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Article: Album Review

Lena Hovanesian: irwinorange

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by Dan McClenaghan
July 27, 2015

In assigning colors to a musician's “sound," does alto saxophonist Lena Hovanesian blow orange? Maybe. On her debut CD, irwinorange, the title taken from the 2014 Franklin Evans' painting of the same name, Hovanesian's alto has a citrus-y tang, as she explores, sonically, her love of abstract art and natural beauty of Hawaii and her native ...

Article: Album Review

Adam Pieronczyk Quartet: A-Trane Nights

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by Dan McClenaghan
July 23, 2015

When the subject of “Polish Jazz" comes up, the most likely name to get mentioned might be Krzysztof Komeda, the pioneering pianist who wrote the soundtrack music for several of Roman Polanski's films, most notably Rosemary's Baby (1968). Move up to current times and you'll find another Polish jazz artist of special note, saxophonist Adam Pieroncyzk, ...

Article: Album Review

Sam Taylor: My Future Just Passed

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by Dan McClenaghan
July 19, 2015

One spin of saxophonist Sam Taylor's debut CD, My Future Just Passed, and it's not hard to tell where he's coming from, influence-wise. He's a traditionalist with a muscular sound, and you hear Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and bringing things forward in time, perhaps Dexter Gordon, and on this particular trio affair at hand, Sonny Rollins ...

Article: Album Review

Teagan Taylor: The Subject Of...

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by Dan McClenaghan
July 11, 2015

Teagan Taylor, San Diego's premier vocalist/cornetist/songwriter, released her first album I Can't Complain (Jazzomaniac Records), in 2011. It was a very capable, engaging, mosly jazz outing, featuring her distinctive take on the “Standards": “Taking a Chance on Love," “Bye Bye Blackbird," “Summertime" and the like. She was not yet twenty-one. A chance encounter with her back ...

Article: Album Review

Jerry Granelli: What I Hear Now

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by Dan McClenaghan
July 5, 2015

The simple answer to the question that drummer Jerry Granelli poses on What I Hear Now is “horns." He hears horns over the foundation of his regular trio with saxophonist Dani Oore and bassist Simon Fisk who uses the 3 string bassetto here. The mix is three reeds, including tenor saxophonist Mike Murley, joined by a ...

Article: Album Review

Maria Schneider Orchestra: The Thompson Fields

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by Dan McClenaghan
June 29, 2015

It's always interesting to discuss the jazz greats of yesteryear and swap thoughts on how the new generation of artists stacks up against the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington. And it's quite possible that the consensus opinion there would be that virtually no one working today can compare favorably to those ...

Article: Album Review

Denny Zeitlin: Riding the Moment

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by Dan McClenaghan
June 22, 2015

The album Switched-On Bach (Columbia Records, 1968), by Walter (now Wendy) Carlos was a seminal introduction to synthesized music. Carlos used the then new MOOG Synthesizer to painstakingly construct the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Love it or hate it seemed to be the reaction, without much opinion in between. But one thing for certain, the ...

Article: Album Review

Satoko Fujii Tobira: Yamiyo Ni Karasu

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by Dan McClenaghan
June 17, 2015

Pianist Satoko Fujii, based now in Berlin, makes uniquely tumultuous music, intersecting a rolling and tumbling near chaos with moments of pastoral beauty and fierce, pounding grooves. Ever restless, she forms new groups filled with fearless musicians with always interesting results. She debuted her Satoko Fujii New Trio in 2013 with Spring Storm, (Libra Records), and ...

Article: Album Review

Benny Lackner Trio: Siskiyou

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by Dan McClenaghan
June 9, 2015

The photo on the main page of Benny Lackner's website shows the pianist with one hand on an acoustic piano, the other plying the keys of a laptop computer. That's where his muse has taken him-into a very contemporary electro/acoustic piano trio mix with drummer Matthieu Chazarec and bassist Jerome Regard. Siskiyou is Lackner's ...

Article: Album Review

Pierre Labbe Sextet: Tromper Eustache

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by Dan McClenaghan
June 7, 2015

Saxophonist Pierre Labbe's Tromper Eusatchesounds as if it was written for a full orchestra, or a heavy metal rock band. He employs a sextet--two saxophones, guitar/piano/bass drums-for a dark, foreboding sound, with dense, near, drone textures on the opener, “Inquie Ouie." “Soup Au Lait" ups the ante on that atmosphere, guitar wailing over a thick, trudging ...