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Kenny Kotwitz & the L.A. Jazz Quintet: When Lights Are Low
by Jack Bowers
Imagine the following conversation: “Hi, my name is Kenny Kotwitz. I'm an accordionist and I want to record a centennial tribute to Art van Damme. Would you care to join me?" Okay, it probably didn't go down quite like that but the premise, in these days of rap, heavy metal, acid rock, new wave, bubblegum pop, ...
Black Art Jazz Collective: Ascension
by Jack Bowers
On Ascension, the Black Art Jazz Collective, a like-minded sextet co-founded in 2012 by trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery to salute the artistry of their mentors and musical heroes while moving the idiom forward into the twenty-first century, is unbending in its allegiance to the straight-ahead canon espoused by the architects of modern jazz. ...
Marvin Stamm, Mike Holober, Mike McGuirk, Dennis Mackrel: Live at Maureen's Jazz Cellar
by Jack Bowers
Marvin Stamm, Mike Holober, Mike McGuirk and Dennis Mackrel; when musicians of that caliber gather onstage to record a live supper club session, even the diners snap to attention and harken closely lest any phrase or nuance eludes the ears. Such was the case on a December evening in 2019 at Maureen's Jazz Cellar in Nyack, ...
Zeena Quinn: Going My Way
by Jack Bowers
With so many singers these days competing to tempt the ears of an ever-shrinking jazz audience, success often rests not only on the talents of the vocalist but on the songs he or she chooses to interpret. On Going My Way, San Francisco-based vocalist Zeena Quinn puts her best foot forward on the opening numbers, “Lover" ...
Adam Shulman Septet: West Meets East
by Jack Bowers
The “west" here is represented by San Francisco-based pianist and group leader Adam Shulman, the “east" by the other half-dozen members of Shulman's impressive septet. Even though the reasons that led to the alliance are ambiguous, what matters is the payoff, and that is more than admirable from any vantage point. As if ...
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol: The Rise Up
by Jack Bowers
Yes, the boundaries of jazz have spread far beyond any perimeter its early enthusiasts could have envisioned. Yes, the idea for composer / arranger Mehmet Ali Sanlikol's The Rise Up was advanced by saxophonist Dave Liebman--and yes, there's no way to downgrade his jazz credentials. Liebman, Sanlikol says, asked that the piece draw from Turkish and ...
Falkner Evans: Marbles
by Jack Bowers
On his fifth recording as leader, pianist / composer Falkner Evans has expanded his group size from trio (the first three) and quintet (the fourth) to sextet with vibraphonist Steve Nelson added on three of the album's ten numbers, the first nine of which were written by Evans. Even though this was a one-off, Evans' teammates ...
Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra: Urban(e)
by Jack Bowers
Most Western music, irrespective of its origin and premise, inhabits the same harmonic, chordal and rhythmic universe. So it should not be surprising that classical music, in the hands of a skilled arranger, can be readily recast in a jazz idiom, even one that is housed within a big-band framework. On Urban(e), trombonist Mike Fahie's New ...
Gregory Dudzienski Quartet: Beautiful Moments
by Jack Bowers
There are many Beautiful Moments on Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Gregory Dudzienski's second CD under his name, some of which enfold his warm-blooded tenor, others the spirited give-and-take with his blue-chip quartet whose other members are pianist Chris White, bassist Kelly Sill and drummer Jeff Stitely. Yes, Dudzienski is heavily influenced by the music of the 1950s ...
Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra: The Planets: Reimagined
by Jack Bowers
The Planets, a picturesque seven-movement suite written more than a hundred years ago (1914-16) by the English composer Gustav Holst, has been marvelously Reimagined in a present-day framework by film scenarist Jeremy Levy and his superlative Los Angeles-based Jazz Orchestra in a medley that safeguards the tantalizing flavor of the original while adding sufficient seasoning and ...
