris' Jazz Café in the City of Brotherly Love. There are half a dozen tunes in all, three of which are presented ...
Steve Coleman and Five Elements: PolyTropos / Of Many Turns
by Troy Dostert
Perpetually churning rhythms, telepathic detours, unexpected juxtapositions: these are the stock-in-trade of Steve Coleman's Five Elements. And once again the intrepid alto saxophonist's inimitable approach surfaces on PolyTropos / Of Many Turns, a generous, two-disc helping of music that manages to be both intricately complex and fundamentally accessible at the same time. With two live dates ...
Cliff Korman: Urban Tracks
by Katchie Cartwright
As ever, Urban Tracks finds pianist, arranger-composer and scholar Cliff Korman alchemizing, jazzifying choros and Brasilifying jazz tunes to create his own distinctive arrangements. Mood Ingênuo: Pixinguinha Meets Duke Ellington with Paulo Moura (Jazzheads, 1999), Brasilified (Tiger Turn, 2022) and Bossas and Ballads (Tiger Turn, 2024) are among other examples in his discography. He recorded Urban ...
Arild Andersen: Landloper
by Neil Duggan
The stark elegance of Arild Andersen's bass playing has been inspiring and entertaining audiences since the 1970s. He first gained prominence as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet, performing alongside Jon Christensen and Terje Rypdal, and was among ECM's first recording artists. Throughout his career he has performed and recorded with jazz luminaries including Sonny ...
Freysteinn Gíslason: Að einhverju / To somewhere
by Glenn Astarita
Emerging from Iceland's volcanic landscape--a land where glaciers and geysers conspire to create heavenly magic--Freysteinn arrives with their third sonic missive, Að einhverju/To somewhere. This is not your grandmother's jazz album; it is a musical expedition that pirouettes between traditional Icelandic folk whispers, rock and a progressive jazz swagger. Along with the melodic complexities ...
Alain Bedard Auguste Quartet: Particules Sonores
by Dan McClenaghan
The experience of bassist Alain Bedard's Partcules Sonores begins--for those who read liner notes--with a rumination on sound waves that interact with every particle of matter they encounter. The energy created is transported and diffused, becoming sound particles." Hm. A bit cerebral for some tastes, perhaps. But then jazz guys are known to go ...
Paul Downing: Social Control Mechanism Number One
by Christopher Wheatley
Bassist Paul Downing is an artist with an eclectic taste whose music covers many grounds. In previous records, he has explored free improvisation, heavy funk, and, on Flight Through Cloudless Sky (Paulos Records, 1994), produced a fascinating suite of solo pieces performed using the meta-'cello, an instrument tuned in fourths. Social Control Mechanism Number One is ...
Tracy Yang: OR
by Angelo Leonardi
Il percorso biografico e artistico di Tracy Yang ha molte affinità con quello di Jihye Lee, l'ormai nota arrangiatrice e bandleader coreana che s'è imposta con i significativi album Infinite Connections e Daring Mind. Tracy Yang viene da Taiwan, dove lavorava come radiologa. Come Jihyie Lee ha appreso in un decennio le tecniche dell'orchestrazione ...


