Results for "C. Andrew Hovan"

Adam Shulman Septet: West Meets East

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 15, 2023

Quiet as it's kept, too many of today's finest jazz artists are given short shrift by an industry that seems to value product of a fleeting nature over true craft and a reverence for the jazz legacy. This makes it particularly challenging for a talent like Adam Shulman to break through to a wider audience. A ...

Ron Carter: Finding The Right Notes

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 9, 2023

Going back to the fall of 2016 and Ron Carter's appearance at the Detroit Jazz Festival as artist-in-residence, the buzz was that a biographical film on the man named the most recorded bassist in history was in the pipeline. During that festival, a film crew was seen regularly following Carter around Hart Plaza and the bassist ...

Alla Boara: Le Tre Sorelle

by C. Andrew Hovan
November 28, 2022

Although critical consensus would have it that jazz is a unique art form with its roots placed squarely in America, the music has always been open to the influences of other music and cultures. Prime examples would have to include the early strains of French gypsy music that morphed with jazz thanks to the influence of ...

Jonathan Kreisberg at the Bop Stop

by C. Andrew Hovan
October 30, 2022

Contemporary Records 70th: Barney Kessel and Hampton Hawes on vinyl

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 27, 2022

Almost a century ago, times were different and folks with the gumption to forge their own paths were more likely to make a mark on history. When you think of the documentation of jazz, names like John Hammond, Francis Wolff, and Ahmet Ertegun were integral to spreading the word of America's unique art form. Far less ...

Bill Charlap's Stardust

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 2, 2002

As was evident in his first trio releases for Criss Cross, pianist Bill Charlap is genuinely interested in beauty. In his hands, even the most overt swingers seem to find melody expressed as a prime ingredient, with a lithe use of space and dynamics providing the shading to his most personal expressions. While 2000's Written in ...

43rd Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 7, 2022

Part 1 | Part 2 43rd Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland Playhouse SqaureCleveland, Ohio June 23-25, 2022 Not quite ten years ago in 2014, the Tri-C JazzFest morphed from a spring event held largely on campus to a summer happening in downtown Cleveland's Playhouse Square. Like with most festivals, the ...

Dan Bruce's Beta Collective: Time to Mind the Mystics

by C. Andrew Hovan
May 11, 2022

A modern composer and guitarist, Dan Bruce spent a decade taking advantage of the Chicago jazz scene while working such rooms as The Green Mill and The Jazz Showcase. In addition to making his mark as a creative writer, he also spent time making music with such heavy hitters as Seamus Blake, Ali Jackson, and Dan ...

Tony Monaco: Four Brothers

by C. Andrew Hovan
May 10, 2022

The current state of recorded music is in flux in ways like it has never been before. Young audiences have fickle tastes and like to pick and choose tracks on streaming platforms. So the idea of an album being a complete and unique entity is a totally foreign idea to many listeners under 30. Nonetheless, the ...

Joshua Redman: A MoodSwing Reunion at Hill Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
May 4, 2022

A MoodSwing Reunion Hill Auditorium University Musical Society's Jazz Series Ann Arbor, Michigan April 21, 2022 Back in the '80s and '90s, all the big record labels were pouring boat loads of cash into a younger generation of jazz wannabes that eventually became known as the Young Lions. In hindsight, ...