Home » Search Center » Results: Franz A. Matzner
Results for "Franz A. Matzner"
Katie Bull: All Hot Bodies Radiate
by Franz A. Matzner
A raucous concoction, Katie Bull's All Hot Bodies Radiate bursts with energy, its verbal and musical contortions devoted to a deceptively cacophonous mix of levity, seriousness, playfulness, and avant abstractions. Artfully balanced, Bull merges spoken-word delivery and singing to deliver her poem-lyrics in a style that cleverly evokes the best coffeehouse traditions, without being ...
Rob Garcia: Finding Love in an Oligarchy on a Dying Planet
by Franz A. Matzner
A complex amalgam, drummer-composer Rob Garcia's Finding Love in an Oligarchy on a Dying Planetis as densely constructed and provoking as its title. Despite the socially conscious themes that its track titles, lyrics, and multi-layered musical journeys explore, Garcia has made clear this is not a protest album. At least not in the typical sense.
Bennett and Gaga at Kennedy Center: Dissection of an Era
by Franz A. Matzner
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's duet project has captured headlines from its inception and for the most part the carefully constructed and deliberatively delivered juxtaposition of styles, age, and temperament has been showered with praise, including receiving a Grammy award. Not surprisingly, then, their final performance together held in the Kennedy Center's expansive concert hall was ...
John Yao: Flip-Flop
by Franz A. Matzner
The trombone is one of jazz's secret weapons. Not as ubiquitous as the saxophone or as iconic as the trumpet in the popular imagination, it nonetheless holds a powerful position as one of jazz's defining instruments. It's also the case that the trombone appears to be currently experiencing a renaissance--one which trombonist, composer, and bandleader John ...
Brooklyn Jazz Underground: A Trio of Hits
by Franz A. Matzner
Modern jazz has a problem. And Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records' recent slate of releases illustrates the growing dilemma: a surfeit of excellence. Across the spectrum, artists are innovating at such a high level and plumbing the depths of musical expression with such regularity that it's hard to keep pace (or avoid hyperbole). Jazz's aperture ...
Jenny Scheinman: Little Bit Country
by Franz A. Matzner
A brief survey of violinist, vocalist, and composer Jenny Scheinman's recordings proves her a multi-genre experimenter, uniting a wide range of musical styles through partnerships with a diverse set of premier artists, including Jason Moran, Myra Melford, and Lou Reed. Scheinman's facility and humor was confirmed over the course of a Valentine's Day weekend performance at ...
Jason Moran: Joyful Proclamations
by Franz A. Matzner
Jason Moran requires no introduction, either as an artistic alchemist or a spokesperson and educator. Moran has left an indelible mark on modern jazz and is now seated at one of the nation's most preeminent performing spaces--the Kennedy Center--as its artistic director for jazz. Already, his capacity for insight, humor, and innovation have launched a new ...
Avishai Cohen - Trumpet: Dark Nights
by Franz A. Matzner
From the brooding opening title track to the closing Chet Baker homage, “I Fall in Love Too Easily," Dark Nights unapologetically embraces the heart of jazz. Every aspect of the album--from the cover photo, to Cohen's precise trumpet inflections, to the trio's dedication to immediacy and collective improvisation (and even the album's forays into electronic affects)--is ...
Jason Lindner: Beyond the Solo
by Franz A. Matzner
Jason Linder has been at the center of modern jazz's evolution for nearly two decades. His distinctive and flexible piano and synthesizer sound have placed him in a bewildering array of musical contexts and whether it's accompanying Anat Cohen, collaborating with Dafnis Prieto, or challenging the very edges of contemporary jazz--edges he has helped carve--Lindner consistently ...
Rebellion and Respect: Kennedy Center Celebrates Blue Note's 75th Anniversary
by Franz A. Matzner
Blue Note Record's significance to modern music is as inarguable as its story is remarkable. Over its 75 year lifespan the label has recorded many of jazz's defining artists, its evolution tracing the trajectory of America's most significant musical form from its beginnings to its present day diverse manifestations. It is therefore especially auspicious ...
