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John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme': The Greatest Jazz Album Ever
This is the first of an ongoing series where I'll look back at a jazz classic, arguing for its place as the greatest jazz album ever. It's one part love letter to pieces of music that are hardwired into jazz's DNA, one part go-to list for music fans curious about the music, and one part indulgence ...
Ken Thomson Turns His Reed Work to Chamber Jazz
Improvisation is a big, if not the biggest, pillar of jazz music. For many, it's what gives the music its unique identity, separating it from pop and the rest. Musicians wax poetic about the experience of playing that way, and I've written extensively about it through the years, particularly applauding those groups that practice free playing ...
Jazz Bassist Michael Formanek Is Back After a Dozen Years Between Albums
Several years ago, Michael Formanek was in the middle of a bass solo during a Bloodcount gig at the Knitting Factory's Old Office in Manhattan. Tim Berne, Chris Speed and Jim Black had all dropped out, leaving the bassist to carry on alone except for a young woman in the audience who was telling her friend ...
Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green Lock Horns at the Jazz Standard
One of the great jazz stories of 2009 and 2010 has been the partnership between alto saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green. The career of Mahanthappa, a Guggenheim Fellow and Downbeat Rising Star, has taken off, thanks to some strong post-Coltrane style playing of his own and his association with Vijay Iyer and other new bright ...
Trombonist Steve Turre Regales With Tales of Shells and Bones
To look at the résumé of Steve Turre is to see a list of jazz's leading figures of the past 40 years. The trombonist got his start with Rahsaan Roland Kirk in 1970. From there, he quickly moved on to a flurry of people (including Van Morrison) before landing a Ray Charles world tour in 1972. ...
Panamanian Pianist Danilo Perez Is a Jazzman for All Seasons
It's not uncommon for musicians to lend their name and/or time to charitable causes. Sometimes these people even have a second life as a hands-on leader of the organization—Bob Geldof comes to mind here. Jazz musicians, on the other hand, tend to lean more toward a grass-roots kind of thing, such as starting schools (see the ...
Creed Taylor's Landmark CTI Label Offers Up a Treasure Trove of New Jazz Reissues
The concept of music packaging is mostly a thing of the past, as downloads become the medium of choice. Nonetheless, the stunning artwork of many classic albums helped define those records. Blue Note Records is probably the one company that is more identified with its cover art than any other label out there, jazz or otherwise. ...
Marc Ribot Taps Into Lyricism for His Solo Guitar Soundtrack to Nonexistent Movies
There are few musicians that have worked in a wider and more creative catalog of material than Marc Ribot. As a sideman, the guitarist has backed singers including Tom Waits, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Richard Hell, Elvis Costello and Norah Jones, not to mention John Zorn and vast array of avant-garde jazz musicians. His own ...
Miles Davis' 'Bitches Brew' Turns 40 and Gets the Box Set Treatment
I've gone on record more than once saying I lean more toward John Coltrane than Miles Davis. Yet such is the magnitude of Davis' legacy that it is impossible for either jazz fan or jazz critic to avoid spending considerable time listening to the trumpeter. No jazz musician I can think of was recorded more often. ...
The Bad Plus Take a Break From Jazzed-Out Indie Covers With 'Never Stop'
Things are a bit calmer for the Bad Plus these days. The band returns with its eighth album, called 'Never Stop,' which, if nothing else, emphatically states the band's mission statement. It's also the first album of all original songs for the trio. It follows up 2009's 'For All I Care,' which featured rock covers performed ...
