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Article: Album Review

Rein Godefroy: It Will Come

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by Dan McClenaghan
April 16, 2017

Dutch pianist Rein Godefroy enters the crowded and talent-filled arena of the jazz piano trio with It Will Come. The music--on a first listen--seems to fit in the the European aesthetic of this form of musical expression with the opener, the disc's title tune, a gently laid down sound. The piano touch is supple, the bass/drums ...

Article: Album Review

Kelly Moran: Bloodroot

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by Dan McClenaghan
April 10, 2017

It seems that pianist Kelly Moran's approach to crafting her artistry requires a trip to Home Depot, for the purchase of a variety of screws and bolts. An observer of this purchase might assume an imminent assembly of a back yard patio set, but in reality, these items--among other things--are destined for insertion inside Moran's piano, ...

Article: Album Review

Organissimo: B3tles: A Soulful Tribute To The Fab Four

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by Dan McClenaghan
April 6, 2017

Guitarist Grant Green was one of the early birds on this: turning Beatles tunes into soulful jazz workouts, with his I Want to Hold Your Hand (Blue Note, 1965), featuring Hammond organ master Larry Young on the B3, recorded a little over a year after the Fab Four's musical invasion of America. But it was mostly ...

Article: Album Review

Jason Rigby: Detroit-Cleveland Trio: One

by Dan McClenaghan
March 31, 2017

The saxophone/bass/drums format has its challenge: the lack of a harmonic instrument to add depth and structure to the sound. Sonny Rollins put out a classic of the form: A Night At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1958). But he's Sonny Rollins, and all the other saxophonist aren't. Same thing with Ornette Coleman and his two ...

Article: Album Review

MEM3: Circles

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by Dan McClenaghan
March 24, 2017

The modernistic piano trio, MEM3, draws influences from the innovative e.s.t. (Esbjorn Svensson Trio) and the Bad Plus, as well as the legendary drummer Peter Erskine's trio recordings. Circles, MEM3's second outing, puts them in the league with those higher profile groups as they craft an understated and unfailingly lovely trio sound enhanced with subtle electronic ...

Article: Album Review

Ben Markley Big Band, featuring Terell Stafford: Clockwise: The Music Of Cedar Walton

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by Dan McClenaghan
March 19, 2017

Pianist Cedar Walton (1934-2013) is one of the giants, as well known for his compositions and arranging as he is for his piano chair stints in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, his steering vocalist Etta James to an Emmy Award for Mystery Lady: The Songs Of Billie Holiday, (RCA, 1994), and his prolific recording career, beginning with ...

Article: Album Review

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra: Beauty And The Beast feat. Bill Evans

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by Dan McClenaghan
March 15, 2017

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, SNJO, under the leadership of saxophonist Tommy Smith, has proven itself to be one of the premier large ensemble outfits out there. They have released a series of uniformly excellent recording, beginning with 2002's Miles Ahead, featuring Ingrid Jensen, a remake of the Miles Davis/Gil Evans gem; an expansive take on ...

Article: Album Review

Rose Ellis: Like Songs Like Moons

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by Dan McClenaghan
March 13, 2017

After a promising beginning in the Netherlands--success with the Dutch pop group, Roos, prestigious schooling and prestigious awards--vocalist/songwriter Rose Ellis came to New York, with a scholarship from the Dutch government and jazz on her mind. She earned her master's degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music, a solid start. And now her jazz debut: ...

Article: Album Review

Matt Otto with Ensemble Iberica: Iberica

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by Dan McClenaghan
March 8, 2017

Saxophonist Matt Otto presents the ambitious Iberica, a trip into the sounds of music from the Iberian Peninsula--Spain and Portugal. Ensemble Iberica joins him, a guitar trio that adds--in addition to their guitars--the cavaquinto, the oud, and the Cuban tres, crafting a delicate yet expansive soundscape in this tranquil, flowing, chamber jazz outing. This ...

Article: Album Review

Billy Mintz: Ugly Beautiful

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by Dan McClenaghan
March 6, 2017

Drummer/composer Billy Mintz has a long career of enhancing the music of others with his percussive artistry, everyone from saxophonist Lee Konitz to pianist Hal Galper, to clarinet master Perry Robinson. His own discography as a leader is small, with frequent revisitations of a handful of original compositions that are as distinctive and as worthy of ...