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Nguyen Le: Overseas
by Don Phipps
Robust and compelling, guitarist and composer Nguyen Le's Overseas continues his explorations of hybrid jazz--a jazz which combines traditional Vietnamese music with a personal style of jazzy soulful funk. Ancient instruments and urban rhythms collide, creating a kaleidoscopic musical mix that is at times hopping, like a busy Ho Chi Minh City avenue, and at times ...
Roberto Magris Sextet: Sun Stone
by Jack Bowers
Italian-born pianist Roberto Magris likes to change things up. He can be seen and heard leading groups from trio to octet and beyond, and meshing quite comfortably into groups of all shapes and sizes. On Sun Stone, his fifteenth recording for JMood Records, Magris fronts an admirable sextet whose front-line includes the venerable Ira Sullivan on ...
Luca Aquino: Italian Songbook
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Given a stroke of sfortuna, trumpet players can encounter physically and psychologically debilitating facial injuries. Maladies such as embouchure overuse, lip muscle tears, trauma, dystonia and Bell's Palsy can disrupt or end careers. After a devastating bout with Bell's Palsy, obtaining the guidance of trumpet “Yoda," Bobby Shew, and undergoing a lengthy recovery, Italian trumpeter Luca ...
Fabio Giachino: At The Edges Of The Horizon
by Don Phipps
The set of invigorating and hard-driving straight-ahead jazz tunes on Italian pianist and composer Fabio Giachino's At The Edges Of The Horizon offers non-stop interplay and flowing syncopation. There's a certain funky richness to the music, and Giachino's bandmates make the most of the flow of the music, highlighting the rhythmic variations with technical virtuosity.
Eric Hofbauer and Dylan Jack: Remains of Echoes
by Troy Dostert
Always attuned to unusual choices that keep his listeners guessing, guitarist Eric Hofbauer knows no bounds when it comes to his repertoire. One is as likely to hear a Cyndi Lauper or Nirvana cover as something by Thelonious Monk or Charlie Parker. And his stylistic approach on the guitar is similarly idiosyncratic, with a gutbucket blues ...
Arve Henriksen: The Timeless Nowhere
by John Eyles
Released as a limited-edition four-LP set, including the music on two CDs--a total of forty-two tracks, running for over one-hundred-and-fifty-six minutes--Arve Henriksen's The Timeless Nowhere mainly comprises new recordings and unreleased material dating from 2007 to 2019. (Only the live recordings from the 2017 Punkt festival have previously been available, by streaming or download.) Not a ...
Glafkos Kontemeniotis: Yugen
by Edward Blanco
The second album by Cypriot pianist and composer Glafkos Kontemeniotis, a native of New York City since 1988, presents eleven original compositions. This project is his tribute to the existence of beauty in the world, if one knows how to find it. Joining him on this journey are some of New York's elite players including saxophonist ...
Remy Le Boeuf: Assembly Of Shadows
by Dan McClenaghan
Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows, an ambitious jazz orchestra recording, opens with his original composition, the cinematic “Strata," followed by a majestic take on alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's “Honeymooners," a tune from the free jazz pioneer's Virgin Beauty (Portrait Records, 1988). These sounds--collectively clocking in at fifteen and a half minutes--set the stage for the ...
Various Artists: New Improvised Music from Buenos Aires
by Mark Corroto
The answer to the musical question: where does improvised music thrive? Everywhere. Have you heard Lebanese trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj's recordings on Al Maslakh Records or free jazz from the Istanbul based unit Konstrukt? All that is required for improvised music to thrive are seeds planted by visiting musicians, or access to a radio. Actually, it is ...
Eva Schubert: Hot Damn Romance
by Paul Naser
Those looking for a chanteuse in the jazz tradition often have limited options outside of legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan or more contemporary stars like Diana Krall or Jazzmeia Horn; if they are looking for original music, more often than not they're out of luck. So, fans of the style may ...
