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Jesse Davis Quartet: Reflections
by Jack Bowers
New Orleans-bred Jesse Davis delves into the soulful side of the alto saxophone on Reflections, his tenth album as leader and one that was recorded on New York's Long Island, far from Davis' home base of Verona, Italy, where he has lived for more than 20 years with his wife and daughter. One of ...
Champian Fulton: House Party
by Pierre Giroux
There are evenings when jazz truly finds its footing: social, spontaneous, and unguarded. House Party was recorded live in March 2025 at a producer's home for Turtle Bay Records, capturing one such moment. Pianist-vocalist Champian Fulton, joined by bassist Hide Tanaka and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, along with guest saxophonists Klas Lindquist and Cory Weeds, dispense with ...
Carla Bley: Joyful Noise – Live In Hamburg 1984
by Mike Jurkovic
For a brief human moment, let us imagine that pianist/composer/maestro Carla Bley was cast as a villainess on the low-camp-crazy 60's Batman TV show. Yes, that one. The one with Adam West running around in tights. Who would Bley be? Perhaps, with her humorous inquests into any musical form that might threaten Gotham, she would be ...
Chris Abrahams and Dave Symes: Distant Birds, Vol. 01 & 02
by Neil Duggan
Distant Birds, Vol. 01 & 02 is the result of a collaboration between keyboard player Chris Abrahams and bassist Dave Symes. Consisting of four long-form tracks that amount to a double vinyl or single CD, the album is a heady mix of keyboard textures and lithe bass lines with extended improvisations. The band's groove-driven soundscape is ...
Cecil Taylor: Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts
by Jack Kenny
Hosting a recording by Cecil Taylor represents a new departure for producer Zev Feldman. He is candid about the challenge: Words fail me to describe the great genius of Cecil Taylor and I could never do him justice, but luckily we have Phil Freeman's erudite words." Freeman contributes a substantial essay to the release.
Bennie Wallace: French Postcard
by Dan McClenaghan
In 2001, saxophonist Bennie Wallace released a breakout album, Moodsville (Groove Note). It was Wallace in the quartet setting, with Mulgrew Miller on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums--an all-star cast. What was striking about the sound was its immediacy, its authenticity. It was a bunch of time-tested Great American Songbook tunes ...
Soft Machine: Thirteen
by Gary Gomes
Soft Machine has seen many incarnations over the years. The initial iteration of the group, from roughly 1966-1980, and 13 albums, saw no two albums with the same personnel. The band was also arguably one of the first fusion bands. Soft Machine's overall approach was more experimental, incorporating elements of free jazz and minimalism in a ...
Steve Wilson: Enduring Sonance
by Andrew Schinder
Virginia-born, New York-based alto saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Wilson has created a sonic palette overflowing with delightfulness with Enduring Sonance, Wilson's debut album. Wilson's trademark dulcet tones fill the record, which eschews any hint of difficulty or impenetrability in favor of pure pleasure and musical expertise. Enduring Sonance is calculatedly straight-ahead, an exercise in accessibility without sacrificing sophistication. ...
Yvonne Rogers: The Button Jar
by Mike Jurkovic
It should not be as hard as it is to pinpoint the beauty of pianist/composer Yvonne Roger's sublime piano, but it is. You listen to Little Dance" from the intimate and intricate calligraphy of her Kris Davis produced The Button Jar and say to yourself There it is!" Then, the next track, Thread the Needle," enters ...
AS IS, featuring Al & Stacey Schulman: Crazy World
by Katchie Cartwright
What does it take to turn a romantic Cole Porter song into a powerful nine-minute protest piece? The band AS IS teases it out with a bit of a false trail to begin with: a tasty little scat intro, nicely-arranged. You might not suspect. Stacey Schulman brings the head in with a slight tweak to the lyric ...


