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Oddjob: JAZZOO
by James Pearse
With five diversely themed full-length albums (all Grammy-nominated) under its collective belt, it was anyone's guess as to where Swedish jazz ensemble Oddjob would take its music next. Oddjob's last release Clint (ACT, 2010) saw the quartet rework, reimagine and 'jazzify' classic Western themes by Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin, et al. JAZZOO (Headspin Recordings, ...
Davor Kajfeš: Dialogues With Scriabin
by James Pearse
You'd be forgiven for being unfamiliar with the work of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) or, indeed, Croatian jazz pianist Davor Kajfeš. Sadly neither one has been widely heard outside of their respective--or adopted--countries to date. We can celebrate, then, that the release of Dialogues With Scriabin (Headspin Recordings, 2013) brings the music of these two ...
Jane Ira Bloom: Sixteen Sunsets
by Hrayr Attarian
Soprano saxophone virtuoso Jane Ira Bloom's intensely intimate and simultaneously cinematic Sixteen Sunsets is quite different from her preceding albums, Like Silver, Like Song (Artistshare, 2005), Mental Weather (Outline, 2008) and Wingwalker (Outline, 2010). Gone are the edgy flirtations with freer styles as well as the provocative, electrifying compositions. Instead the material is mostly standards and ...
Christian Pincock: Plentiful Excitement
by Jack Bowers
Here's an unusual combination: valve trombone, piano, drums and tuba (no bass). The leader, Christian Pincock, was until recently a teacher at the University of New Mexico and member of the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra, and Plentiful Excitement was recorded in Santa Fe shortly before he left New Mexico to explore greener pastures in the Great Northwest ...
Abbey Rader: Reach For The Skies
by Mark Corroto
Look beyond the giants of free jazz saxophone, better yet listen to the sounds behind John Coltrane, Peter Brotzmann, Joe McPhee, and any other legend of free jazz. Listen and you'll hear Han, Elvin, Paal, Ronald Shannon, Hamid, Milford, Sunny, and Rashied. Drummers. Add to that list Abbey. Abbey Rader is an ...
Troyk-estra: Live at Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2013
by Phil Barnes
UK trio Troyka have made significant and idiosyncratic progress with each successive release since their eponymous debut [Edition 2009] and its classic follow up Moxxy [Edition 2012] which added angular post punk guitar shapes to the signature mix of impressionistic keyboard, heavy guitar and prog influenced time changes. Great though both those sets were, nothing therein ...
Frank Macchia: Grease Mechanix
by Jack Bowers
One thing that must be said about Frank Macchia (well, two things, actually)--he's a wild and crazy composer / bandleader whose satchel is always overflowing with splendid musical surprises. On his new album, Grease Mechanix, Macchia goes funky in a New Orleans brass band manner, employing a seventeen-piece ensemble comprised of some of the best sidemen ...
Evan Parker/ Matthew Shipp: Rex, Wrecks & XXX
by John Sharpe
Few barriers remain in jazz. Certainly not geographical or generational. Even genre does not present insurmountable obstacles. Were it needed, further confirmation arrives in the shape of a meeting between two distinctive stylists: American pianist Matthew Shipp and English saxophone iconoclast Evan Parker. Far from being their first encounter, the pair know each other well, having ...
Shamus Dark: Trouble In Paradise
by Bruce Lindsay
Trenchcoats, shades, snap-brim hats, open-necked shirts and loose black ties. Not forgetting the cigarettes and alcohol. Vocalist Shamus Dark has a strong line in film noir visuals to complement the selection of songbook classics that appears on Trouble In Paradise. It's not just the cover photos: the videos that he's created to accompany many of the ...
Tim Daisy: A Fine Day In Berlin
by Mark Corroto
Blender drinks sometimes disguise their ingredients. A little peanut butter and banana tossed into your kale and spinach smoothie might provide just the right flavor camouflage. Likewise, adding drummer Tim Daisy (and his compositions) into a piano trio recording will produce results that are anything but standard trio fare. Daisy, one of Chicago's go-to ...

