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Pamela Hines: New Christmas
by Dan McClenaghan
Following Pamela Hines' career proves that the Boston-based pianist/composer is very good at three things (at least): swinging in the piano trio format, playing behind female vocalists, and writing engaging jazz tunes in both of those endeavors. New Christmas is Hines' second CD foray into holiday music. It is a beautifully hip ...
The Fred Hess Band: Single Moment
by Dan McClenaghan
Tenor saxophonist Fred Hess blew off on a free tangent in 2002 with Exposed (CIMP Records), employing an Ornette Coleman style quartet containing two horns, bass and drums. He followed up on that approach with three excellent Tapestry Records discs, Extended Family (2003), The Long and Short of It (2004), and Crossed Paths (2005), with the ...
Cliff Colon: Contraband
by Dan McClenaghan
Tacoma, Washington-based saxophonist Cliff Colon takes his inspiration where he finds it. In the case of his debut CD, Contraband, the inspiration comes from music of the 1980's side-scrolling, run and gun, eight-bit video game called Contra, which seems an unlikely source.But unlikely sources are pretty common in the jazz genre--Miles Davis' ...
Benny Powell: Nextep
by Dan McClenaghan
If Benny Powell doesn't sound familiar, he should be. He's recorded memorable work with Count Basie (a classic solo on April in Paris") and on pianist Randy Weston's African Sunrise (Polygram Records, 1992). He's also been heard in countless recordings with Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Joe Henderson, Sarah Vaughn and as part of Merv Griffin's TV ...
Amina Figarova: Above the Clouds
by Dan McClenaghan
Amina Figarova--an Azerbaijan-born and now Rotterdam-based artist--boasts a graceful and erudite piano style, but her second instrument is her band. She composes and arranges adeptly for her three horn front line and a rhythm section" ensemble on Above the Clouds, using the same instrumental make-up that she employed in her marvelous September Suite (Munich Records, 2005), ...
Stewy von Wattenwyl: Wabash
by Dan McClenaghan
It never hurts to have a great CD cover. Wabash, from Swiss keyboardist Stewy von Wattenwyl, features art reminiscent of Miles Davis' sometimes maligned On the Corner (Columbia Records, 1972). But while the Davis cover seemed to project hipness with his cartoon characters, von Wattenwyl's pencil-necked, slouching musicians--beside, upon and within a monolithic music ...
Vassilis Tsabropoulos/Anja Lechner/U.T. Ghandi: Melos
by Dan McClenaghan
Melos approaches a highbrow listening experience. It's another gorgeous offering from ECM Records, teaming Greek pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos with German cellist Anja Lechner and Italian drummer U.T. Gandhi. From the first delicate piano notes of the title tune, joined in short order by the rich, mournful cry of the cello, it's obvious that the players have ...
Bobo Stenson Trio: Cantando
by Dan McClenaghan
Fans of the piano trio have been listening hard and wide for a follow-up to the "Holy Grails": Bill Evans' Live at the Village Vanguard (Riverside Records, 1961) and Waltz for Debby (Riverside Records, 1961). Those sets introduced democracy to the group's three-way interplay, making drums and bass near-equal partners with the piano. Swedish ...
Joe Locke: Force of Four
by Dan McClenaghan
Certain sounds are so easy to love: the blurry whine of a muted trumpet, the beefy growl of a robust tenor saxophone, the rich, frictional cry of the cello, and the buoyant, sustained ring of a mallet hitting a key on a vibraphone.Vibraphonist Joe Locke's profile seems to have risen on a sharp angle ...
Satoko Fujii ma-do at Dizzy's, San Diego
by Dan McClenaghan
Satoko Fujii ma-doDizzy's San Diego, California August 31, 2008 The Satoko Fujii ma-do quartet kicked off its North American tour in support of their CD Heatwave in the middle of the three-day Labor Day Holiday at Dizzy's in downtown San Diego.Pianist/composer Fujii leads numerous ensembles: crazy, freewheeling, ...


