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Various: And This Is Maxwell Street
by Derek Taylor
Somewhere along the road running from its gnarled roots in the Delta to its current modern incarnations the Blues lost a lot of it’s bite. And in an age where wet-behind-the-ears pubescents like Shannon Curfman and Johnny Lang monopolize the Blues charts this set is a Bantam rooster’s wake up call crowing out a universal message ...
Willis Jackson: Livin' Large
by Derek Taylor
In decades past making the transition from the so-called ‘bar-walking’ minor leagues to Majors of ‘legitimate’ jazz was a feat many saxophonists attempted but few accomplished. So much so that the visage of the honking, R&B tenor man is still regarded with scorn by many ‘serious’ jazz musicians and particularly critics. When the Chitlin Circuit (the ...
Gene Ammons: Gentle Jug, Vol. 3
by Derek Taylor
Among the legion of artists represented on the Fantasy Records roster Gene Ammons remains one of the most anthologized. Collections of his work abound and a primary reason for this was the prolific pace he set with the Prestige label (one of many now under the Fantasy umbrella) for nearly a quarter century and waxed sessions ...
Cooper-Moore: Deep In the Neighborhood of History and Influence
by Derek Taylor
Cooper-Moore is one of those cats that’s been a prime mover in creative improvised music for years, but has next to nothing in terms of a discography to show for it. He’s living proof that the recorded legacy of the music, while seemingly vast, is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what has ...
Rashied Ali / Peter Kowald / Assif Tsahar: Deals, Ideas & Ideals
by Derek Taylor
In the spring of 2000 German bassist Peter Kowald attempted the seemingly impossible and in the process made history. He commenced on a three-month concert tour of the United States starting in Florida, ranging up the East Coast, criss-crossing the Midwest, hitting the west coast and doubling back for a final string of dates in the ...
David Pike: Carnavals
by Derek Taylor
During much of this disc Pike comes across as something of an improvisatory lightweight, and it’s not the ethereal luminosity inherent in his instrument that is totally to blame. The airy Bossa rhythms that support the majority of tracks do little to help him in this regard and his arrangements emphasize a featherweight Happy Hour feeling. ...
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis/ Johnny Griffin Quintet: Blues Up & Down
by Derek Taylor
Tandem tenor teams enjoy an illustrious history in improvised music: Herschel Evans and Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Fred Anderson and Kidd Jordan, the list goes on. One duo that often doesn’t get its fair share in terms of prestige and influence is the ...
Sonny Red: Red, Blue & Green
by Derek Taylor
Sylvester “Sonny Red” Kyner, Jr. was part of the fruitful exodus of Detroit jazzmen to New York in the late 1950s. Though his style was steeped in the deft architectures of Bebop his sound and approach also incorporated a healthy fascination with earlier traditions. This disc dusts off two of his sessions for the Jazzland label ...
Jaki Byard: Solo/Strings
by Derek Taylor
Jazz history is rife with piano geniuses: Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor, Herbie Nichols, and so many others. But aside from the monolithic figure of Art Tatum few if any have succeeded in blending virtuosity, imagination and a complete command of the instrument like Jaki Byard did. His senseless murder last year marked the demise ...
Randy Weston: Solo, Duo & Trio
by Derek Taylor
Randy Weston continues to be a vibrant and creative force in jazz, so much so that it’s sometimes easy to forget that he’s been at it for over five decades. While his early work often isn’t as readily available as the material he’s done more recently much of it slowly making it back into print. This ...
