Results for "Geno Thackara"
3x3: Piano Trios: February 2021

It's a European batch of trios for this month, showing all kinds of local roots and with a fascinating knack for subverting expectations. Fergus McCreadie Cairn Edition Records 2021 Scotland's tourist organization could do a lot worse than hire Fergus McCreadie for a little PR. The Jamestown-born pianist offers ...
Solo Statesmen

Joachim Kühn Touch the Light ACT Music 2021 Centuries-old classical, rock from recent decades, jazz staples both classic and modernto Joachim Kühn it's all just good music regardless of style, and it seems any material can be suited to the mood at hand when he's in a mind to play with ...
Two Poetic Duos

Siril Malmedal Hauge and Jacob Young Chasing Sunsets Oslo Session Recordings 2020 Siril Malmedal Hauge and Jacob Young are no strangers to finding beauty in simplicity. They made a sleeper highlight of 2018 when they first teamed up for Last Things (Oslo Session Recordings), and their second outing offers more of ...
Joel Newton Situation: Out Of and Into

If Joel Newton was stuck at home in isolation during the time of Covid, his imagination apparently never got the message. Exploration and travel still make a bright and refreshing theme on this largely solo affair. Thankfully the feel of adventure and open trails has not left him; Out Of and Into has his guitar work ...
3x3: Piano Trios: January 2021

Eivind Austad New Orleans Trio That Feeling Losen Records 2020 To cue this one up without knowing anything about it, one would easily think it was an informal session or maybe a late-night club jam among jny: New Orleans natives. It couldn't matter less that the leader is Norwegian (visiting the ...
Geno Thackara's Best Releases of 2020

However strange the year has gotten, the urge to create clearly hasn't lessened at all--either that or the circumstances have left us more appreciative of art where we find it. Most likely it's some of both. Whatever the case may be, 2020 has still seen no shortage of musical treats good for the soul.
Vince Tampio: Adult Children

At first glance, it's unclear whether Vince Tampio wants to imply something optimistic or dystopian with the strange cityscape on the cover of Adult Children (and with the title, for that matter). As a reflection of some strange times, such a striking image has plenty of room for interpretations positive and negative. It also could not ...
Simon Moullier: Spirit Song

Simon Moullier sounds like a pretty old soul for someone only releasing his debut. At the same time, even more impressively, it is a relentlessly playful one, with an equal love for the old and new. One might think an instrument as established as the vibraphone only has so much potential to be taken to new ...
Derek Brown and The Holland Concert Jazz Orchestra: All Figured Out

Whatever you imagine when you think of big bands, it's nothing quite like this. While Derek Brown can ably channel the snappy spirit of golden-age jazz--and certainly does here, with happy hard-swinging results--his spirit in composing and bandleading could not be more thoroughly modern. The same can be said of his approach to his instrument, as ...
Mulo Francel: Crossing Life Lines

Mulo Francel clearly believes in life imitating art. The endlessly versatile saxophonist is happy to demonstrate here how music reflects the wider world, but more importantly, Crossing Life Lines offers a determined reminder of how it can go both ways. The concept is simple yet expansive: while touring through parts of Europe that had been in ...