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Simin Tander: Softly, As In A Morning Dew
by Ian Patterson
For many people around the world, the word jazz evokes a singer in a bar, club, restaurant or hotel, reworking the standards of yore. Vocal jazz has such a high profile, relatively speaking, because radio stations and TV stations largely balk at the idea of instrumental music, and, easy listening-as a lot of vocal jazz tends ...
Miles Okazaki: Cleaning the Mirror
by Daniel Lehner
In the backyard of his home in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, guitarist Miles Okazaki has spent time constructing a multifaceted backyard/garden filled with overhanging plants, stone walkways and a wooden pavilion surrounding a table and benches. The slats of the pavilion's floor seem to have been crafted merely for aesthetic purposes, but there's another process at work: ...
Linda Oh: Initial Here
by Mark F. Turner
President Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote, “Walk softly and carry a big stick," epitomizes Linda Oh, the soft-spoken bassist/composer who draws total respect with her intrepid musicianship. With her highly acclaimed self-released debut, Entry (2010), and increased visibility through recording dates and gigs like Dave Douglas' “Tea for 3" Tour, Oh is emerging as one of jazz's ...
Amir ElSaffar: At Two Rivers' Confluence
by Daniel Lehner
There was a point during Amir ElSaffar's study of Arabic music where he almost didn't come back to jazz. He had gone to Iraq to study maqam, the system of melodic modes in traditional Arabic music, in order to bring some of the concepts into jazz. However, the experience proved to be a deepening one for ...
Steve Coleman: Symbols and Language
by Ian Patterson
Saxophonist Steve Coleman's The Mancy of Sound (Pi Recordings, 2011) was one of the records of 2011. Thematically and structurally challenging on the one hand, dynamic and funky on the other, the music's contrasts reflect Coleman's view of the world, in all its complexity and simplicity. Coleman's fierce intellect carries simple logic, wrapped in many-layered waves ...
Steve Coleman and Five Elements: The Mancy of Sound
by Ian Patterson
Although alto saxophonist Steve Coleman's conceptual approach to composition has grown increasingly adventurous, high-brow or esoteric, depending on your viewpoint--with lunar phases and the Yoruba of West Africa's philosophical system providing inspiration here--The Mancy of Sound merely represents Coleman's relationship to the world, which is the font of most music of worth. Retaining the same musicians ...
Eyal Hareuveni's Best Releases of 2011
by Eyal Hareuveni
A list that represent only the tip of many excellent releases that I have listened to in 2011. In no particular order... New Releases: Amir ElSaffarInanaPi Another great release by the excellent trumpet player and composer who weaves modal music of the Iraqi ...
Steve Coleman and Five Elements: The Mancy of Sound
by Mark F. Turner
A saxophonist of a different order--part griot, theorist, numerologist, and incessant seeker of knowledge-- Steve Coleman continues to forge new paths in creative music. He's influenced more of today's forward thinking artists than almost anyone in recent memory with his proven M-Base concepts. His critically acclaimed 2010 recording, Harvesting Semblances and Affinities (Pi Recordings), was a ...
Jen Shyu and Mark Dresser - Synastry (Pi Recordings, 2011)
Vocalist Jen Shyu and bassist Mark Dresser are uniquely qualified to perform in a duet setting together. After Shyu began studying with saxophonist and musical theorist Steve Coleman, she was soon invited to join his band, adding a fascinating new dimension to his recent albums. Mark Dresser has had a very successful career in all aspects ...
