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Andreas Varady: The Quest
by Geno Thackara
Early-career hype can be a peculiar mix of blessing and curse. Andreas Varady certainly deserves the praise he gets, and one could hardly ask for a more generous mentor and endorser than Quincy Jones ("It's not every day that you see a 15-year-old kid playing like George Benson!"). Pre-teen virtuosity and study of influences, however, inevitably ...
Tellef Øgrim: LAIV
by Mark Corroto
There are very good reasons not to approach animals in the wild. Chief among them is survival. Sure, all those nature documentaries and children's cartoons show the playful offspring romping in nature's glory. What they fail to reveal is the eviscerated body of the gentle nature photographer who got too close. You might not ...
Christina von Bülow: On The Brink Of A Lovely Song
by Chris Mosey
American saxophonist Lee Konitz first toured Scandinavia in 1961, his wonderfully original saxophone playing leaving a lasting impression on, among many others, an aspiring Danish alto player, Christina von Bülow. Konitz, who played on the classic Gil Evans/Miles Davis Birth Of The Cool session, is now in his nineties. It is to be ...
Bekken and Gjems: Spell
by Jim Worsley
Dr. Bekken's last record, Live At Bar Moskus (Blue Mood, 2017), was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy (the Spellemannprisen). That was a hard-driving solo, boogie-woogie upright piano performance. For Spell, the good doctor writes a new prescription for traditional Norwegian folk infused with New Orleans style jazz. Harmonicist Richard Gjems is co-featured. Bekken and ...
Sting and Shaggy: 44/876
by Nenad Georgievski
Every summer needs its soundtrack, i.e.--a song or an album full of songs that will remind people that it's good to be alive. The summer is the time to feel good and it has to have its music that would reflect the fun and mischievous behavior that you would remember the summer by. And on this ...
Frank Enea & The Crooked Hearts: Sunshine In My Head
by Karl Ackermann
Frank Enea's musical resume is deep in diversity and carries some experiences that are definitely out the mainstream. His Makeshift Days (VisionX Records, 2003) was squarely oriented in rock while Hellbound Blues (ACM, 2006) was a solo guitar outing, and true to its title. But the work that Enea is best known for, exists in a ...
Michael Musillami: Life Anthem
by Don Phipps
Dark, cerebral, moody, Michael Musillami's Life Anthem was inspired by his near-death experience from a brain hemorrhage and tumor. The music takes the listener on a journey from medical crisis to recovery. While the quality of abstract lyricism, improvisation, and musicianship cannot be denied, the music's harsh landscape proves at times frustrating and difficult to navigate. ...
Nels Cline: Currents, Constellations
by Mike Jurkovic
Reigning Wilco guitarist and avant sound sculptor Nels Cline begins his second Blue Note release Currents, Constellations with a loud, vibrant crash of guitar crunch that echoes his many alt/rock road trips. But very quickly the responsive and elastic rhythm section of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Tom Rainey charges forth while Cline and soul-mate guitarist ...
Muddersten: Playmates
by Glenn Astarita
The amusing cover art is a take-off on a 16th and 17th century Flanders and Netherlands tradition of still life themes known as vanitas (vanity) paintings that basically portray aspects not deemed important when it comes down to living a fruitful life. Somehow, this experimental Scandinavian trio ties all of these connotations into four distinct tracks, ...
Zoe Schwarz: The Blues and I Should have a Party
by C. Michael Bailey
That most durable and indivisible of popular music genres: the blues. Traditionally of an eight-or twelve-bar architecture, if not something more primordial from the pre-Great Depression shellac of Mamie Smith, Tommy Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Charlie Patton. After years of sepia-toned, nostalgic reportage regarding the Ur-nature of this folk art, most of the cobwebs of ...
