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Article: Album Review

Chris Pitsiokos Trio: Gordian Twine

Read "Gordian Twine" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 14, 2015

Saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos answers a slight variation of the classic Zen koan, what is the sound of one hand ripping a telephone book in two? It is this: alphabetical orderliness counts, but then again so does maelstrom. Gordian Twine, his debut as a leader, showcases his organizational and compositional skills, and, maybe more importantly, it places ...

Article: Album Review

Bobby Bradford & John Carter Quintet: No U Turn: Live In Pasadena, 1975

Read "No U Turn: Live In Pasadena, 1975" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 14, 2015

History, it is said, is written by the victors. With jazz history, the story is too often written by New Yorkers, or at least those east of the Mississippi. Listeners with inquisitive minds are required to dig deeper, into record bins and into interviews with musicians to learn about players that did not make New York ...

Article: Album Review

Nate Wooley: Battle Pieces

Read "Battle Pieces" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 2, 2015

Someday trumpeter Nate Wooley is going to sell-out, abandon his principles, and make a smooth jazz record. He will give in to the pull of commercial success and create a disc of elevator music which can be played, but taken no heed of. I jest, because everything he creates necessitates the ear and mind's ...

Article: Album Review

Kirk Knuffke: Arms & Hands

Read "Arms & Hands" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
March 26, 2015

Sometime, watch children as they eat the M&Ms. They will separate the colors into several piles--green, red, brown, yellow, orange, and blue. It's not that each color tastes different, except for maybe blue--I don't remember ever seeing that color before. Nonetheless, they go about savoring each color batch as an independent experience. Those little candies come ...

Article: Album Review

Matt Pavolka: The Horns Band

Read "The Horns Band" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
March 1, 2015

I played Matt Pavolka's The Horns Band for a friend who immediately noticed that the very impressive list of acknowledgements contained more nods to literary and intellectual heavyweights such as Jose Saramago, Cormac McCarthy and Soren Kierkegaard than to musicians (the band members and Guillermo Klein). Perhaps Pavolka's intent was to show that he's interested in ...

Article: Album Review

Luis Lascano: Some Trips

Read "Some Trips" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 4, 2014

Luis Lascano may call New York home now, but his music still speaks strongly of his Argentinian origins. On this debut, the bassist delivers six enchanting modern jazz numbers delivered with strong South American accents. Some Trips opens on “El Mandril," a number that lives at the intersection of elegance and allure. Violinist ...

Article: Album Review

The David Ullmann 8: Corduroy

by Dave Wayne
November 10, 2014

I have to admit to suffering a bit of cognitive dissonance upon listening to David Ullmann's Corduroy. Ullmann's original compositions, expertly played by an ensemble comprised of Brooklyn's top-drawer modern jazz talent, are ostensibly inspired by television themes from the 70s. For me, 70s television themes evoke gritty, urban sounds full of clavinet, fuzz-wah Rhodes, funky ...

Article: Album Review

Andy Biskin Ibid: Act Necessary

Read "Act Necessary" reviewed by Libero Farnè

by Libero Farnè
September 22, 2014

Questo CD del nuovo quartetto Ibid, anomalo nel coniugare tre fiati e una batteria, rappresenta l'ultimo approdo dell'onnivoro Andy Biskin, nato in Texas, formatosi alla Yale University e con molte esperienze nel suo bagaglio musicale. Si percepiscono echi del passato nel percorso movimentato di Act Necessary; evidentemente Biskin appartiene a quella schiera di artisti che non ...

Article: Album Review

Andy Biskin's Ibid: Act Necessary

Read "Act Necessary" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
August 28, 2014

A working jazz musician in New York City and environs since 1991, clarinetist, composer, and filmmaker Andy Biskin is a modern-day Renaissance Man. The Texas native was already a fixture in San Antonio's polka scene (yes, people, this is a thing) as a teenager, Biskin attended Yale where he double-majored in music and anthropology. Later, he ...

Article: Extended Analysis

Max Johnson: Big Eyed Rabbit

by Karl Ackermann
July 10, 2014

Bassist Max Johnson is one of the most prolific and versatile musician/composers in music today and likely on the verge of a major breakthrough. Barely past the year's mid-point Johnson has offered three fine releases with different groups and distinctly different styles. Recording with Kirk Knuffke on cornet on Johnson's namesake trio release The Invisible Trio ...