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Bill Mays and Friends: Mays Plays Mays
by Jack Bowers
Apart from whatever else it may entail, Mays Plays Mays surpasses most other recent enterprises thanks in large measure to pianist Bill Mays' singular artistry as composer, arranger and keyboard master. Now well into his seventh decade, Mays, who has made his living playing mostly other people's music, has devoted this album (for the most part) ...
Michael Zilber: East West / Music for Big Bands
by Jack Bowers
On East West, his first-ever big-band enterprise, Canadian-born saxophonist Michael Zilber leads world-class ensembles in New York City and San Francisco, which speaks volumes about his artistry and gravitas. Zilber not only plays saxophone on both bands, he composed eight of the fourteen numbers on this handsome two-CD set and arranged all of them.
Lolly Allen: Coming Home
by Jack Bowers
There was a time, and it wasn't that long ago, when women in jazzapart from singers and the occasional pianistwere seen by many observers as unsolicited interlopers whose impact in what was essentially a male bastion could be no more than minimal at best. Needless to say that is no longer the case, as women's voices ...
Gareth Bane - Pat Belliveau - Keith O'Rourke: Baritone Madness
by Jack Bowers
Like America's earlier Three Baritone Saxophone Band (Gary Smulyan, Ronnie Cuber, the late Nick Brignola), Canada's Baritone Madness teams three baritone saxophonists (Keith O'Rourke, Pat Belliveau, Gareth Bane) with bass and drums (no piano) for an engaging program which is centered mainly in the lower register but earns high marks for resourcefulness and enthusiasm.
Dave Stryker: Eight Track Christmas
by Jack Bowers
No, you needn't scour the woods searching for an eight-track tape player (good luck with that). Guitarist Dave Stryker's Eight Track Christmas refers not to outmoded recording / playback equipment but to his Eight Track Band (actually a quartet) and its album of songs for the 2019 holiday season. As those who've heard the group perform ...
Doug MacDonald & the Tarmac Ensemble: Jazz Marathon 4: Live at Hangar 18
by Jack Bowers
As befits a Jazz Marathon, guitarist Doug MacDonald's Live at Hangar 18 embodies not one but two CDs, complete with shifting personnel and groups that range from quintet to septet. This is the fourth in a recorded series of marathons conceived by producer Don Thomson and led by MacDonald with a supporting cast that boasts a ...
Roger Kellaway: The Many Open Minds Of Roger Kellaway
by Jack Bowers
Criticize pianist Roger Kellaway? You must be kidding. Describe Roger Kellaway? That's a fair bet and far more advisable. Kellaway, who is eighty years old as this is being written, embodies the boundless exuberance, creative power and impeccable technique of any player half his age, all of which he displays unfailingly on The Many Open Minds ...
Chelsea McBride's Socialist Night School: Aftermath
by Jack Bowers
Aftermath is the second album by composer / arranger / tenor saxophonist Chelsea McBride's Toronto-based Socialist Night School. It's a bright-eyed ensemble, comprised for the most part of young musicians who are fully on board with McBride's contemporary approach to big-band jazz (think Muhal Richard Abrams, Julius Hemphill, Darcy James Argue or Charles Mingus with a ...
Pat LaBarbera Kirk MacDonald Quintet: Trane of Thought, Live at the Rex
by Jack Bowers
Sometimes the name of an album can be a dead giveaway. Clearly, tenors Pat La Barbera and Kirk MacDonald, the co-leaders of this admirable quintet from north of the border, are enthusiastic admirers and champions of the late great saxophonist John Coltrane. Disciples, yes, but leagues away from slavish imitators. LaBarbera and MacDonald have strong and ...
UNT One O'Clock Lab Band: Lab 2019
by Jack Bowers
UNT is the University of North Texas, home to the country's flagship Jazz Studies program since its inception in the mid-1940s, and home as well to no less than a dozen undergraduate big bands, each one named for its daily rehearsal time. Pride of place goes to the One O'Clock ensemble whose special artistry has been ...


