Home » Search Center » Results: Album Reviews
Results for "Album Reviews"
Daniel Herskedal: Voyage
by Ian Patterson
Though Norwegian tubist Daniel Herskedal first garnered widespread recognition with Neck of the Woods (Edition Records, 2012)—a sublime collection of folkloric-cum-hymnal meditations with Marius Neset--his unique talent had already won over the jurists at Getxo Jazz in 2004. Two solo albums on the NorCD label made minor ripples before Edition Records came along. Herskedal's next two ...
Axel Dörner/Agustí Fernández/Ramon Prats: Venusik
by Mark Corroto
The command must have been “make it new," and the trio of Axel Dörner (trumpet & electronics), Agustí Fernández (piano), and Ramon Prats (drums & percussion) wholeheartedly agreed. Venusik is one of several recordings made under the Spontaneous Music Tribune Series for the parent label Multikulti Project. The newness focuses on original music and, ...
Oak: False Memory Archive
by Glenn Astarita
This multitasking Norwegian trio's exceptional layering and mixing techniques provide a boost to the musicians' seamless ability to bridge a progressive rock aura with fresh material that occasionally skirts art-rock and pop. Simen Valldal Johannessen's warmhearted vocals (in English) are iterated with near flawless diction and mystical qualities. The melodic verses are often synched ...
Kenney Polson: For Lovers Only
by Geannine Reid
Saxophonist Kenney Polson may not be a household name but he has a lengthy pedigree in jazz and smooth jazz. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri to a musical family; a grandfather worked with Count Basie and Cab Calloway and an uncle sang with the Coasters. Polson's discography since 2010 includes Serendipity (2014, No Slop ...
Ben Winkelman: Balance
by Dan Bilawsky
Jazz, much like life, is an art of balance, a forever dance on the scales which keep our sanity and existence in check. Form must always reckon with freedom, scripts and spontaneity are bound by mutual understanding, and intellect blossoms truest as it holds the heart in high regard. Only in a state of relative equilibrium ...
Josh Lawrence: Triptych
by David A. Orthmann
Triptych succeeds on the connection between Josh Lawrence's writing and a coterie of players with whom he has been associated for several years. A brilliant, enterprising band comprised of the leader's trumpet, pianist Zaccai Curtis, his brother, bassist Luques Curtis, alto saxophonist Caleb Curtis (no relation), and drummer Anwar Marshall readily embrace the contours of Lawence's ...
Stephen Gauci / Sandy Ewen / Adam Lane / Kevin Shea: Live at the Bushwick Series
by Mark Corroto
There are certain musicians, let's call them axis musicians, who are always at the center of a scene or movement. Dave Rempis, William Parker and Ken Vandermark can consistently be found at the epicenter of a sound or scene. This is also true of saxophonist Stephen Gauci, the coordinator of a music series at the Bushwick ...
Gwen & Tiana: African Time
by Roger Farbey
It's not immediately clear that African Time is a jazz album at all. However, perusing the CD digipak's details, there are obvious clues that if not exactly jazz, it is certainly jazz-related. The first indication is the revelation that sharing the composing duties along with singers Gwen Thomas and Tiana Ewane is co-composer and guitarist Femi ...
Bruce Hornsby: Absolute Zero
by Geno Thackara
While the music world has plenty of explorers, Bruce Hornsby is still one of its most restless Marco Polos. Where he's often made a habit of bouncing from one thing to another for a whole album at a time--solo contemporary piano, yee-haw bluegrass, piano-less folk, jazz trio, film score and stage musical--he's in full, glorious, kitchen-sink ...
Bill Frisell | Thomas Morgan: Epistrophy
by John Kelman
When ECM Records released Small Town in 2017, beyond capturing the profound intimacy and musical ability to “finish each other's sentences" shared by the first recorded document of guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan in a duo setting, one of the biggest walk-aways was the hope that this would not be a one-off. Two years ...
