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Portico Quartet: Terrain
by Geno Thackara
Much like the world of its creation—that of spring 2020, in the early phase of the Covid-19 shutdown—this Terrain is a landscape both familiar and strange. The ingredients of Portico Quartet's one-of-a-kind sound are recognizably there: the nebulous electronic soundscaping, the organic and gently compelling rhythms, the resonant tone of the hang drum which always feels ...
Anna Webber: Idiom
by Mark Corroto
Is Idiom, from composer, saxophonist, and flutist Anna Webber, new classical music or jazz? Yes. Is the music scored or improvised? Again, yes. Last question: Is it demanding or easy on the ears? Both. On the heels of two stellar releases, the septet Clockwise (Pi Recordings, 2019) and the Webber/Morris Big Band recording Both Are True ...
Judy Wexler: Back to the Garden
by Nicholas F. Mondello
A glance at the tracks on this album might make one think that it is a well-selected gathering of '60s message tunes from compilation stalwart, Rhino Records. That not being the case, rest assured that Back to the Garden presents those iconic Pop selections so incredibly re- imagined that what we experience could easily be considered ...
Carlos Vega: Art of the Messenger
by Jack Bowers
In case you didn't quite catch the “message" subtly embedded in the title of Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Carlos Vega's new recording, Art of the Messenger, here is a brief reminder that it was drummer Art Blakey who formed the Jazz Messengers in the mid-1950s and led the celebrated hard-bop ensemble until his death in 1990. The ...
Susan Alcorn, Leila Bordreuil, Ingrid Laubrock: Bird Meets Wire
by Troy Dostert
It may be impossible for anyone to free the pedal steel guitar entirely from its roots in country music but, if anyone can, Susan Alcorn would have to be the leading candidate. She has a phenomenal range on the instrument, capable of everything from folk-drenched Americana to abstract excursions, and she will sometimes combine her variegated ...
Randal Clark: Imaginary World
by Jim Worsley
Randal Clark's Imaginary World stretches beyond the conscious boundaries and illuminates the dark corners. It's clear from the onset that it is steeped in jazz tradition with a giant foothold on both rhythmic and melodic foundations. Clark establishes himself early and never lets go. Too often a buoyant blast off can ultimately fade away into the ...
Cycle: Jin-Brebl-Concert
by Alberto Bazzurro
Parafrasando, titolo e copertina, un celeberrimo doppio album del '71 del quartetto Circle di Anthony Braxton, Chick Corea, Dave Holland e Barry Altschul, il quintetto protagonista di questo lavoro batte in realtà strade abbastanza autonome, incasellando in sei brani originali (di cui due impro collettive) Vignette di Gary Peacock e, icona evidentemente inevitabile, quel Nefertiti che ...
Brent Jensen: More Sounds of a Dry Martini
by Jack Bowers
Two decades have passed since alto saxophonist Brent Jensen recorded his debut album for Origin Records, Sounds of a Dry Martini: A Tribute to Paul Desmond, in 2001. To Jensen's surprise, the album became so enormously popular that the possibility of a sequel was envisioned. There was, however, one large stumbling block—by 2007, Jensen had sold ...
Mario Pavone / Dialect Trio +1: Blue Vertical
by Karl Ackermann
Bassist and composer Mario Pavone died on May 15, 2021, after a seventeen-year battle with cancer. The Connecticut native had many interests and earned a degree in engineering, a Doris Duke Foundation grant and, for a quarter-century, shared his wisdom and talent with kids at the Litchfield Performing Arts Jazz Camp, where he also served as ...
Jens Jefsen: Music Between Gigs
by Mark Sullivan
Danish bassist Jens Jefsen returns with another bass-centric album which is definitely not “solo bass," a sequel to A Secret Sigh (Gateway Music, 2016). Like the previous album the music emphasizes melody--which Jefsen finds in standards, modern pop songs and his originals--and varied, colorful arrangements. Jefsen's “Esto Es Lo Mio" opens the set with a sprightly ...
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