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Jim Snidero: Strings
by Jack Bowers
Another saxophonist with strings. Ever since Charlie Parker first took the plunge in 1950, a goodly number of disciples has followed suit. Alto player Jim Snidero's deep dive, Strings, was actually recorded two decades ago, in 2001, and released to widespread acclaim on Milestone Records. The remastered edition, on Savant Records, is even better, thanks to ...
Vince Mendoza: Freedom Over Everything
by Jack Bowers
Freedom Over Everything is a rather tall order, one that New York-born composer & arranger Vince Mendoza has chosen to describe in musical terms—with help from the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and a number of guest artists including, on one track, the acclaimed American tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman— via a picturesque seven-movement “Concerto for Orchestra."
Medeljazz Quartet: Versature
by Jack Bowers
Versature is the third album by Paris-bred guitarist Laurent Medelgi and his quartet, Medeljazz, whose other members are pianist Nicolas Fabre, bassist Yves Rossignol and drummer Julien Augier. It should be noted at the outset that the foursome works well together and that nothing on the album is less than admirably performed. On ...
MONK'estra: MONK'estra Plays John Beasley
by Jack Bowers
The MONK'estra is actually a number of groups of various shapes and sizes, from duo to big band, assembled under the guiding hand of composer, arranger & pianist John Beasley to—wait for it!—"play John Beasley," an artist whose admiration for Thelonious Sphere Monk is clear throughout this buoyant and resourceful album, as it was on Volumes ...
Dave Liebman: Selflessness - The Music of John Coltrane
by Jack Bowers
It is always nice to have a goal in life, something that urges you to arise in the morning and face the day ahead. For saxophonist Dave Liebman, that goal means catching the “Trane" he has been chasing for more than sixty years--ever since, as a teenager, he first saw the legendary John Coltrane at Birdland ...
Randy Napoleon: Rust Belt Roots: Randy Napoleon Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green & Kenny Burrell
by Jack Bowers
One's response to jazz--indeed, to music of any kind--most often depends on where he or she is coming from. To erase any doubts about where he is coming from, guitarist Randy Napoleon has subtitled his album, Rust Belt Roots, “Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and Kenny Burrell." This is music born of a Midwestern ethos: Indianapolis ...
John Moulder: Metamorphosis
by Jack Bowers
As approximately fifty of the sixty-eight minutes on Chicago-based guitarist John Moulder's new CD, Metamorphosis, are devoted to the seven-part “Metamorphosis Suite," that seems an appropriate point at which to start any appraisal of its contents and purpose. First and foremost, it is clear that considerable thought was given to mapping the structure of the suite, ...
Lee Heerspink: Monsters' Impromptu
by Jack Bowers
There is ample energy and enthusiasm on Michigan-based guitarist Lee Heerspink's debut recording, Monsters' Impromptu, which consists of seven of the leader's funk/fusion-based compositions performed by an admirable quintet whose members are clearly in sync with Heerspink's assertive point of view, and lend him their unflagging support. Six of the seven compositions are ...
Eric Wyatt: A Song of Hope
by Jack Bowers
On A Song of Hope, his second album for Whaling City Sound, saxophonist Eric Wyatt offers more than hope; he offers assurance that contemporary jazz is alive and well in and around his home base of Brooklyn, NY. Wyatt, the godson of another rather well-known saxophonist, Sonny Rollins, performs in groups of various sizes, from quartet ...
Alexis Parsons: Alexis
by Jack Bowers
The self-named Alexis is the third album by New York-based vocalist Alexis Parsons. To showcase her talents, she has chosen a medley of standards (half a dozen) and lesser-known but engaging originals, opening and closing with the Cole Porter classics “Easy to Love" and “In the Still of the Night." Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwins, Kurt ...
