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Results for "Hrayr Attarian"
Eric Mintel: Ground Breaker
by Hrayr Attarian
The title of a record may be misleading, and even when it promises more than it delivers, it doesn't necessarily mean that the music is of poor quality. Eric Mintel's Ground Breaker does no such thing but it is a solid, well above average effort in the post bop tradition. The original tunes are all complex, ...
Larry McDonough Quartet: Simple Gifts
by Hrayr Attarian
Never look a gift horse in the mouth the old saying goes, but pianist Larry McDonough's Simple Gifts is a record that needs careful deconstructing and critiquing. The CD starts off with a smart arrangement of Beethoven's “Ode to Joy," where Richard Terrill's soprano saxophone states the theme before the musicians take solo turns. They don't ...
Iron City: Put the Flavor On It
by Hrayr Attarian
How is it that a record can sound so pleasant but at the same time disappoint? That is the case with Iron City's Put the Flavor On It. Iron City is an organ trio led by guitarist Charlie Apicella and presumably named after the legendary album by Grant Green, John Patton and Ben Dixon. Although this ...
Bob Gluck Trio: Sideways
by Hrayr Attarian
Great art and in particular great music does not neatly fit in narrowly defined categories. Such is the case with the Bob Gluck Trio's Sideways. The music is a mix of different jazz styles with an overall strong classical flavor. The CD contains nine pieces: three long bass-dominated ones, each over 10 minutes; and six shorter ...
Charlie Munro: Eastern Horizons
by Hrayr Attarian
The statement that jazz music has universal appeal is a well-worn cliché, but like most, a very true one. This is no more evident than in Eastern Horizons, a long out-of-print classic from Australian cellist and multi-reed player Charlie Munro, now available on CD. Recorded in 1967, it is considered to be a landmark of Australian ...
Nicki Parrott: Moon River
by Hrayr Attarian
It seems, according to some unwritten rule, that most female jazz instrumentalists sooner or later record a vocal album or two. Unfortunately, on these recordings, often passable vocal skills take precedence over superior instrumental talent. Perhaps this is intended to meet the demands of the commercial market, with bassist Nicki Parrott's Moon River a prime example. ...
Byard Lancaster: Live at Macalester College
by Hrayr Attarian
Sometimes the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and sometimes it is less. The latter is true for this reissue of Live at Macalester College by the Byard Lancaster unit. The music, deftly played and improvised by all the musicians, is avant-garde and free jazz in character during the leader's various horn solos, ...
Ornette Coleman Quartet at the Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington, Vermont
by Hrayr Attarian
Ornette Coleman Quartet Discover Jazz Festival, Flynn TheaterBurlington, Vermont June 6th, 2008 Ornette Coleman and his quartet were the headline act that closed the exceptionally successful 25th Annual Discover Jazz Festival, playing to an almost full house at the Flynn Theatre in downtown Burlington on June 7th 2008. The musicians walked ...
Duke Pearson, Andrew Hill, Don Pullen, Randy Weston, McCoy Tyner: Pianists of the Mosaic Select Series
by Hrayr Attarian
Does limited edition always translate to music of outstanding quality? In the Mosaic Select series more often than not it does. There are, however, some discs that are stimulating without being outstanding, and even a rare set catching an artist's career at its low point. This variation in standard is apparent in the six ...
Buddy Bolden: The Sky Is Blue
by Hrayr Attarian
2008 will always be remembered fondly in the world of jazz because it's the year of this music's greatest discovery. Buddy Bolden's only recording is no longer stuff of legend and lore, but a reality. The story of this great find sounds almost fictional: A graduate student at the University of Kansas while helping a local ...
