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Frank Wess: Magic 201
by Jack Bowers
The cover of the late Frank Wess' final album, Magic 201, closely resembles that of its predecessor, Magic 101--so much so that a reviewer who didn't look closely enough might assume he'd been sent a second copy of the earlier album by mistake. (Oops!) Wess recorded Magic 201 in September 2011, two months after Magic 101 ...
Lena Bloch: Feathery
by Jack Bowers
On one level, the Russian-born, New York-based tenor saxophonist Lena Bloch's debut album is like stepping into a time machine; on the other hand, one could argue that her approach to music in general and jazz in particular is timeless. Foremost among Bloch's influences are Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh and Lennie Tristano, and the mood on ...
The Clare Fischer Orchestra: Music for Strings, Percussion and the Rest
by Jack Bowers
Is this beautiful music, wonderfully played? Definitely. Is it jazz (or anything close to it)? Afraid not. Music for Strings, Percussion and the Rest is chamber music with a classical temperament, colorful and captivating, written (presumably over a period of some years) and conducted by one of the giants in that field, the late Dr. Clare ...
The Jim Olsen Ensemble: We See Stars
by Jack Bowers
For We See Stars, Oregon-based composer / arranger Jim Olsen has pared his usual big band down to a more manageable tentet but hasn't lessened the ebullience and ingenuity that are invariably a part of Olsen's broad palette. The album, Olsen says, evolved from a casual post-concert conversation in which he asked trumpeter Bobby Shew and ...
Dave Stryker: Eight Track
by Jack Bowers
On Eight Track, New York-based guitarist Dave Stryker's quartet takes the listener back some forty years or so to a time when there actually were eight-track tape players, relics on which Stryker listened to jazz and popular tunes of the day, several of which are reanimated on this tasteful and smoothly swinging album. Some of these ...
Mike Bardash Quintet: Polygon
by Jack Bowers
Mike Bardash, who has been playing piano since age five and performing in and around the New York City area for more than a quarter-century, gets right down to “Brass Tacks" on Polygon, which, as far as can be determined, is the first full-length album he has recorded as leader of a group, in this case ...
George Cables: Icons and Influences
by Jack Bowers
When a jazz musician has been around as long as pianist George Cables, and has seen, heard and performed with so many other world-class musicians, such interactions are bound to leave a lasting impression, and on the trio date Icons and Influences Cables warmly salutes a number of those who have helped frame his musical persona ...
Nova Jazz Orchestra: Concerto Nova & the Jazz Music of W.A. Mathieu
by Jack Bowers
The Nova Jazz Orchestra, which was founded in the twin cities of Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN, more than two decades ago and has been on an upward curve ever since, was formally introduced to the music of W.A. Mathieu--now fondly known to members of the orchestra as “Uncle Billy"--in 2011as part of the two-CD set ...
Stan Kenton Alumni Band: Road Scholars
by Jack Bowers
Road Scholars? A clever title indeed, but these gentlemen (and three ladies) are more akin to “road maestros," an appraisal that is abundantly clear from A to Z on this latest recording by trumpeter Mike Vax's turbo-charged Stan Kenton Alumni Band, taped at various concerts during the band's 2013 spring tour, a two-week, three-thousand-mile odyssey that ...
Daniel Smith: Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues
by Jack Bowers
All those who can resist reviewing--or reading a review about--a jazz / blues quartet led by a bassoonist, please raise your hands. No one? Very well, then, let us proceed. The bassoonist in question is Daniel Smith, and while his name may be unassuming, it would be good to report that there is nothing ordinary about ...
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