Home » Search Center » Results: Dan McClenaghan
Results for "Dan McClenaghan"
Steve Turre: Keep Searchin'
by Dan McClenaghan
Few jazz artists today are as adept as Steve Turre in straddling the one foot in the future, one foot in the past" endeavor. On his past two CD releases, the long-time Saturday Night Show trombonist tipped his hat to a couple of past masters: to fellow trombonist J.J. Johnson with One4J: Paying Homage to J.J. ...
Don Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by Dan McClenaghan
Tenor saxophonist Don Aliquo is based in Nashville, Tennessee, but his sound on Jazz Folk sounds very East Coast mainstream. His smooth, clean tenor tone and seemingly fluid and intricately articulate flow of always surprising ideas brings veteran saxophonist George Coleman to mind, especially the way he makes it sound so easy.Aliquo teams up ...
The Alex Levin Trio: A Reason for Being Alone
by Dan McClenaghan
The title of this disc might suggest an inward-looking or melancholic listening experience; but the Alex Levin Trio, plus a couple of tenor saxophonists sitting in--Max Hacker and Stacy Dillard--blows the roof off on the opener, Blues on Thursday." It's a bright, gregarious, Art Blakey-esque sound, the horns sparring like a couple of free-swinging welterweights, snapping ...
Neil Podgurski's New Fire: Revolutions
by Dan McClenaghan
There's a lot of joy and quirky, off-center energy in pianist Neil Podgurski's playing; his style brings Bud Powell or Elmo Hope to mind. Podgurski is the leader of the group New Fire, and he is also the composer of all the tunes on the band's debut disc, Revolutions.It's great to hear a debut ...
Jacob Varmus: All the Things We Still Can Be
by Dan McClenaghan
Some influences are readily apparent on trumpeter Jacob Varmus' debut disc, All the Things We Still Can Be, especially Chet Baker and Miles Davis, circa mid-'50s to mid-'60s. The set opens with a buoyant Varmus original, Ecstatic Little Porpoises." Varmus' tone is warm and round and a bit soft-tufted, like Baker's, as he blows a bright ...
Taeko Kunishima: Red Dragonfly
by Dan McClenaghan
You always hear about the sophomore jinx," referring to an artist's difficulty in coming up with a second recording that at least matches, and hopefully surpasses, his or her debut. That's seems more a problem in popular music, where the talent pool is considerably shallower than in the jazz world.Japanese-born and now London-based pianist ...
Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band: Land of Nod
by Dan McClenaghan
Call this jazz protest CD by trombonist Chris Washburne Latin jazz with an attitude." The phrase Land of Nod" originated with Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels) in reference to a state of slumber. As a collective whole, the American public may have undergone a collective political nodding off, though recent elections seem to offer some solace--a critical ...
Kat Parra: Birds in Flight
by Dan McClenaghan
Birds in Flight, San Francisco Bay Area vocalist Kat Parra's debut release, could be tagged as Latin jazz, but it proves itself a lot more than that. She stretches the boundaries right off the bat by singing Mais Que Nada," a much-recorded Brazilian song, with an Afro-Cuban/samba rhythm. The delivery at first is traditional, until Pat ...
Satoko Fujii Four: When We Were There
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist/composer Satko Fujii--one of the more prolific jazz artists around--leads a variety of ensemble configurations from duos to to bands, and everthing in between. One of her longest-standing groups is her trio with drummer Jim Black and bassist Mark Dresser. When We Were There is the eighth CD she has recorded with the Dresser/Black team, and ...
Joe Jewell Quartet: Every Note Counts
by Dan McClenaghan
Joe Jewell has fallen into that always-a-sideman, never-a-leader category--a situation he's been happy with, until now. He's led the Joe Jewell Quartet since 2004, and for Every Note Counts, the guitarist brought the group into the studio for his freshman release.The program can be tagged eclectic," representing a wide range of musical styles. The ...


