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George Gee Swing Orchestra: Swing Makes You Happy!
by Dan Bilawsky
Swing Makes You Happy! isn't just an album title: it's a mantra and belief system that guides the George Gee Swing Orchestra, a little big band intent on rekindling the ear's love affair with music associated with a bygone era. Gee has been in the big band business for more than three decades, ...
David Gibson: Boom!
by Dan Bilawsky
Trombonist David Gibson's Boom!--his sixth leader date, and third release on the Posi-Tone imprint--is something of a fresh start. His two previous releases--A Little Somethin' (Posi-Tone, 2009) and End Of The Tunnel (Posi-Tone, 2011)--were cut from the same cloth, as each largely focused on funk, soul jazz, and swing; both albums also featured the same quartet--Gibson ...
Jonathan Parker: Interloper
by Dan Bilawsky
Saxophonist Jonathan Parker has covered quite a lot of ground since graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2008: Shortly thereafter, he relocated to Shanghai, China, carving out a performing life for himself there. Then, he was accepted into the Kennedy Center-sponsored Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program in 2010. Parker moved to New York City ...
Shawn Maxwell's Alliance: Bridge
by Dan Bilawsky
The eponymous debut from Shawn Maxwell's Alliance was a giant step forward for the saxophonist/composer; his previous albums all had musical merit, but all were built with limited color schemes, hewing, for the most part, to jazz norms. With Shawn Maxwell's Alliance (Chicago Sessions, 2014), Maxwell stepped way outside the box, writing music for a dectet ...
Paul Jones: Short History
by Dan Bilawsky
Saxophonist Paul Jones clearly brings a literary bent to his music. This, his debut album, is built largely around original material that takes inspiration from great written works like Jack Kerouac's On The Road (Viking Press, 1957), Charles Bukowski's Women (Black Sparrow Press, 1978), and Bill Bryson's A Short History Of Nearly Everything (Broadway Books, 2003). ...
Jack Mouse & Scott Robinson: Snakeheads & Ladybugs
by Dan Bilawsky
This may be a brand new release for 2015, but it's been thirty years in the making. Drummer Jack Mouse and man-of-many-horns Scott Robinson have been contemplating putting together an album of freely-improvised duets since the '80s, and now they've finally found the time and place to make it happen. Snakeheads & Ladybugs ...
Dan Bilawsky's Best Releases of 2014
by Dan Bilawsky
How does an album end up on this list? It really comes down to two things: strength on impact and staying power. Some records hit hard from the start, ultimately losing power with play after play. Other records come on gently, growing on the ear and the mind over time. But it's the truly rare one ...
Art Hirahara: Libations & Meditations
by Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Art Hirahara's latest release on the Posi-Tone label is, as the title implies, music to drink in and think in. It's a collection of aural offerings tied to Hirahara's experiences coping with the loss of his father, but it's not a somber program. In fact, quite the opposite. The first three numbers--a brief, up-tempo display ...
iTunes Names The Cookers "Time And Time Again" The 2014 "Jazz Album Of The Year"!!, New Website Launched, Winter Jazzfest Performance Announced!
THE COOKERS TO PERFORM MUSIC FROM TIME AND TIME AGAIN" @ THE 2015 WINTER JAZZFEST Saturday, January 10, 2015 @ 8:45 PM The Minetta Lane Theatre, 18-22 Minetta Lane, NYC After seven years together, The Cookers, who embody the serious-as-death commitment that it took to thrive on the New York scene some four decades ago" (Andrew ...
Johnny Griffith: Dance With The Lady
by Dan Bilawsky
Can jazz stay the inventive course while remaining true to its swinging precedents and historical framework(s)? This record makes the argument that it can. Toronto-based saxophonist Johnny Griffith has put together a program of original music that's firmly grounded in tradition, yet his approaches aren't rigidly dogmatic in nature; in other words, this ...


