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Chris Greene Quartet: Music Appreciation
by Hrayr Attarian
Saxophonist Chris Greene has a unique approach to jazz that, although well within the mainstream, is elegantly innovative. He colors his creative ideas and motifs with bluesy hues, endows them with an urbane sense of swing and enriches them with solid, improvisational rigor. His complex pieces flow with a deceptive simplicity yet make for a rewarding ...
Mikolaj Trzaska/ Devin Hoff/ Michael Zerang: Sleepless In Chicago
by John Sharpe
With Poland proving such a welcoming venue for so many of Chicago's finest, it's no surprise to see a little quid pro quo from time to time. Reedman Mikołaj Trzaska, one of his country's most forward thinking players, has collaborated with various visiting Americans, most notably Joe McPhee and Ken Vandermark, but it is as a ...
Humble Origins: Humble Beginnings
by Dan McClenaghan
The opening of the group Humble Organism's Humble Beginnings, “Hello Jansen," with its big bright organ wash and prowling bass, a rumbling set of drums laying down a backdrop, seems to say: “Kick back, baby. You're gonna get in the groove with some organ jazz." And it doesn't sound “humble." To the contrary, its a brash ...
Kahil El'Zabar Ritual Trio: Follow The Sun
by Hrayr Attarian
It is safe to state that the percussionist Kahil El'Zabar has never made a mediocre or a mundane album and Follow the Sun is no exception. On this intriguing and provocative disc El'Zabar leads his group through five originals and four covers that he interprets with his signature, fluid touch.Oscar Hammerstein II's heartsick standard ...
Rempis - Johnston - Ochs: Spectral
by Glenn Astarita
For this nascent record label's sixth offering, Chicago-based saxophonist Dave Rempis unites with West Coast modernists, saxophonist Larry Ochs (The Rova Saxophone Quartet) and trumpeter Darren Johnston who has been all over the jazz map these days. Here, the trio hunkers down and prepares for battle via cyclonic three-way flurries, dappled with polytonal hues and expansive ...
Chicago Jazz Musician Wins Religion Award
Chicago bassist, guitarist and composer Karl E. H. Seigfried has been awarded Best Religion Weblog 2014 for his website, The Norse Mythology Blog. This is the third straight year his blog has won the top spot in the international Weblog Awards. Karl is the only religion writer to have a triple win, and his site is ...
Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance
by Hrayr Attarian
Woodwind player and composer Shawn Maxwell's Shawn Maxwell's Alliance on the Chicago Sessions label is a carefully orchestrated suite with a subtle yet distinct dramatic sense. Although the description in the liner notes makes mention of a group of friends experimenting with new styles and sounds the disc is not a blowing date nor it is ...
Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance
by Dan Bilawsky
In the liner notes for Shawn Maxwell's Alliance, the Chicago-based multi-reedist is transparent as can be. He makes note of the fact that this project was born out of a conscious desire to do something different and pull away from the commonplace quartet and quintet formats that are so prevalent today. He also notes that he ...
M13: 1 Human, Too Human
by Glenn Astarita
Chicago-based M13 is a thirteen-piece ensemble that projects a hip, little big band attack featuring many of the region's finest musicians. Led by saxophonist Aaron McEvers whose sprightly horns arrangements are often given a jazz-rock uplift by guitarist Chris Siebold, as the band invokes numerous shades of the jazz vernacular. They lash out into bracing swing ...
The Fat Babies: 18th & Racine
by Hrayr Attarian
Early jazz stylists The Fat Babies' second album 18th & Racine is bolder than their first in their choice of material and their delivery of the songs included. Encouraged by the successful execution of their debut Chicago Hot (Delmark 2012) the band presents 14 lesser-known gems and an original composition by their cornetist Andy Schumm. The ...
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