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Results for "Dan McClenaghan"
Sean Michael Giddings: Red Willow
by Dan McClenaghan
Keyboardist Sean Michael Giddings cites pianist Vince Guaraldi, the composer of the Charles Schultz Peanuts cartoon soundtracks (among other things), as one of his influences. Guaraldi is joined in that “sphere of influence" club by the usual suspects—Brad Mehldau, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett--who all play a part in Giddings' sound. But Guaraldi's spirit—the accessible lyricism, the ...
Carlos Vega: Art of the Messenger
by Dan McClenaghan
Tenor saxophonist Carlos Vega is a steeped-in-the-tradition fan of early bebop, displaying his passion for the genre with his nods to alto saxophonist Charlie Parker on Bird's Ticket (2016) and Bird's Up (2017), both on Origin Records. With Art Of The Messenger he shifts his focus to Art Blakey, the drummer who led the Jazz Messengers ...
Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Not A Novelty
by Dan McClenaghan
The trombone came into its own as a lead and solo instrument in jazz on the shoulders of J.J. Johnson, in the early days of bebop. His Four Trombones: The Debut Recordings (Prestige, 1953) celebrated the big brass instrument with three fellow 'bone men--Kai Winding, Bennie Green and Willie Davis, all joining Johnson in a four ...
Broken Shadows: Broken Shadows with Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson, Dave King
by Dan McClenaghan
The context for Broken Shadows is--can you guess--the Ornette Coleman album of the same name, recorded in 1971 and released on Columbia Records in 1982. That, along with three tunes from Coleman's Science Fiction (Columbia, 1971), and more from the free jazz pioneer's Atlantic and Blue Note Records days. And while we're at it, throw in ...
Johannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Johannes Wallmann's Elegy For An Undiscovered Species opens with the eleven minute title tune, a musical protest against the Anthropocene Extinction. That extinction is happening right now. Human activity—human predominance of the planet—is its cause. This opener does have an apocalyptic feel, with a dark piano trio intro and a dark strings backdrop seeping into ...
Zurich Jazz Orchestra & Steffen Schorn: Dedications
by Dan McClenaghan
The Zurich Jazz Orchestra (ZJO), under the leadership of multiple reedist Steffen Schorn, is a colorful listening experience on their 2021 release Dedications. The arrangements weave woodwind pastels over backdrops of the darker hues of the trombones and bursts of bright primaries from the trumpets. Schorn took the leadership role of the ZJO in ...
Keisuke Kishi: Elsewhere
by Dan McClenaghan
The album is titled Elsewhere. It is the work of Japanese drummer Keisuke Kishi, who is based in New York. But where is elsewhere? Is it the western shore of Oahu, an area of stark landscapes and poverty, in relative isolation from the bustling tourism of Waikiki? Or is it Bagamoyo, Tanzania? The album's cover art ...
Frank Macchia: Songs For Tracy
by Dan McClenaghan
Grammy-nominated, multi-woodwind instrumentalist-composer Frank Macchia was in an isolationist, COVID-19 state of mind when he came up with the blueprint for Songs For Tracy. Dog-walking during the quarantine time did the trick. He would, in these sojourns, write down ideas about his emotions and thoughts. The next step was writing the music for these lyrics.
John Daversa Jazz Orchestra Featuring Justin Morell: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren
by Dan McClenaghan
Trumpeter John Daversa takes the biggest artistic challenge of his career with All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren. It is a large scale orchestral piece--a “jazz with strings" affair if it needs a label--that goes well its seminal predecessors in the style, to wit a pair of Charlie Parker With Strings albums (both bearing the ...
Noah Haidu: Slowly: Song For Keith Jarrett
by Dan McClenaghan
American poet Walt Whitman said it. Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan said it, too, on his Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia Records, 2020). They said: “I Contain Multitudes." Pianist Keith Jarrett also contains multitudes—though it has never been reported that he has said so. Those multitudes include early work with the groups of drummer Art Blakey, ...
