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Piano – Emily Bear, Dan Cray, Lisa Hilton, Emmet Cohen, Julien Labro
by C. Michael Bailey
Like jazz vocal releases, piano-led affairs are legion. The jazz piano combo is a format that is difficult to get either bad or good. Here are five recent releases looking for the latter. Emily Bear Trio Into the Blue Edston Records 2015 The immediate charm ...
2016: The Year in Jazz
by Ken Franckling
The year 2016 bubbled with events and initiatives to strengthen jazz's place in American and world culture, as well as a variety of venue openings, closings and cancellations. Jazz hit the silver screen in many ways throughout the year, and International Jazz Day continued to thrive--complete with a major all-star concert at the White House. Pop ...
Take Five with Tom Harrison
by AAJ Staff
Meet Tom Harrison: For alto saxophonist/composer Tom Harrison, the art of jazz is far more than mastery of the instrument, fluency in the repertoire and respect for the tradition. For Tom, the real undertaking is to connect with that which inspired the immortals of jazz, and to cultivate it within his own work. Born ...
Allen Carter Big Band: Time on My Hands
by Jack Bowers
In 2010, composer / arranger / drummer Allen Carter seemingly appeared from out of nowhere (North Dakota, actually) to record Gifts, his first album as a big-band leader and one of the more impressive anthologies in that or any other year. As 2016 passed its midpoint and moved inexorably toward a final bow, Carter decided the ...
Jeff Parker: Slight Freedom
by Dave Wayne
One is tempted to think of Jeff Parker as the first guitar anti-hero. He's a subtle player, first and foremost, not given to showy pyrotechnics and rapid-fire flights of plectral fancy. His chameleonic, almost self-effacing, presence on recordings by Tortoise, Joey DeFrancesco, Isotope 217, Fred Anderson, the Brian Blade Fellowship, Peter Erskine, Nicole Mitchell, Yo La ...
Billy Strayhorn's 101st
Charlie Shoemake sent a reminder that today is the 101st anniversary of the birth of Billy Strayhorn (pictured with Duke Ellington). Strayhorn was a 16-year-old high school student in Pittsburgh when he wrote “Lush Life.” A few years later he brought his songwriting ability to Ellington’s attention. One of the songs he demonstrated that day was ...
Francesco Forges, non chiamatelo "vocal coach"
by Rosarita Crisafi
Flautista, cantante, compositore, docente, Francesco Forges è un musicista fuori dagli schemi. Da più di vent'anni è coinvolto nella creazione e direzione di gruppi e progetti in cui la voce è protagonista. Ogni formazione è per lui un'occasione per sperimentare le suggestioni più diverse, dal jazz alla lirica, alla poesia, al teatro, alla coralità contemporanea, alla ...
Mike Westbrook: Paris
by Duncan Heining
Listen to any number of Mike Westbrook records and you might want to ask, “Why doesn't he take a solo?" Aside from the occasional piano cadenza, Westbrook seems to prefer to let his compositions do the talking, ably aided by trustworthy musical confederates. Westbrook celebrated his 80th birthday in March 2016 and Paris is ...
Slavic Soul Party: Plays Duke Ellington's Far East Suite
by Angelo Leonardi
Nel jazz contemporaneo la reinterpretazione delle opere passate avviene in due modi diversi. Da un lato c'è chi privilegia la riproposizione fedele dell'originale, partendo da una prospettiva a grandi linee accademica (Wynton Marsalis) fino alla riproduzione letterale di ogni aspetto melodico, timbrico e ritmico (come ha fatto il gruppo Mostly Other People Do The Killing con ...
Kenny Burrell: Unlimited 1, Live at Catalina's
by Jack Bowers
Guitarist Kenny Burrell, who isn't generally known for hanging out with big bands, now has one of his own: the Los Angeles-based Jazz Orchestra Unlimited, for which he serves as music director on its debut album, Unlimited 1, Live at Catalina's. While the ensemble is splendid, individually and collectively, there's no doubt that Burrell is the ...
