Home » Search Center » Results: James Taylor
Results for "James Taylor"
Nine Winds: Face in the Mirror and Fancy Meeting You Here
by James Taylor
Vincent Golia has quietly built a powerhouse indie jazz label at Nine Winds. Since its establishment in 1977, the label has documented jazz's unappreciated West Coast, releasing albums from Nels Cline, Kim Richmond, Tony Malaby, George Lewis, Wadada Leo Smith and the multi-instrumentalist Golia. One of Nine Winds' strongest forces right now is pianist/composer ...
Bo van de Graaf: Ticket
by James Taylor
Ticket, the latest from I Company leader Bo van de Graaf, is the second of two musical tributes to New York City to come out in 2004 (the other being El-P's Thirsty Ear Records release High Water). But unlike that electronic-tinged Matthew Shipp/El-P collaboration, Ticket (specifically, a “musical impression of the NYC subway ) is an ...
Christophe Studer/Lucien Dubuis: Madame Chili
by James Taylor
Madame Chili pairs clarinetist Lucien Dubuis with pianist Christophe Studer for a collection of duets that are both intelligent and entertaining. The record, released late last year by the Swiss artists collective/label Unit Records, is one of the more interesting duo records to appear in some time, documening well two artists who are likely unfamiliar to ...
Keith Jarrett: Radiance
by James Taylor
Albums like Radiance always amaze me. The intimacy of listening to an incredible and accomplished musician like Keith Jarrett shed soul for all, engaging in self-conversation, meditation, and improvisation, is undeniably where it's at. Radiance, ECM's recent two-disc release of solo material, ranks right up there with The Koln Concert, Jarrett's lauded 1975 classic.
Plate Fork Knife Spoon: Plate Fork Knife Spoon
by James Taylor
Plate Fork Knife Spoon is billed as a blend of organic hip-hop and funk-infused jazz. I hate when people describe groove-heavy soul-jazz groups as “a blend of hip-hop and jazz. Hip-hop should showcase either a DJ or an MC--one or the other, preferably both, is at the heart of all hip-hop. Plate Fork ...
Albert Ayler: Live on the Riviera
by James Taylor
Albert Ayler's saxophone sound was raw and unfettered. Ayler's life, like his sound, was the personification of the blues. Sorrowful and excitable, both mournful and full of life, Ayler's sound was the sound of the human voice set free. That's why critics are afraid of him--like all revolutionaries, Ayler said things people don't like to hear. ...
Us3: Questions
by James Taylor
I'm a child of the hip-hop generation, so a lot of great music, I'm not ashamed to say, came to me through hip-hop. Us3 turned me on to Herbie Hancock in the same way that Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg turned me on to Parliament and DJ Shadow turned me on to David Axelrod.So ...
The Soul Rebels: Rebelution
by James Taylor
New Orleans-bred Soul Rebels make gumbo music. In their Creole stew they brew hip-hop, funk, jazz, reggae, and second line brass band flavors. Rebelution is only the decade-old ensemble's fourth album, but it shows an incredible maturity and tightness that can only come from habitual live performance.Soul Rebels was formed by former drum majors ...
Fred Hess Quartet: Crossed Paths
by James Taylor
Saxophonist Fred Hess' latest release on the independent Colorado-based Tapestry label is his quartet's best. With trumpeter Ron Miles, bassist Ken Filiano, and drummer Matt Wilson, Crossed Paths features a more tight-knit unit and a composer more comfortable writing for this particular ensemble. Like eclectic trumpeter Dave Douglas, the unheralded Hess is versed ...
William Parker on Freedom
by James Taylor
This month, bassist William Parker celebrates the release of Luc's Lantern, his most recent recording for acclaimed Thirsty Ear Records. With pianist Matthew Shipp, as a part of David S. Ware's prolific quartet, with Cecil Taylor, Fred Anderson and others, the enigmatic performer has recorded over thirty albums, and almost that many as a leader himself. ...
