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Yelena Eckemoff: Lonely Man and His Fish
by Dan McClenaghan
A Moscow-raised, classically-trained pianist, Yelena Eckemoff made the move to the United States in 1991, after being bitten by the jazz bug via a Dave Brubeck concert she attended in Moscow in 1987. In 2010, after settling with her family in rural North Carolina, she released Cold Sun (L & H Records), a trio outing featuring ...
Astrocolor: Moonlighting--Astrojazz Vol. 1
by Dan McClenaghan
Considering the title of the recording, Moonlighting--Astro Jazz Vol. 1, and its futuristic cover art, the Canadian ensemble Astrocolor brings to mind the mid-1950s/early-1960s music that claimed the tag “Space Age Jazz," an offshoot of exotica or lounge music. It was a music considered by some at the time as schlocky, lacking a serious intent. It ...
Taiko Saito: Tears Of A Cloud
by Dan McClenaghan
In 2021 Japanese-born, Berlin-based mallet virtuoso Taiko Saito received a well-deserved profile bump via her teaming with pianist Satoko Fujii in a duo tagged Futari, on Beyond and Underground. both on Libra Records. The marimba player & vibraphonist returns in 2023 with a solo outing, Tears Of A Cloud, an arresting follow-up to the Futari outings. ...
Andrew Moorhead: Interleaved
by Dan McClenaghan
A 47-foot fall that resulted in multiple injuries influenced the music-making of pianist Andrew Moorhead. So do mathematics and computer science, on his debut recording Interleaved. “An Interleaved digital signal is a single woven from multiple threads." This is what Moorhead tells us in his liner notes. The threads of Moorhead's life that come ...
Rich Thompson: Who Do You Have to Know?
by Dan McClenaghan
The title of drummer Rich Thompson's 2023 release is Who Do You Have To Know?. The answer to that: John Bishop and Matt Jorgensen, the team that runs the Origin and OA2 Records labels that boast prolific and consistently good outputs, featuring an array of well-known and a goodly number of not-so-well-known, but always interesting, often ...
Aruán Ortiz Trio: Serranias: Sketchbook For Piano Trio
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Aruan Ortiz hails from Santiago de Cuba, but he has resided in the United States for two decades. Musically he is a first cousin to pianist Matthew Shipp with his approachable and often intense and avant-garde keyboard style; and he seems a stylistic grandson to Thelonious Monk with his joyful angularities and off-kilter interludes. But ...
Anat Fort Trio: The Berlin Sessions
by Dan McClenaghan
"They said nobody makes CDs anymore. So I made a DOUBLE CD with stuff I've never recorded. Ever." So says Israeli pianist Anat Fort. To borrow a term from the United States' 2016 presidential election, Fort “doubled down" on the “nobody makes CDs" thing. Bless her for that. That double CD is ...
Ally Fiola & The Next Quest: Interblaze
by Dan McClenaghan
Nova Scotian alto saxophonist Ally Fiola considers the themes of grief, wonder, fear and passion with her octet The Next Quest, on Interblaze. With a lot of low-end brass--baritone saxophone, trombone, sousaphone--the sound has a New Orleans brass band feel. It is also fun, celebratory music. The title tune and opening number sounds like a prance ...
Albert Vila: Levity
by Dan McClenaghan
Levity in these times usually refers to a state of humorousness or lightness of manner. From the liner notes of guitarist Albert Vila's Levity, however, we read that levity was originally thought to be a physical force, like gravity, but pulling in the opposite direction. But consider a word grown from the same root ...
Wadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations
by Dan McClenaghan
Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith fronts lots of different bands and puts out lots of albums. After a busy period when he released five boxed sets, totaling 27 CDs, here he debuts his new all-star ensemble Orange Wave Electric, with the download-only offering, Fire Illuminations. As the band name implies, the sound is electric, featuring three electric ...
