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Duke Ellington Tames The Savage Beasts: Lions and Tigers and Bears (and Gazelles!)
by Dan Bilawsky
I begin this edition of Old, New, Borrowed and Blue with a confession. I have an unabashed love for the music of Duke Ellington. From his brilliantly scored compositions, to the singular instrumental personalities in his band(s)--with Ellington, Jimmy Hamilton and Johnny Hodges ranking at the top of my list--Ellington seems to transcend the “big band" ...
Sun Ra Arkestra: Live At The Paradox
by Dan Bilawsky
Few groups have travelled as far--cosmically and musically--as the Sun Ra Arkestra. While Ra's Saturnian schtick brought him great attention and notoriety, his music goes well beyond that one area. The roots of swing, bop-leaning sounds, extra-terrestrial experimentalism and free jazz of the most ferocious kind are all part of Ra's repertoire. Ra ...
Johnny Griffin: Live At Ronnie Scott's
by Dan Bilawsky
Live At Ronnie Scott's is likely to draw in a lot of jazz listeners for two reasons. First, this album was the final recording that the late Johnny Griffin--known as a saxophone speed demon--made as a leader. While other unreleased material might make its way to the market at a later date, this is Grffin's last ...
Meg Okura: Naima
by Dan Bilawsky
Chamber jazz is often a misunderstood label and balance is to blame for it. Classical-leaning projects bearing this descriptor often lack passion and strong improvisational elements, but jazz artists who try to play swinging takes on pieces by J.S. Bach also miss the mark. Fortunately, violinist Meg Okura avoids these potential pitfalls and manages to find ...
Sinan Bakir: On My Way
by Dan Bilawsky
A lot of young artists seem to throw out hard and fast material at the top of their album programs, to instantly grab attention, but the rest of the music often falls flat and doesn't live up to the early-track hype. Guitarist Sinan Bakir goes the other way, easing into his music as On My Way ...
Domenic Landolf: New Brighton
by Dan Bilawsky
Thirteen musical episodes--simultaneously stressing individual paths, duo rapport and trio interplay--make up New Brighton. Multi-reedist Domenic Landolf shows that he knows how to go out on a limb, creating challenging music, but he always balances the adventurous with the accessible. Stability--whether dealing with rhythm or melody--is the key factor here. One musician will often provide a ...
Chris Massey: Vibrainium
by Dan Bilawsky
A tight, two horn front-line, strong solo personalities, an aggressive--yet flexible--rhythm section and first-rate compositions are all part of the package on drummer Chris Massey's Vibrainium. From the first notes of the album-opening “Galactus" to the end of “Mr. Twilight," Massey demonstrates a take-no-prisoners attitude and a willingness to explore different avenues of music with great ...
Cindy Scott: Let The Devil Take Tomorrow
by Dan Bilawsky
Vocalist Cindy Scott is a rare breed of artist--comfortably covering a variety of music, undaunted by genre barriers and walls that scare lesser singers into pursuing a singular line of musical thought. The dozen songs that Scott presents on Let The Devil Take Tomorrow make up a rich smorgasbord of sounds, moving from Brazil to the ...
Contact: Dave Liebman / John Abercrombie / Marc Copland / Drew Gress / Billy Hart: Five On One
by Dan Bilawsky
The practice of forming super groups in jazz can be fraught with disaster. Festival promoters often try to draw audiences by lumping musicians together in all-star settings, but a lack of chemistry, familiarity, common ground or interest, often turns these events into yawn-inducing bores. All four of these boundaries, thankfully, don't come into play with Contact--the ...
Daniel Smith: Blue Bassoon
by Dan Bilawsky
When many people hear discussions about the bassoon, they are far more likely to think of “Peter And The Wolf" than Charlie Parker and Wayne Shorter tunes. While jazz is open to any-and-all-comers in every instrument family, the technical demands of the bassoon--an unwieldy double reed instrument that rarely leaves the confines of classical music--and its ...
