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Rodrigo Amado: This Is Our Language
by Mark Corroto
It was only a matter of time before this session was to be. Portuguese tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado had, for years, been gaining the attention of American players, and recording his Motion Trio with guests such as Peter Evans and Jeb Bishop. When he conceived of this quartet, it was hand-in-the-glove fit. The title, ...
Laurie Antonioli & Richie Beirach: Varuna
by Dan Bilawsky
This absorbing release--an album that's something of a sequel to The Duo Sessions (Nabel Records, 2005)--finds vocalist Laurie Antonioli and pianist Richie Beirach painting one divine musical tableau after another. There are vivid numbers that place Antonioli's seraphic vocals atop Beirach's dense and full-flavored chords, spare readings that allow fragility and the human condition to come ...
Dale Head: Swing, Straight Up
by Jack Bowers
Dale Head is a high-energy singer who doubles on trumpet and makes up in drive and enthusiasm for what he may lack in singularity and polish. Swing Straight Up, on which Head is backed by Rory Snyder's admirable Night Jazz Band, underlines the singer's strengths (strong voice, an abundance of self-confidence) while serving as a reminder ...
Haitian Rail: Solarists
by Stefano Merighi
La musica di Haitian Rail si distende al meglio in Flare Star," diciassette minuti di elaborazione complessa che unisce elementi tematici e improvvisazione collettiva simultanea, in grado di informare sia sulla personalitĂ dei singoli che sulla coesione di gruppo. Il quartetto propone un originale accostamento timbrico tra chitarra elettrica e trombone, sebbene i ...
Kamasi Washington: The Epic
by Mark F. Turner
Kamasi Washington's masterwork The Epic showcases an incisive saxophonist/composer who has performed with jazz luminaries Gerald Wilson and Herbie Hancock but is probably better known for his work with creatives outside of jazz--Grammy winning electronic musician/producer Steven Ellison aka Flying Lotus (grand-nephew of Alice Coltrane); rising Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar and Steven Bruner aka Thundercat who ...
Bob Albanese: Time Remembered
by Mark Corroto
What of the lunchpail musicians? The blue collar jazz players like pianist Bob Albanese, are craftsmen who work to complete the jazz cathedrals whose foundations were laid by the masters. Albanese acknowledges the jazz icons, yet his artistry is as imaginative as the names written on the cornerstones. Proof positive is Time Remembered with guest Eddie ...
Christian Artmann: Fields Of Pannonia
by Dan Bilawsky
Flautist Christian Artmann's work seems to be rooted in the notion that art can and will stretch as far as the imagination will take it. And in his case, that's quite a distance. With Fields Of Pannonia, Artmann presents an album-length fantasia, bringing jazz language, baroque influences, impressionistic ideals, swing, straight-eighth grooves, open-ended thoughts, and solidly-structured ...
Chris Spedding: Songs Without Words
by Roger Farbey
All five musicians on this retrieved-from-the-vaults archival release were at various times alumni of bands or recordings directed by British veteran jazz composer Mike Westbrook. Songs Without Words was produced at the end of 1969 under the aegis of Peter Eden (who produced several early Westbrook records for the Deram label), on the condition, imposed by ...
Josh Shpak Band: Astatic
by James Nadal
If one is driven to the edge of sound and requested to hear the future of jazz, whoever is spinning the tunes might consider the Josh Shpak Band to open the show with music from Astatic . Led by trumpet prodigy Josh Shpak, who was personally mentored by the legendary Clark Terry, this outfit is propelled ...
Jon Irabagon: Inaction is An Action
by Jakob Baekgaard
The release of saxophonist and composer Jon Irabagon's album Inaction is An Action poses an interesting question. When should an artist release a record? It is not a matter of talent. Long ago, Irabagon has proven himself. He has won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition and gained success in every measureable ...

