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John Fedchock: Justifiably J.J.
by Dan McClenaghan
J.J. Johnson saved his instrument from possible obscurity. Rarely used as a front-line instrument pre-Johnson, the trombone might have faded away when bebop came along. Bebop--all those rapid-fire notes from trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. At that time, the trombone was considered too cumbersome to navigate the chord changes and the rhythmic fury ...
Jake Noble: Letting Go Of A Dream
by Dan McClenaghan
Making art is about a search for authenticity, a search for the truth. But the truth is complicated, and our perceptions of it can change over time. The concept for Letting Go Of A Dream, the debut recording from New Orleans-based bassist Jake Noble, began as a tribute to some of his well-chosen truth-telling heroes: pianist ...
Greg Reitan: Bounding Line
by Dan McClenaghan
Los Angeles-based pianist/composer Greg Reitan jumped into the scene with an elegant splash in 2009 with his debut recording, Some Other Time (Sunnyside Records). He followed this up in 2010 with Antibes (Sunnyside Records). Both recordings were critically lauded, drawing comparisons to the work of legendary pianist Bill Evans. Reitan possesses a supple Evans-esque touch, with ...
Frank Ambrosetti & Strings: Sweet Caress
by Dan McClenaghan
Swiss flugelhornist/trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti teamed with pianist/arranger Alan Broadbent in 2022 for the exquisite Nora (Enja Records), a top-shelf orchestral jazz album with a core group of mainstream all-stars. Listening back to the history of the 'jazz with strings' sub-genre--the shot across the bow, Charlie Parker With Strings (Verve, 1950), followed in short order by Chet ...
June Yun: Enlightenment - Solid Waves
by Dan McClenaghan
South Korean vocalist June Yun's compositional debut, Enlightenment -Solid Waves, explores the feelings and emotions elicited by the concepts of light and dark. These things are difficult to describe in words but translate, with her music, into compelling, atmospheric soundscapes full of shadows, apparitions, angelic imagery and mystical moods. Vid Jamnic's resonant vibraphone murkiness lays a ...
Natsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii: Aloft
by Dan McClenaghan
A lot of ink has poured from the pens of jazz writers in ruminations on the art of Satoko Fujii. With over a hundred album releases under her name and under the names of various groups she has led, she has given the scribes plenty to listen to and write about. Solo albums, big band albums ...
Amina Figarova & Matsiko World Orphan Choir: Suite For Africa
by Dan McClenaghan
Happenstance played a hand in two of pianist Amina Figarova's finest recordings. The first time around it was September Suite (Munich Records, 2005). Though based in the Netherlands at the time, Figarova was staying in New York City when the planes flew into the World Trade Center buildings on September 11th, 2001. The music for the ...
Denny Zeitlin: Panoply
by Dan McClenaghan
There was a Steinway in the Zeitlin household in the outskirts of Chicago in the early 1940s. During this time Denny Zeitlin would find his way to the piano playing parental laps and sit at the keyboard, where he, he says: “I would put my little hands on their hands and go along for the ride...and ...
Paul Tobey: It's Time
by Dan McClenaghan
Canadian pianist Paul Tobey was on a fast track in 2004, with his debut release on Arkadia Records garnering a Juno Award nomination (the Canadian Grammy) and an eight-record deal with the label. Enter tendonitis, and severe inflation in his forearms that pushed a promising career to the back burner. After a two-decade hiatus, Tobey slides ...
Oddgeir Berg Trio: A Place Called Home
by Dan McClenaghan
One place that Norwegian pianist Oddgeir Berg has called home is the island of Rolla, population 900. It is located in one of Norway's numerous fjords, rising from deep water to a 1000-meter peak. A visit to Google Images reveals verdant meadows and mountainous boulder-studded landscapes of stunning beauty--a picturesque and idyllic place. Berg's father was ...
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