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Yotam Silberstein: Next Page
by J Hunter
Next Page has been pegged as an organ trio disc. The problem with that is saxman Chris Cheek appears on five of the disc's nine cuts. True, keyboardist Sam Yahel never lays out, but to completely dismiss Cheek's role in Yotam Silberstein's second release as a leader--even for simplicity's sake--is to ignore a range of color ...
Spoke: Spoke
by J Hunter
In his liner notes to Spoke's self-titled debut disc, Matthew Lima wrote that this Brooklyn-based quartet is “constantly refining the art of the compromise... not into a concession or lowering of standards, but an intermediate between different things." He's half right: There are no concessions whatsoever on Spoke; however, the differences are what it's all about. ...
Kendra Shank: Mosaic
by J Hunter
The beginning of Kendra Shank's new disc Mosaic doesn't bode well, as it opens with a song specifically sculpted for radio airplay. The track--a very beautiful, very faithful rendition of “So Far Away," Carole King's second-best ballad--would be equally at home on either Smooth Jazz radio or Adult Contemporary outfits looking to sound hip. The good ...
Will Sellenraad: Balance
by J Hunter
Will Sellenraad grew up in a place and time many people dream of: New York City's downtown scene of the '60s and '70s, when music and art were both in a state of quicksilver flux. Given that his parents (prominent New York artists themselves) named their son after modern-art pioneers William de Kooning and Piet Mondrian, ...
White Rocket: White Rocket
by J Hunter
Carnatic music--a product of southern India--is primarily performed by small groups, usually with a vocalist accompanied by some type of instrumental soloist; a rhythm section maintains the foundation and the drone during the performances. Although White Rocket's jazz inclinations give improvisation a bigger role then in standard Carnatic form, each piece on its debut disc has ...
Brad Shepik: Human Activity Suite
by J Hunter
Theoretically, it should be difficult to do protest music without lyrics; nevertheless, that hasn't stopped Terence Blanchard, Ben Allison, and--most recently--Jeff “Tain" Waits from launching heat-seeking discs aimed right at the heart of some of this decade's most sensitive political issues. Now it's guitarist Brad Shepik's turn at bat with Human Activity Suite, only he's done ...
Jason Rigby: The Sage
by J Hunter
When purists maintain their Cheney-like insistence that nobody could have foreseen Miles Davis recording something as incendiary as Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969), they reveal a blind spot the size of the Chrysler Building. The pre-Brew signs were as plain as the glasses on Stanley Crouch's face: First there was Filles de Kilimanjaro (Columbia, 1968), which codified ...
Clayton Brothers: Brother to Brother
by J Hunter
Jazz had a family thing going long before the Marsalises showed up; Jeff and John Clayton created Brother to Brother to showcase the sibling side of that equation. Wynton and Branford's music isn't touched on, but other related members of jazz royalty receive due deference either through loving covers or new compositions inspired by honorees. To ...
Blue Note 7: Mosaic: a Celebration of Blue Note Records
by J Hunter
Blue Note's 70th anniversary deserves more than a cake, a toast, and a chorus of “For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." To that end, The Blue Note 7's Mosaic: a Celebration of Blue Note Records is a collection of music from some of the imprint's greatest masters, as interpreted by a group of Blue Note's current ...
Avishai Cohen: Flood
by J Hunter
Using accepted standards, what would be the correct instrumental configuration to recreate a disaster of, literally, Biblical proportions? A fairly sizeable orchestra--or, at minimum, a big band with a talent for the chaotic--would seem mandatory. Well, Avishai Cohen (who, among many things, holds down the trumpet chair in the immeasurably talented family band 3 Cohens) chose ...
