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Matt Greenwood: Atlas
by Dan McClenaghan
There are a lot of jazz guitarists out there, and competence in the art of the guitar is common. Mature excellence is less so. But we expect that when we spin a CD. Matt Greenwood, born in Zimbabwe and now home-based in Canada, displays that rare-for-a-debut mature excellence on his axe-- and more importantly in his ...
Willliam Carn: Choices
by Dan McClenaghan
The short tune “Breathe" opens Choices, sounding like something holy, in a futuristic, science-fiction way. This is how Canadian trombonist William Carn introduces his album. It is a “do it from home," mostly remotely recorded set, reminiscent—to go back over half a century— of Paul McCartney's first solo album McCartney (Apple Records, 1970). McCartney's impetus for ...
Holly Burke, Bill Runge & Linda Lee Thomas: Dreamride
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Holly Burke put the days of the Covid quarantine to good use by spending a period of quality time with herself and her piano. The result is Dreamtime, twenty improvised vignettes. These snippets are short, heartfelt, sometimes reflective and at other times quite gregarious, and consistently beautiful. Though Burke is the composer of these solo ...
Trina Basu & Arun Ramamurthy: Nakshatra
by Dan McClenaghan
“Nakshatra: A Sanscrit word evocative of constellations, stars and interconnectedness." Meera Dugal Two violinists immersed in the sounds of India—that would be Trina Basu and Arun Ramamurthy. Nakshatra, the duo's debut recording, opens with “Offering." An expansive drone backdrops a deliberative melody. They sound as if they are looking for God--or something similar. They ...
Vito Liturri Trio: Desires and Fears
by Dan McClenaghan
Every city one walks through is a different dream. Every piece of music that vibrates across time and space is also a dream--an assertion framed to perfection by the Vito Liturri Trio's Desires And Fears. Italian pianist Liturri takes his inspiration from his countryman Italo Calvino's fantastical 1972 novel, Invisible Cities (Giudio Einaudi), a ...
Momentum Space
by Dan McClenaghan
Momentum Space was released in 1999 on Verve Records. Considering the players--saxophonist Dewey Redman, pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Elvin Jones--the album didn't make much of a splash. Reviews were mixed, leaning toward the dismissive. Taylor was 70 at the time. Jones was in his early 70s and saxman Redman was in his late ...
Frank Sinatra: The Capitol Records Albums, 1954 to 1959
by Dan McClenaghan
After stints in the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey bands, Frank Sinatra began his solo recording career in 1947 with Columbia Records. This association lasted until 1950. He switched labels in 1954, moving on to Capitol Records. Songs For Swingin' Lovers (Capitol, 1954) was his first release for the label. It was the beginning of an ...
The Harry Bartlett Trio: Wildwood
by Dan McClenaghan
The Harry Bartlett Trio's Wildwood twangs like something coming out of West Texas. The instrumentation is guitar, bass and drums, pure and simple. The opener, “Burgess Falls," might suggest a wide open desert landscape in the U.S.A.'s southwest, but the real Burgess Falls is located in Tennessee, where good country music can be found. As suggested ...
Satoko Fujii: Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams
by Dan McClenaghan
Country music artist Merle Haggard (1937 -2016) released 66 studio albums in his day, along with five instrumental recordings and several live and compilation discs. When asked in a late-career interview if his upcoming album was a good one, he answered (paraphrasing). “I don't know. I've made so many I don't know if the next one's ...
Jeong Lim Yang: Zodiac Suite: Reassured
by Dan McClenaghan
This is bold music. It bursts with freewheeling, chip-on-the-shoulder modernism. It is Korean-born bassist Jeong Lim Yang's take on pianist-composer Mary Lou Williams' Zodiac Suite (Asch Records, 1945). Yang tags her revisitation of the classic piece Zodiac Suite: Reassured. But a revisitation of Williams' original trio rendition—to prime the ears for the experience of hearing this ...
