Home » Search Center » Results: Geno Thackara
Results for "Geno Thackara"
Thana Alexa: ONA
by Geno Thackara
Thana Alexa's voice contains a world of sound, and that is without even mentioning the globe-spanning musical trappings which surround it. Hearing her is like watching a thunderstorm or maybe a wild hawk in flight. She doesn't just sing but uses her voice as an expressive precision instrument, in much the same way all the tones ...
Høiby, Hart and Neame: Thinking Big
by Geno Thackara
No one's ever accused the members of Phronesis of lacking imagination. This isn't the space to talk about that particular trio, as it comes during a gap in the action, but two of its members concurrently demonstrate that they're just as restless even in some very different contexts. Jasper Høiby Planet B ...
Bruce Hornsby and yMusic at the Merriam Theater
by Geno Thackara
Bruce Hornsby and yMusic The Merriam Theater Philadelphia, PAMarch 4, 2020 “It's, what, our fourth show? We should have it together by now," Bruce Hornsby laughed during one between-song lull while a couple of his cohorts quickly tuned up. The joke was that he'd forgotten the planned order of songs to ...
Teymur Phell: Master Volume
by Geno Thackara
This crackling debut from Teymur Phell is a hearty, eclectic and loud funk-fusion party. He sets the tone right away with “Zero to Sixty"--a title that's actually a bit misleading since it kicks off already at sixty mph—and shows that he knows his way around a bass, and also has plenty of use for one with ...
3x3: Piano Trios: February 2020
by Geno Thackara
Lynne Arriale Trio Chimes of Freedom Challenge Records 2020 Where she last appeared happy and laughing on the cover of Give Us These Days (Challenge, 2018), Chimes of Freedom has Lynne Arriale looking a little more thoughtful and serious. The theme this time around is indeed a weighty one, but ...
Bear Garden: Bear Garden
by Geno Thackara
There's just something about the saxophone that goes with sounding big and ambitious. Bear Garden (or Martin Wirén when he's at home) certainly shows some of those signs with unashamedly grand melodicism and a feel for the expansive and cinematic. Though Bear Garden's running time leans toward the short side of LP length, this octet—rhythm section, piano, ...
Ingi Bjarni: Tenging
by Geno Thackara
Almost deliberately, Tenging doesn't make a terribly memorable impression at first. It is subtle enough not to stick in the listener's head and seems shorter than its respectable 42 minutes. This understated quintet recording is patient and quietly confident enough to exist in its own bubble. As it happens, that's exactly the point--Ingi Bjarni Skulason's approach ...
The Adventurous Spirit of Red Piano Records
by Geno Thackara
There actually isn't a piano to be heard anywhere in this batch, but the season's crop illustrates the ethic of Red Piano Records in some interesting ways nonetheless. The small Brooklyn label specializes in music offbeat enough to require some adventurous ears, comfortably rooted under the jazz umbrella while usually stepping at least one foot somewhere ...
Special Purpose: Password
by Geno Thackara
Special Purpose's upbeat jam-happy debut wastes no time establishing a setting and a mood. The group kicks off by crossing some 1970s Jeff Beck with a little Allman Brothers Band, and the ingredients for a fun jazz-rock fusion stew are already there: dreamy organ, bubbling bass, guitar that plays off the others without needing to go ...
No-Man: Love You to Bits
by Geno Thackara
Sometimes a new album is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Fittingly enough, plans for this duo have always been something of a joke anyway; No-Man's career has criss-crossed the whole spectrum of styles precisely because they've always been willing to follow unexpected ideas as the mood hits. It's also the reason the band ...
