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Joe Lovano: Joyous Encounter
by Eric J. Iannelli
An exceptional album in its own right, Joyous Encounter is perhaps best appreciated when heard in light of I'm All for You, the collection of ballads that earned saxophonist Joe Lovano and his all-star quartet--pianist Hank Jones, drummer Paul Motian, and bassist George Mraz--such widespread, enthusiastic praise when it appeared last year. The four musicians have ...
Ralph Sutton with Michael Silva: It's So Nice It Must Be Illegal: Recorded 1988 Live in France (Volume One)
by Eric J. Iannelli
Since he was born in Hamburg, Missouri in 1922, it's apt in a way that stride pianist Ralph Sutton should have this posthumous album released on a Hamburg label--this one is the original, so to speak, located a few thousand miles away in the north of Germany. As Sutton aficionados will be quick to point out, ...
Babatunde Lea: Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost
by Eric J. Iannelli
Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost is yet another practical reminder that one should never judge an album by its cover. Or its shamanistic title or overwritten liner notes, for that matter. What looks conspicuously like a sprawling world music effort is actually a relatively straight-ahead jazz session linked by African folk chants and Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms. ...
John Ellis: One Foot in the Swamp
by Eric J. Iannelli
Reedman John Ellis has distinguished himself in recent years as a sideman and collaborator in the renowned Charlie Hunter Trio. One Foot in the Swamp, released on the New York indie jazz label Hyena, marks his third as bandleader--though his two previous albums received only limited distribution, meaning that this may seem like a remarkably confident ...
Rik Wright's Zen Tornado: Zen Tornado
by Eric J. Iannelli
Zen Tornado, as the name alone might imply, is a tempestuous brew of jazz fusion with moments of almost transcendental tranquility. The eponymous ensemble, a semi-conventional five-piece unit, is led by guitarist Rik Wright, and the resulting debut full-length has a distinct thrust and direction that suggests Wright was able to get precisely what he wanted ...
Dizzy Gillespie via Harvey Limburger: Good Spirits: Harvey Limburger Plays New Music from Dizzy Gillespie
by Eric J. Iannelli
The posthumous album is nothing new to jazz--indeed, half of Coltrane's colossal discography was released after his death--but this album is, to my recollection, the first to be recorded from beyond the grave. It features eight new tracks, all ostensibly written by Dizzy Gillespie and, in a weirdly metaphysical sense, performed by him too, using previously ...
Joe Craven: Django Latino
by Eric J. Iannelli
In addition to demonstrating his talent on an impressive range of string and percussion instruments, Joe Craven, a longtime member of the David Grisman Quintet, uses his second solo album to show off his skills as a translator. Django Latino is the familiar music of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Hot Club co-leader and musical ...
Franklin/Clover/Seales: Colemanology
by Eric J. Iannelli
The title of this disc, this trio's third for the unique Indiana-based Beezwax label, suggests that Ornette Coleman is a field of study or expression unto himself, a notion few Coleman fans are likely to dispute. But aside from the long and loose closing title track penned by pianist Marc Seales, this veteran jazz outfit tends ...
Alejandro Cimadoro Quintet: The Princess and the Moonlight
by Eric J. Iannelli
Boston's Berklee College of Music has no lack of accomplished graduates. Every year a sizeable stack of new albums spanning all genres of music reaffirms the school's enviable reputation and the collective talent of its alumni. Alejandro Cimadoro's The Princess and the Moonlight , the bassist's first album as bandleader, composer and arranger, maintains the high ...
William Ash Trio: The Phoenix
by Eric J. Iannelli
The Phoenix is an easy chair album. It isn't just that an easy chair happens to be the ideal place to listen to it; the album itself is comfortable, familiar, modest, timeless. Taking after Wes Montgomery, an influence William Ash acknowledges alongside Barry Harris, the guitarist emphasizes economy instead of fireworks, thoughtful precision and not profligacy. ...
