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Article: Album Review

Stewy von Wattenwyl: After the Rain

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by Dan McClenaghan
October 26, 2013

After the storm has passed through, after the rain, with the sunbeams peaking though the breaking clouds, the day takes on an unblemished clarity. The horizon's sharp edge separates land from sky. Details of the landscape shine with fine detail. That after-the-rain clarity and focus is what elevates the artistic endeavor. Swiss pianist Stewy von Wattenwyl, ...

Article: Album Review

Kenny Barron/Gerry Gibbs/Ron Carter: Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio

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by Dan McClenaghan
October 17, 2013

Drummer Gerry Gibbs calls this band the Thrasher Dream Trio. That “Thrasher" aspect of the appellation might make the uninitiated conjure images of burly tattooed guys in sleeveless shirts, sporting long black hair--and maybe facial make-up--slamming their instruments in the heavy metal bass/drums/guitar mode. But this couldn't be further from the music at hand. Gerry Gibbs ...

Article: Album Review

Hiromi Kanda: Days of Yesterday

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by Dan McClenaghan
October 16, 2013

Japanese-born and now Honolulu-based vocalist Hiromi Kanda had some success in her homeland with the beginnings of a singing career. After winning a talent contest, plans were made to turn Kanda into a sexy pop idol. She demurred. What Kanda wanted was a career as a singer/songwriter. And she loved the Great American Songbook, and artists ...

Article: Album Review

Trio ELF: Amsterdam

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by Dan McClenaghan
October 12, 2013

One aspect of German pianist Walter Lang's artistry involves his work in the traditional piano trio format, evinced on stellar recordings like Eurasia (M & I Records, 2009) and Softly As In A Morning Sunrise (Nagel Heyer, 2005). His approach here comes out of the Bill Evans school of the piano trio, with a light and ...

Article: Album Review

Meir Shitrit: Way

by Dan McClenaghan
October 3, 2013

Isreali-born and now San Diego-based guitarist Meir Shitrit's Way sounds like a recording that guitarist Bill Frisell might have made, had he been born and raised in Israel. Frisell's often mulit-layered sets are, more often than not, a celebration of Americana--though certainly there are tangents and hybridizations in the discography. Meir's debut is a well-crafted, multi-ethnic ...

Article: Album Review

Mintz Quartet: Mintz Quartet

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by Dan McClenaghan
September 29, 2013

The jazz world is packed with dynamic drummers, and players who raise the job of timekeeping--and beyond--to a fine art. And then there are the supreme poets of the drum kit: The late Paul Motian, with his gentle orchestra of textures, colors, and diaphanous accents; Jack De Johnette, with his bustling undercurrents and rock steady grooves; ...

Article: Album Review

Pram Trio: Visitor Parking

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by Dan McClenaghan
September 25, 2013

An abandoned vintage perambulator--a pram--discovered on the streets of Toronto inspired the Canadian threesome to take as a name for their group the Pram Trio. Pictured on the cover of their debut album, Visitor Parking, the pram seems to have seen better days. It suffers rust and corrosion. If it ever possessed a sun shade, it ...

Article: Album Review

Clark Sommers: Ba(SH)

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by Dan McClenaghan
September 23, 2013

There's something quite “free" about a trio without a guitar or piano in the mix, with no chords nailing the sound down. Seattle's Origin Records has a history of offering up excellent saxophone/bass/drums outings: bassist Jeff Johnson's Near Earth (2004) and Free (2000), and drummer John Bishop's Nothing If Not Something (2006). Now three veterans of ...

Article: Album Review

Roberta Piket: Solo

by Dan McClenaghan
September 18, 2013

Listening back on Roberta Piket's discography, with recordings like the trio affair, Love and Beauty (Thirteenth Note Records, 2007) and the ambitious Side, Colors (Thirteenth Note Records, 2013), it's clear that the New York-based pianist has established herself as “an artist deserving wider recognition." With Solo she cements a reputation as a top level jazz artist. ...

Article: Album Review

Griffith Hiltz Trio: This Is What You Get...

Read "This Is What You Get..." reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 8, 2013

Canada's Griffith Hiltz Trio opens its second album, This Is What You Get..., with “Strawman," which sounds like a cross between a theme song for a Secret Agent Man movie and crunchy guitar-style, 1960s-era surf rock, featuring saxophonist Johnny Griffith's crisp melody lines and drummer Sly Juhas' shuffling rhythm. Then guitarist Nathan Hiltz twangs toward an ...