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Josh Abrams: Cipher
by Derek Taylor
Delmark’s long been about giving local Chicago and Midwest talent a shot. As such, Bob Koester’s decision to place a patronly bet on the talents of bassist Abrams with this debut disc isn’t so unusual. Where the surprise arrives is in the band of compatriots Abrams assembled for the session. Dörner and Gregorio are ...
Fred Anderson: Back at the Velvet Lounge
by Derek Taylor
Certain musicians are dependable. Their very names on an album cover suggest an immediate indication of what's in store for the listener with near certainty. Sometimes, though, dependability can be detrimental. Occasionally a musician can fall into a rut of repetition, treading the same trails until once fertile soil becomes trampled and stale. Fred Anderson, one ...
Active Ingredients: Titration
by Derek Taylor
One of the most enduring aspects of improvised music is the infinite mutability of musician associations. Band borders are among the most porous of any musical genre. Players switch and trade-up with catalyzing regularity. It’s one of the few styles of musical expression that actively encourages continuous recombinating and is made all the more healthy through ...
Delmark Goes Modern
by Derek Taylor
Fred Anderson Back at the Velvet Lounge Delmark 2003 Certain musicians are dependable. Their very names on an album cover suggest an immediate indication of what’s in store for the listener with near certainty. Sometimes though dependability can be detriment. Occasionally a musician can fall into a rut ...
Pepper Adams: Urban Dreams
by Derek Taylor
Musicians frequently become associated with the attributes of their instruments. Charles Mingus was hulking and imposing, just like his bass. Art Blakey had the propulsive, authoritative personality of his drums. Paul Desmond was urbane and laidback, just like the sound of his sweet-toned alto. There are, of course, exceptions to these sorts of correlations. ...
Bud Freeman: All-Star Swing Sessions
by Derek Taylor
Swing is one of the most venerated styles of jazz. The capital “s" differentiates it from the more abstract attribute attainable through virtually any vernacular. Age and so-called “innovation" have leavened some of music's sweep. But reissues are instructive windows into why it will likely never die. Just as it’s easy to forget Swing’s ...
Putting Palo Alto Back on the Map
by Derek Taylor
The early 80s was a nebulous time for jazz. Contrary to what alarmists and revisionists might claim, the music wasn’t in any danger of dying. It was just going through another bout of growing pains that made future trajectories unclear. Fusion’s commercial dominance was waning and free jazz remained largely a niche market outside the influence ...
Hans Ulrik's Jazz & Mambo: Danish Standards
by Derek Taylor
Riffing on riddles. Such seems to be the intent of Danish saxophonist Hans Ulrik’s new release on the Stunt label. The name he coins for his ensemble is Jazz & Mambo, but the program appears to be a clutch of reworked Danish pop and folk songs. The gist of the band seems jazz oriented; both in ...
Duke Jordan: Flight to Norway
by Derek Taylor
Jazz pianists in the era of Monk and Powell faced an almost Sisyphean task when it came to currying popularity with the public. These two doyens of the instrument cast a nimbus of influence so wide that even luminaries like Elmo Hope and Herbie Nichols were subsumed in their shadows. Despite being present during the birthing ...
Martin Jacobsen: Current State
by Derek Taylor
Steeplechase has long been in the business of giving young talent a shot. The label's roster is brimming with well-established, and sometimes legendary, names right along with players who are only just beginning to make their marks. Tenor saxophonist Martin Jacobsen certainly falls into the latter category, a young Danish man seeking his fortune in the ...
