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Patricia Barber: Higher
by Tyran Grillo
Patricia Barber is more than the sum of her talents. As a composer, she peels back the craft of song to expose its barest textures, cultivating each like a tree that, while holding its own shape above ground, makes apparent the roots below it. As a singer, she understands not only that we perform our voices ...
Keith Tippett: The Unlonely Raindancer
by Matt Parker
Some people find that solo piano albums, no matter how highly regarded they may be, struggle to hold their attention for a full listen. This can often be attributed to the relatively small timbral palette apparently available to pianists. However, nothing could be further from the truth regarding the extraordinary performances of Keith Tippett documented in ...
JC Sanford's Triocracy: Pyramid Scheme
by Mark Sullivan
Trombonist / composer JC Sanford leads an unconventional chamber trio with Andy Laster and Chris Bacas on saxophones and clarinets. As the group name implies, it is a remarkably flexible and democratic small ensemble. Sanford is the main composer, but there are also collective improvisations, guided improvisations, and a few surprising covers. “Rip Tide" ...
Ikarus: Mosaismic
by Mike Jurkovic
Like morse code lapping against the rampant stream of everything binary, the minimal groove of Germany's Ikarus—which is drummer Ramon Oliveras, pianist Lucca Fries double bassist Moritz Meyer and the wordless, gravity-free scat singing of Andreas Lareida and Anna Hirsch—makes for an edgy, compelling atmosphere. Economic to the point of sparseness, Ikarus, like its ...
Caldera: Caldera / Sky Islands
by Jakob Baekgaard
Mention the word “fusion" and a list of familiar names often turns up: Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams' Lifetime, Return to Forever and Weather Report. But what about Caldera? Aficionados of the genre will probably know about them but, to many listeners, they will be a new discovery and, thanks to a BGO ...
Jimmie Vaughan: Baby, Please Come Home
by Doug Collette
Jimmie Vaughan has never risen to the level of stardom his late brother Stevie Ray Vaughan attained, but the elder sibling hasn't been any less loyal to the blues during the course of his career. Founding and maintaining the Fabulous Thunderbirds since 1974 (quite a bit prior to the renaissance of the genre his younger and ...
Michael Whalen: Fire Brigade
by Phillip Woolever
Michael Whalen is a versatile, accomplished keyboardist whose professional focus has been film and especially television soundtracks that earned him a pair of Emmy Awards and includes the Good Morning America theme. Promotional material describes this project as the long-contemplated culmination of his desire to create a jazz-fusion album along the lines of early influences like ...
Michael Ragonese: Day to Day
by Paul Naser
If you haven't heard Michael Ragonese's name before, you're sure to hear it a lot more. The award winning pianist is a constant fixture in Los Angeles; if he's not a sideman at one club, he's leading a band at another. Among the many luminaries he has performed or recorded with are: Bennie Maupin, David Binney, ...
Pamela Polland: Pamela Polland / Have You Heard The One About The Gas Station Attendant?
by Jakob Baekgaard
The singer-songwriter movement of the seventies paved the way for several new voices in popular music, but not everyone got the success of Carole King, whose album Tapestry (Ode, 1971) marked a peak in the movement, commercially and artistically. Pamela Polland was one of the artists whom fame eluded. Polland was poised for a ...
Maureen Choi: Theia
by Jim Worsley
Maureen Choi's classical training and leanings are at the forefront and provide a substantial foundation. The palette is then wide open to incorporate jazz, flamenco, and fandango. Theia has a distinctive array of colors and has profoundly compelling undertones. Each song is its own unique journey with unknown passages, trap doors, and idiosyncratic paths leading to ...
