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One Night Only: Vinnie Sperrazza with Alex Laurenzi and Solomon Gottfried
by David A. Orthmann
Alex Laurenzi Trio Wayne Public Library Wayne, NJ March 12, 2026 I have long admired drummer Vinnie Sperrazza's musicianship on recordings to the exclusion of experiencing him in live performance. It was a pleasure to review Juxtaposition (2017), his Posi-Tone Records release as a leader, as well as Swing & Soul ...
Pete Mills: This Is Now
by Jack Bowers
As usual, swing is king on This Is Now, Canadian-born tenor saxophonist and composer Pete Mills' sixth recording as leader, one wherein the high-powered opening number (and title song) sets the pace for what is to come on this bright and upbeat session while showing that Mills and his quintet mean serious business. As ...
William Parker's Pocketwatch at Loove Annex
by Fran Kursztejn
William Parker's Pocketwatch Loove Annex AFA ResidencyNew York City April 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026 Before beginning his final set of the night, William Parker took a moment to explain the name of his 'Pocketwatch ensemble, a rotating group of polyphonic masters that have met every Wednesday of April at Greenpoint's Loove Annex. ...
Roswell Rudd: Where Improvisation Lives
by AAJ Staff
This article was originally published on All About Jazz in August 2002.All About Jazz met with trombonist and arranger Roswell Rudd in Manhattan to discuss his recent activities and his forthcoming weeklong residency with Steve Lacy at Iridium. Rudd also spoke of his affiliations with Albert Ayler and the still very much alive bassist ...
The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn: the Unknown Strayhorn
by Larry Slater
Billy Strayhorn ranks in the top tier of jazz composers, along with Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and Jelly Roll Morton.Strayhorn wrote at least one piece a week during the thirty years he worked with Duke Ellington. That was more than the Ellington Orchestra could handle, especially since Duke himself composed constantly. Choices ...
Pete Mills: This Is Now
by Mark Corroto
Let us imagine asking a sociologist whether something like musical FOMO, fear of missing out, exists. Pete Mills makes a convincing case that it does with This Is Now. Even though we have the recorded evidence, there is a lingering sense that something special happened in the room, something listeners can hear but not fully share. ...
The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn, part III: Such Sweet Thunder and The Far East Suite
by Larry Slater
Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington recorded a number of musical suites in the 50s and 60s. The Shakespearean Suite “Such Suite Thunder" ranks up there with the greatest Ellington recordings. “The Far East Suite" was another important collaboration and highpoint in the Ellington discography. The band's famous reinterpretation of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, was all Strayhorn. Ellington's last ...
Alain Metrailler: Heights Prospection
by Dan McClenaghan
Who is going to be the next Miles Davis? Or the next John Coltrane? With their two most lauded albums--Kind Of Blue (Columbia, 1959) and A Love Supreme (Impulse, 1966, respectively, the trumpeter and saxophonist (again, respectively) set the bar for top-tier, post-bop jazz ensemble outings. A bar so high it may never be achieved again. ...
Fred Hersch: The Touch of Genius
by Ken Dryden
The sound of Fred Hersch at the piano is so distinctive, a couple of bars is usually enough to identify him. The mainly self-taught Cincinnati native excelled early, playing jazz in his home town before leaving to study with pianist Jaki Byard at the New England Conservatory of Music. From there, Fred moved to New York ...
The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn, part II: Lotus Blossom, Raincheck and some less well known tunes from the Strayhorn songbook.
by Larry Slater
Billy Strayhorn spent his career as Duke Ellington's “composing and arranging partner" but it wasn't until relatively recently that his remarkable contribution to jazz was fully appreciated. When Strayhorn's tunes began making their appearance in the early '40s, other musicians took notice. Gerry Mulligan said, “I was part of a small community of very young musicians ...
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