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Wayne Krantz: Write Out Your Head
by Mike Jacobs
What do you want from Wayne Krantz anyway? It's a particularly relevant question when new release time rolls around for the guitar icon(oclast). Not that Krantz himself seems to give the question much thought. He's more known for being preoccupied with things like inventing (and reinventing) himself, exploring and capturing ineffable group mojo, or ...
The TNEK Jazz Quintet: Plays the Music of Sam Jones
by Jack Bowers
The late Sam Jones is mainly remembered as an earnest craftsman whose perceptive bass lines undergirded the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, Cedar Walton, Barry Harris, Kenny Dorham, Bobby Timmons, Bill Evans and a host of other jazz masters. Jones, however, had another special albeit lesser-known talent, one that is addressed here, almost forty years ...
Kuzu: Purple Dark Opal
by John Sharpe
Hard as it is to believe, the wonderful Hiljaisuus (Aerophonic, 2019) documented the first encounter between Chicago reedman Dave Rempis, North Carolina-based Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer Tyler Damon, under the banner Kuzu. On the basis of that triumph, the musicians put together a twenty-date US tour. For their follow up release, Purple Dark Opal, ...
Grid: Decomposing Force
by Mike Jurkovic
A lot of recognisable names and musical micro climes run through the blood and wires of this aggressive three. Jimi Hendrix, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, pure punk, death metal . . . need more? So, expect a hard, twisted, mad metal assault when you confront Decomposing Force, the second release of riotous pandemonium from ...
Gary Bartz & Maisha: Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions
by Chris May
This international spiritual-jazz jam promises much and delivers most of it. On the one hand, Gary Bartz, who is among the movement's American elder statesmen. On the other, Maisha, six young Londoners. The backstory: The wedding planner who brought the parties together is the London DJ and founder of Brownswood Recordings, Gilles Peterson. ...
Derrick Shezbie: The Ghost of Buddy Bolden
by Jim Trageser
Derrick Shezbie's sophomore release as leader--a mere 26 years after his highly acclaimed debut, Spodie's Back (Warner Bros., 1994)--finds the New Orleans trumpeter in much the same territory as a quarter-century ago: traditional jazz played with an assured combination of virtuosity and energy. But this should be no surprise. He came of age musically ...
The Seth Weaver Big Band: Truth
by Jack Bowers
Truth, the debut album by New York-based trombonist / vocalist Seth Weaver, has its ups and downs, most of which involve the leader himself. The “ups" enter the picture thanks to Weaver's five far-better-than-average compositions, the “downs" whenever he chooses to sing, as he does on three of eight numbers. Luckily, the pluses far outweigh the ...
Sam Newsome: Chaos Theory
by Neri Pollastri
Grande specialista del sax soprano, Sam Newsome è anche uno sperimentatore dello strumento, con all'attivo tre album in solitudine nei quali documenta gli esiti della sua ricerca—peraltro valorizzata anche in altri lavori, per esempio Magic Circle, in duo con Jean-Michel Pilc. Qui presenta il quarto, nel quale “prepara" in molti modi il sax: aggiungendovi campanelli e ...
Yuri Goloubev: Two Chevrons Apart
by Ian Patterson
In recent years double bassist Yuri Goloubev has lent his rich sound to multiple projects, including the co-led Duonomics (Caligola, 2018) with Michele Di Toro. It was 2011's Titanic for a Bike (Caligola), however, that marked Goloubev's last recording as outright leader. This welcome return—his headlining debut on Basho Records—sees him align with frequent musical partners ...
Gary Husband & Markus Reuter: Music Of Our Times
by Mark Sullivan
Rarely has an album title been so perfectly descriptive. In March, 2020 the Stick Men with special guest Gary Husband had just begun a Japan and China tour. But it was cancelled by the pandemic after one show at the Blue Note in Nagoya. Thinking quickly, Husband and Stick Men touch guitarist Markus Reuter booked time ...
