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Carl Medsker's Best Jazz Albums Of 2025
by Carl Medsker
Best of 2025? A bold claim, given the fire hose of content from which to drink. In my drafts from the torrent, I discovered many engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking releases. The ones on this list were the most often replayed throughout the year and will remain in rotation into the future. Whether energizing or calming, joyful ...
Chad Taylor: Smoke Shifter
by Carl Medsker
Smoke Shifter leans toward tradition, which is perhaps a bit surprising given the exploratory, cutting-edge music previously produced by everyone in this quintet. Led by master percussionist Chad Taylor, the album is a diverse program of well-crafted, contemporary songs performed by an egalitarian collective. Taylor co-founded the Chicago Underground bands with Rob Mazurek, celebrated ...
Jack DeJohnette: Song for World Forgiveness
by Carl Medsker
On October 26, 2025, the highly musical master percussionist Jack DeJohnette died peacefully. During the journey from his birthplace, Chicago, to his adopted home, Woodstock, NY, he created an enduring, diverse and sonically scintillating legacy. From his early days with Charles Lloyd, through the electric Miles Davis period, to the legendary Standards Trio with Keith Jarrett ...
Nadav Remez: Summit
by Carl Medsker
Israeli-born guitarist Nadav Remez has been accruing the compositions on Summit for 20 years, sharpening them in live performances until hitting critical mass. The program, comprised of Remez originals along with rearranged traditional songs, blends jazz, indie rock and Jewish folk music into a fresh and energetic experience. The melodies are memorable, the meters and harmonies ...
Bark Culture At Solar Myth
by Carl Medsker
Bark Culture Solar Myth Philadelphia, PAAugust 21, 2025 Midway through an extended road trip, Bark Culture returned to Solar Myth in their hometown of Philadelphia for an evening, taking the stage before a standing room only audience. Formed in 2021, Bark Culture is comprised of Brazilian ex-pat Victor Vieira--Branco on vibraphone, ...
Nick Finzer: The Jazz Orchestra Volume 1
by Carl Medsker
Listening chronologically to seven of Nick Finzer's preceding albums is enlightening and entertaining, making several aspects of his musicianship abundantly apparent. His trombone sound is full and expressive, his playing melodious and he can soulfully sing a ballad. Six albums, dating back to 2013, featured his highly talented sextet, a significant accomplishment that enhances the depth ...
Daniel Casimir: Balance
by Carl Medsker
The dynamic London underground jazz scene has produced a stellar roster of innovative musicians over the last decade or so. Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, Binker Golding, Moses Boyd and Theon Cross, to name a few, meld bebop, hip hop, grime, reggae, dub, calypso, afrobeat and classical musics into fresh, novel hybrids. Bassist and rising star Daniel ...
Jaleel Shaw: Painter Of The Invisible
by Carl Medsker
For twenty years, Jaleel Shaw has steadily built a robust career that includes a lengthy apprenticeship with Roy Haynes, steady work as an in-demand sideman and mentoring the next generation at the Manhattan School of Music. Painter Of The Invisible caps two years of significant events: Dave Holland enlisted him in his 2024 quartet along with ...
Steve Nelson: Ceora
by Carl Medsker
For those who love the bright, ringing sound of the vibraphone, this is something of a golden age. In addition to an abundance of talented musicians dedicated exclusively to the vibraphone, numerous percussionists also employ mallet instruments over an expansive range of styles. On the double CD A Common Language (Timeless Records, 2025), veteran Steve Nelson ...
Freedom Art Quartet: First Dance
by Carl Medsker
Raucous, brash and freewheeling, First Dance by The Freedom Art Quartet is rooted in the past yet fresh and contemporary. The album should sound familiar to those who have ventured outside the mainstream and spent time with Ornette Coleman and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Those forces are strong in the band, but labeling them retro ...
