Home » Search Center » Results: Jack Bowers
Results for "Jack Bowers"
The Lars Jansson Trio: Witnessing
by Jack Bowers
Good as this Swedish trio is -- and trust me, it’s very good -- it is pianist Lars Jansson’s exceptional talents as composer / arranger that raise it well above the ordinary. Every song on the album is Jansson’s, and had he misfired, the enterprise could have fallen flat on its face; instead it soars on ...
The Ronny Johansson Trio: Jubilee
by Jack Bowers
A splendid piano trio album from Sweden, Jubilee is beautifully played and beautifully recorded as well. While the names were new to me, it was clear from the outset that Messrs. Johansson, Mori and Karlsson have played together on more than one occasion. Each anticipates the others’ every move and reacts without question or pause, the ...
The Kjell Jansson Quartet: Zonk
by Jack Bowers
I don’t know how many jazz groups in Sweden are able to make a decent living, but judging from the number of albums that have recently emerged from that snow-swept country, a large number are evidently trying. Coincidentally, Zonk is the second disc I’ve reviewed within a week that consists entirely of original compositions by the ...
The Tolvan Big Band: A Walk in the Centerpoint
by Jack Bowers
When it comes to swinging in a contemporary groove, Sweden’s Tolvan Big Band takes a back seat to no one. This is a killer ensemble, able to stare down the most formidable charts without flinching or even blinking an eye. Regardless of mood or tempo the sense of forward motion is always there, thanks to fastidious ...
We Get Letters . . .
by Jack Bowers
April has brought warmer weather, buds on trees and a lot of rain to Charlotte but not much in the way of big-band news, which affords an opportunity to share with you an interesting response from bassist Terry Douds to my recent review of singer Brienn Perry’s album Live at FitzGerald’s with the Woody Herman Orchestra ...
Brienn Perry and the Woody Herman Orchestra: Live at FitzGerald's
by Jack Bowers
Although recorded Live at FitzGerald’s in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, singer Brienn Perry’s date with the Woody Herman Orchestra has “Las Vegas showroom” written all over it. Perhaps that’s Perry’s next stop; he certainly has the talent and personality to make a splash in the land of glitz and glitter. Have voice, will travel? A ...
Tom Pierson: Planet of Tears
by Jack Bowers
Composer/pianist Tom Pierson, who now lives in Japan, recorded the music on Planet of Tears, much of it with his New York City-based big band, more than a dozen years ago. On the one hand, Pierson is a splendid writer/arranger with a well-defined game plan. (Gil Evans once called him “the best unknown composer I know.”) ...
The Empire Jazz Orchestra: Anniversary
by Jack Bowers
Any time a big band in this country marks its tenth anniversary (or even its first), it’s a cause for celebration -- which is exactly what the Empire Jazz Orchestra did last October, taping much of the music on its third album during a gala decade concert at its home base, Schenectady (NY) Community College.
Walt Harper: West Coast Online
by Jack Bowers
Pianist Walt Harper, who makes his home in Pittsburgh, PA, took Horace Greeley’s advice eight years ago and went west to record this splendid album with a group of all-star sidemen from Southern California. It was good advice. Those who appreciate big-band jazz that strives to blend Ellington’s unrivaled ingenuity with Basie’s elegantly swinging groove will ...
The University of Central Oklahoma: Jazz Ensembles I and II, 1991-2000
by Jack Bowers
A two-disc anthology of surprisingly sharp and powerful big-band jazz by the University of Central Oklahoma’s Ensembles I and II, recorded -- with one exception -- during a nine-year span of concert performances at the Wichita (KS) Jazz Festival. Surprising only because we weren’t familiar with the UCO program, which clearly has flourished under directors Kent ...
Album Showcase
Trending
In Tribute To...
Points of View: Celebrating Dave Holland
In Tribute To...
John Coltrane At 100: A Global Perspective
Jazz Raconteurs
Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a...
Live Review
Detroit Jazz Festival 2026: A Gathering in a Great Jazz City
Profile
Sequoia Snyder: Growing in the Light of the Masters
Paul's Picks
New York City Jazz Performance Preview: Fall 2026
Interview
Jasur Khalilov: From Falak to Fusion
VOTE!
