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Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble: Crisis
by Hrayr Attarian
On his third album with the Two Rivers ensemble, Crisis trumpeter and composer Amir ElSaffar continues to explore the Arabic Maqam modal system. He uses this melodic type in a context with strong American influences and particularly jazz sensibilities. The result is not merely a superficial, kitschy fusion but true marriage of two improvisational traditions.
Jive-Colored Glasses
by John Goodman
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 4: Chicago" of Jive-Colored Glasses by John F Goodman (jg publications, 2015). Growing up in and around Chicago in the 1950s brought me to all kinds and flavors of jazz. Between the house parties, clubs and concerts, there was a menu to please everyone. The Rush Street ...
George Freeman/Chico Freeman: All In The Family
by Dan Bilawsky
There are few things more quintessentially Chicago" in jazz than the Freeman family. Tenor titan Von Freeman ruled the roost in The Windy City decade after decade until his death in 2012; his brother, George Freeman, played with everybody from saxophonist Charlie Parker to organist Shirley Scott; his other brother, the late Eldridge Bruz" Freeman, was ...
Ernest Dawkins' Live in the Spirit Residency Big Band: Memory in the Center, An Afro Opera: Homage to Nelson Mandela
by AAJ Staff
Registrata nella serata inaugurale del Chicago Jazz Festival del 2014, questa suite è un appassionato omaggio a Nelson Mandela da parte di una big band diretta dal sassofonista (ma qui non suona) e compositore Ernest Dawkins. Sedici elementi, alcuni già conosciuti al pubblico italiano come il trombettista Corey Wilkes, il trombonista Steve Berry ...
Peter Brotzmann/Joe McPhee/Kent Kessler/Michael Zerang: Tales Out Of Time
by Mark Corroto
It is rare, in this new century, for us to look back at the significant recordings of living artists. The powers that be seem to always be pushing out new product to support a tour and get media attention. Then of course, once the artist has passed on, let the reissue series begin. Thank God for ...
The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Cash And Carry
by John Sharpe
Ornette Coleman was one of the first to use two drummers in a smaller ensemble for his seminal double quartet Free Jazz (Atlantic, 1961). In doing so they established the template for dual interaction, as Ed Blackwell majored on drum patterns while Billy Higgins emphasized the cymbals. While the format has become much more widespread as ...
Myra Melford: Snowy Egret
by Hrayr Attarian
Restlessly innovative pianist and composer Myra Melford brings her exploratory approach and her adventurous melodic sense to her 2015 release Snowy Egret with her new ensemble of the same name. The inspiration for this intriguing album is Uruguayan author Eduardo Galleano's Memory of Fire trilogy. Originally part of a multimedia performance called the Language of Dreams" ...
Paul Dietrich: We Always Get There
by Hrayr Attarian
Chicago based trumpeter and composer Paul Dietrich's debut album We Always Get There is a vibrant and explorative work of modern music that inhabits the border zone between the mainstream and the Avant-Garde. The record's intricately constructed originals, with dramatic ambiences, are provocative while remaining intensely melodic, simultaneously accessible and pleasantly challenging.The intimate theme ...
Muddy Waters 100: Muddy Waters 100
by James Nadal
When a local guitarist and blues singer in Clarksdale, Mississippi named McKinley Morganfield made his first field recording at the Stovall plantation, on August 31, 1941, he had no idea where this music would take him. By the time he plugged his guitar into an amplifier on Chicago's Southside in 1943, he had become Muddy Waters, ...
Makaya McCraven: In The Moment
by Mark Corroto
Somewhere in heaven Miles smiles, Miles Davis that is. Beside him, listening to In The Moment by drummer, mixmaster, and organizer Makaya McCraven is Teo Macero. Both men would have given the nod to this project that culled 73 minutes of music from 48 hours of live performance, recorded over a year of performance with an ...



