Home » Search Center » Results: Dan McClenaghan
Results for "Dan McClenaghan"
Frank Wess: Magic 201
by Dan McClenaghan
Saxophonist Frank Wess was born in 1922. He played in Billy Ecstine's orchestra, after World War II interrupted his burgeoning career, and he played in Count Basie's band from 1953 to 1964. With those early experiences on his resume, the fact that he was a traditionalist in the mode of saxophonists Ben Webster, of Duke Ellington ...
Paul Motian: Jack of Clubs
by Dan McClenaghan
As a drummer, Paul Motian (1931-2011) came to an early fame from his association with Bill Evans. It was the pianist's 1961 Riverside Records trio albums Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard that did the trick, shifting the way of the piano trio into the direction of democracy and intricate interplay, also launching ...
Victory Jazz Quartet: Origin
by Dan McClenaghan
Most of the jazz fusion groups of the 1970s threw more instruments into the mix than flugelhornist Al Moretti does on Origin. His Victory Jazz Quartet finds Moretti with his horn, fronting a simple rhythm section--keyboard, bass and drums. Fusion evolved from trumpeter Miles Davis' In a Silent Way (Columbia Records, 1969), sparkling music ...
Jeremy Steig: Flute Fever
by Dan McClenaghan
Flute Fever, the 1963 Columbia Records debut by flutist Jeremy Steig, has somehow, until now, avoided release on CD. Thanks to reissue producer Jonathan Horwich, Steig's beautifully remastered and packaged freshman recording is now available. And it's not only Steig's premier as a recording artist, it's also a recording first for pianist Denny Zeitlin, on a ...
The Bill McBirnie Trio: Find Your Place
by Dan McClenaghan
The standard organ trio doesn't usually include a flute. On paper, it sounds like a bad idea. It seems as if the cool breeze aspects of the airy blowing of the flute would get lost in the organ's electric woosh. As it turns out, flutist Bill McBirnie's Find Your Place, proves those seemingly similar sounds to ...
Volcan: Volcan
by Dan Bilawsky
Whenever a musician strikes out on their own by forming their own label they're addressing the issue of control and consolidation. Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba went one better when he created 5passion. He consolidated, took control, and diversified his offerings. First came Fe (5passion, 2011)--a sanctified solo piano date that All About Jazz's Dan McClenaghan rightly called ...
Dan McClenaghan's Best Releases of 2013
by Dan McClenaghan
Lots of extraordinary music. These are my picks for outstanding CDs of the year. Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette Somewhere ECM Records Pianist Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio," with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette, recorded Somewhere live in 2009. After thirty years together, the group is still growing. This will ...
David Bennett Thomas: Headspace
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist David Bennett Thomas is a bit of a Renaissance guy when it comes to music. A gifted composer of classical and choral, chamber and orchestral music, he also veers on occasion into the jazz world. He brings to jazz a cerebral approach that is also engaging on a purely kick-back-and-listen level. It is with repeated ...
Jane Ira Bloom: Sixteen Sunsets
by Dan McClenaghan
Sidney Bechet pioneered the use of the soprano saxophone in jazz in the early 20s. John Coltrane brought that straight horn" out of a relative dormancy of use in 1959 with his anthem-like take on Rodgers and Hammerstein's My Favorite Things" on his Atlantic Records album of the same name. Steve Lacy took the soprano out ...
Myra Melford: Life Carries Me This Way
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Myra Melford's first solo disc, Life Carries Me This Way, is a musical exploration the paintings of California visual artist Don Reich. Rendering a painting--an art form that can be taken in at once, with one look--and addressing its moods, colors, shapes and textures over the course of a composition is not a easy task. ...


