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Results for "Geof Bradfield"

Article: Album Review

Josh Archiron: Climbing

Read "Climbing" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
March 10, 2026

Geof Bradfield, co-founder of Calligram Records along with Chad McCullough, introduces a compelling new voice from Chicago's ever-fertile jazz scene. Climbing, the debut recording by guitarist Joshua Archiron, pairs the young bandleader with a seasoned and deeply attuned rhythm section: Bradfield on tenor saxophone, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall. Archiron's program, seven ...

Album

Arc and Edge

By James Davis

Label: Calligram Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Long Road Home; Search for Itness; Rothko Sketches; Open Door, Closed Door; Unending Path; Pamplemousse; Balancing Act; Heartstring Saga; Pulsar; The Blind Watchmaker; As the Crow Flies.

Album

Breathe

By Chris Varga

Label: Calligram Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Durantula; Breathe; Lid; Framing The Dragon; Passing Remark; This System Of Things; TMI; Gentle Vicissitudes.

Article: Multiple Reviews

Several Worthwhile Releases from the Last Few Months

by Jerome Wilson
July 10, 2025

Despite what is said about physical media going away, a steady supply of new jazz releases keeps showing up every week. Here are some worthy if underappreciated albums from the first half of 2025. Tobias Meinhart Sonic River Self Produced 2025 “Sonic River" is a good description ...

Article: Album Review

James Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge

Read "Arc and Edge" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 1, 2025

Trumpeter James Davis' sextet is aptly named Beveled--a word that means transforming a sharp, square edge into something smoother, more refined. That concept of reshaping and softening defines both the ensemble's instrumentation and its sonic character. Davis sets the tone by trading his bright trumpet for the warmer, more introspective voice of the flugelhorn. He deepens ...

Article: Album Review

James Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge

Read "Arc and Edge" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 31, 2025

Beveled, according to Webster's, translates roughly to “slanted" or “grooved." On Arc and Edge, flugelhornist James Davis' Chicago-based sextet clearly has its own slant on contemporary post-bop jazz wherein the groove ranges from typically improvised passages to cutting-edge motifs and classical chamber music, using a second flugelhorn, two bass clarinets and rhythm to flesh out the ...

Article: Album Review

Chris Varga: Breathe

by Jack Bowers
March 31, 2025

It is always refreshing to hear a talented vibraphonist seducing the mallets while leading a band, as is true on Breathe, Chris Varga's second recording, and the first in the U.S., following 2023's Vichara on South Korea's Mung Music label. Varga, who has been living and performing in Seoul for more than two decades, returned “home" ...

Article: Album Review

Eric Jacobson: Heading Home

Read "Heading Home" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 23, 2025

There is a sensible piece of advice known to every baseball batter that has been taken to heart by Milwaukee-based trumpeter Eric Jacobson's concerning his hard-hitting quintet: come out swinging. Which is precisely what happens on Heading Home, Jacobson's second (or perhaps third) recording as leader of his own ensemble, whose opening number, “Survival," proves beyond ...

Article: Album Review

Chris Varga: Breathe

Read "Breathe" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
March 20, 2025

Setting up shop as a jazz artist in Seoul, South Korea, is probably not the recommended way of raising the profile in the United States. But vibraphonist Chris Varga, who worked the jazz scene in Chicago during the '90s, made that trans-Pacific move and set himself up as a busy and prolific player in Korea's vibrant ...

Article: Year in Review

Dan Bilawsky's Best Jazz Albums of 2024

by Dan Bilawsky
January 5, 2025

Music that resonates with a listener is a rare gift for that receiver. And the artists who create it are to be admired for all that they produce and bestow. It's important to never lose sight of those truths and the power of aural art. I can't truly say that I believe that ...