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Howard University Jazz Ensemble: Beatrice
by Jack Bowers
One sure sign of spring is the arrival of the latest studio recording by the always exemplary Howard University Jazz Ensemble, a tradition that dates to 1976, one year after Fred Irby III (who remains its first and only music director) founded the Washington, DC-based ensemble. Unlike most of these enterprises, which are labeled HUJE followed ...
Sam Kirmayer: Opening Statement
by Jack Bowers
Whenever a group of young musicians (in this case a guitar-led quartet from Montreal) makes its recording debut, a number of questions quickly arise. First and foremost, can they play? Check. Do they swing? Check. Is the music bright and refreshing? Check. Are they sharp and enthusiastic? Check. Do they blend well as a team? Check ...
Cory Weeds & the Jeff Hamilton Trio: Dreamsville
by Jack Bowers
Even though the substance and framework of jazz are constantly changing and evolving, the music's bedrock--marked by spontaneity and free-wheeling swing--remains essentially unimpaired and secure. And when it comes to swinging, it's hard to eclipse the irrepressible pulse of the tenor saxophone, an instrument whose long and enduring ties to jazz and swing have been epitomized ...
Endemic Ensemble: Tangled
by Jack Bowers
Notwithstanding a name that sounds like it could be contagious, the Endemic Ensemble is actually a commendable Seattle-based post-bop quintet whose second recording, Tangled, is packed to the brim with luminous melodies, splendid charts and engaging solos by all hands. While nominally a co-op group, the ensemble was founded in 2010 by bassist Steve Messick who ...
Millennium Jazz Orchestra: Lookin' East
by Jack Bowers
The Netherlands, with a population less than that of New York State, is home to no less than four of the world's most accomplished jazz ensembles--the Metropole Orchestra, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, the Ebony Big Band and the Millennium Jazz Orchestra whose latest album, Lookin' East, does nothing to subvert its status as a ...
Jim Casey: Miles Goes Wes
by Jack Bowers
Here's a straightforward album with a rather intriguing title --Miles Goes Wes, Texas-bred guitarist Jim Casey's unassuming homage to a pair of jazz icons, Messrs Davis and Montgomery. While the session lays heavy emphasis from end to end on funky backbeats and assertive percussion, Casey strives to nurture interest by varying the group size and instrumentation, ...
KMJO: Common Ground
by Jack Bowers
KMJO is shorthand for the Kirk MacDonald Jazz Orchestra, and Common Ground is the third recording by the splendid Toronto-based group, following the well-received Deep Shadows (2011) and Family Suite for Large Ensemble (2012). This time around, the orchestra performs compositions by MacDonald arranged by one of Canada's premier co-pilots, Joe Sullivan. The ...
Chelsea McBride's Socialist Night School: The Twilight Fall
by Jack Bowers
As is the case with her largely anomalous music, composer / arranger Chelsea McBride's Toronto-based Socialist Night School is less a brick-and-mortar academy than a malleable concept, open to almost whatever definition the viewer (or listener) has in mind. McBride doesn't simply “write" music, she “sees" it, much as a painter visualizes what is to adorn ...
Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra: Invitation
by Jack Bowers
Here's how to make sure a five-star big-band album receives a four-star review: assemble a group of the finest musicians within a stone's throw or two of the chosen locale, place them in a recording studio, hand them superlative charts to read --then add vocals. In this case three of same, pretty much undermining what is ...
The University of Toronto 12tet: Trillium Falls
by Jack Bowers
This is an altogether sunny and pleasing session by the splendid University of Toronto 12tet, which sounds at times like a full-fledged big band, at others like a leaner and more even-tempered chamber jazz group. The songs and arrangements, most by members of the ensemble (including a couple by director Terry Promane), are lush and lyrical, ...
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