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Hendrik Meurkens: Samba Jazz Odyssey
by Edward Blanco
One of the leading proponents of bossa nova and samba in the jazz world, New York-based chromatic harmonica virtuoso Hendrik Meurkens continues his love affair with Brazilian music with the big band sound of Samba Jazz Odyssey, his seventh release on the ZOHO record label. This time Meurkens is joined by the world-renown WDR Big Band ...
Ben Thomas: Eternal Aporia
by Jane Kozhevnikova
For some people, tango means the dance with a stereotypical red rose between the teeth. For Ben Thomas, a percussionist and bandoneonist from Seattle, tango is much more than that: it has been an important part of his life for at least fifteen years before the 2022 release of Eternal Aporia. The album includes twelve of ...
Doug Webb: The Message
by David A. Orthmann
The trappings of The Message, tenor saxophonist Doug Webb's eleventh release for Posi-Tone Records, are perhaps recognizable to anyone with an interest in jazz conventions. All hands, except for drummer Charles Ruggiero, contribute at least one composition. While some are more adventurous (tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds' Where Did You Come From?," and alto saxophonist Greg Osby's ...
The Paxton / Spangler Septet: Ugqozi
by Chris May
Ugqozi is a celebration of modern, urban African music, especially that from South Africa, with which co-leaders trombonist John “Tbone" Paxton and percussionist RJ Spangler have been in love for decades. It is also an affirmation of the vibrant Detroit scene of which the multi-generational Paxton / Spangler Septet is a part. Actually, ...
Harry Allen & Dave Blenkhorn: Play the Music of Phil Morrison
by Jack Bowers
When musicians as accomplished and well-known as saxophonist Harry Allen and guitarist Dave Blenkhorn play the music of Phil Morrison, a question that naturally arises is: why? Although bassist and composer Morrison is a splendid musician in his own right, he has made his home for many years in Brunswick, Georgia, hardly a mecca for jazz, ...
Julius Rodriguez: Let Sound Tell All
by Chris May
At 23 years, New York-based keyboards player and drummer Julius Rodriguez is close to being a founder member of Gen Z and so was an adolescent when the iPad was giving way to streaming and a new, randomised perspective on jazz and music in general was being shaped. The Juillard School dropout--Rodriguez quit in 2018 to ...
Marilyn Scott: The Landscape
by Jim Worsley
Some artists feel obligated to put out a new record every one-point-three years, or whatever their factory warranty calls for (mileage may vary). Others are more interested in quality than quantity. On her first record since Standard Blue (Prana, 2017), jazz vocalist Marilyn Scott has something to say about The Landscape. More than the title track, ...
Naama Gheber: I’m A Fool To Want You
by C. Michael Bailey
Vocalist Naama Gheber is applying a different paradigm to the release of her second recording, the EP If I Knew Then, presently due for release in November 2022. She previously released the single Old Mother Hubbard" and now follows it with a starkly fashioned I'm A Fool To Want You." Gheber released her debut recording Dearly ...
David Krakauer & Kathleen Tagg: Mazel Tov Cocktail Party!
by Chris M. Slawecki
When David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg announced the release of Mazel Tov Cocktail Party! , they included this accompanying statement: This project riffs off a slip of the tongue by a conservative pundit who called Molotov Cocktails Mazel Tov" Cocktails. We were tickled by the imagery of a Mazel Tov Cocktail" lighting up the world with ...
ORD: Hemligheter på vägen
by Troy Dostert
Drawing inspiration from Tomas Tranströmer, one of the giants of Scandinavian poetry, Swedish pianist Karin Johansson and her quintet ORD have forged a memorable and distinctive musical document. Named after one of Tranströmer's poems, Hemligheter på Vägen ("Secrets on the Way") sketches an evocative, often mysterious, but eminently engaging sound portrait that is as elusive as ...

