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Bob James: Jazz Hands
by Dan McClenaghan
Let us groove into a H.G. Wells mode and ride a time machine back to 1979 and revisit One On One (Tappan Zee), pianist Bob James' collaboration with guitarist Earl Klugh. The disc won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. It was a polished production, full of catchy rhythms and bright, memorable melodies--music that ...
Jim Snidero: For All We Know
by Dan McClenaghan
The cover photo on Jim Snidero's For All We Know features the saxophonist holding his horn out in front of his body as if he is offering it to us as a holy relic. Holy it is when he plays it; a relic it is not. The album is Snidero's first recorded offering in ...
Thriving Jazz Orchestras: 2024
by Dan McClenaghan
Jazz orchestras may not make much sense financially in 2024. They are most likely unaffordable as touring units. But in one-offs or the occasional studio efforts of established bands, some fine music can be found coming from the artistic minds of bold and adaptive composer/arrangers. Here are a pair of orchestral jazz outings that present modern ...
Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio: Jet Black
by Dan McClenaghan
The January 2024 release of Jet Black starts the year out right. It is the Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio's sophomore recording, presenting the Japanese pianist in one of her most compelling modes of expression: the piano trio. This is not foreign territory for her. She headed up a superb threesome with drummer Jim Black and bassist ...
Jean-Marc Hebert: L'Origine Eclatee
by Dan McClenaghan
Montreal-based guitarist Jean-Marc Hebert's third album, L'Origine Eclatee, sounds like something out of the ECM Records catalog. He is joined by trumpeter Lex French, bassist Morgan Moore and drummer Pierre Tanguay, forming a patient, subdued chamber jazz atmosphere that opens the first of the Hebert originals, “La Deteinte." The tune shimmers. Understatement is the plan of ...
Bill Anschell: Improbable Solutions
by Dan McClenaghan
Most fans of Seattle-based pianist Bill Anschell will not see this one coming. His comfort zone on his own recordings has been as a mainstream acoustic jazz artist, on albums like Shifting Standards (2018), a piano trio affair, Rumbler (2017) and Figments (2011), a solo piano outing. All of these were released on Origin Records.
Blaer: Pure
by Dan McClenaghan
Swiss pianist Maja Nydegger sounds like a musical first cousin to Nik Bartsch. With his groups Ronin and Mobile, pianist Bartsch create intriguing ritual groove music and Zen funk--descriptors Bartsch has used for his style--stirred up with modern classical sounds. Nydegger, with her group Blaer, crafts a similar mode of expression on her fourth album, Pure, ...
Dan McClenaghan's Best Jazz Albums Of 2023
by Dan McClenaghan
The top jazz recordings of the year in the order (more or less) that they came in the door. Concerning the recorded jazz offerings in in 2023, we could quote Frank Sinatra singing Ervin Drake's lyrics in the 1966 Grammy winner: “It was a very good year." It is difficult to pick a favorite. These are ...
Andrew Rathbun: The Speed Of Time
by Dan McClenaghan
Not one to avoid concepts and ambitious outings, Andrew Rathbun's to-date masterpiece, The Atwood Suites (Origin Records, 2018), explored the poetry of his countrywoman, writer Margaret Atwood. In 2023, he tackles time. Time is a funny thing. Its perceived speed is malleable. It tends toward an increasing velocity as one moves into middle age ...
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio: A Shade Of Blue
by Dan McClenaghan
Japanese pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's Shade Of Blue is a classic trio outing, old school style. It sounds as if the ghost of Red Garland is hanging around, and Erroll Garner and Wynton Kelly are keeping him company. Yamamoto's trio, which includes bassist Hiroshi Kagawa and drummer Toshio Osumi--venerable musicians all--lays down a flawless set of familiar ...
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