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Electric Squeezebox Orchestra: Cheap Rent
by Jack Bowers
Yes, the name is intriguing--but what should one expect musically from the San Francisco-based Electric Squeezebox Orchestra? Bits and pieces of a number of disparate elements, really, from straight-ahead contemporary motifs to shuffle beats and old-line swing, from down-home New Orleans rhythms to throwback grooves from the '70s and even a seductive ballad. What matters most ...
Juli Wood Quartet: Synkka Metsa (Dark Forest)
by Dan McClenaghan
When the subject of Finnish jazz is mentioned, the names Iro Haarla (piano), Vernie Pohjola (trumpet), Juhani Aaltonenen (saxophone) and Heikki Sarmanto could get tossed about as four from Finland who are producing superb recordings on TUM Records. The “Finnish sound" tends toward a reflective and often melancholy minor key mode, with smoldering freedom that at ...
Unhinged Sextet: Clarity
by David A. Orthmann
The mainstream of jazz could use more recordings like Clarity, a recently released venture by the cooperative Unhinged Sextet. On every track there's something genuinely enjoyable and thought provoking going on, yet the disc doesn't suffer from information overload. The sense of excessive exertion, overt athleticism, sanctimonious references to key points of the jazz tradition--not to ...
Michael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
by Jack Bowers
Wherever You Go, There You Are is akin to visiting pianist Michael Kocour's living room or den for an hour or so and lingering while he entertains you with his singular takes on a number of favorite songs, most of which you've probably heard before but seldom played as well as this. Kocour's lyrical style has ...
Michael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
by C. Michael Bailey
Solo piano recitals have a refreshing quality about them. The instrument's and by proxy, the performer's, thoughts are undiluted and benefit from the lack of competition with other voices. Pianist, composer, and educator Michael Kocour offers a collection of standards and originals that provide a case-in-point. In an even ten selections, Kocour carves a collection of ...
Unhinged Sextet: Clarity
by Edward Blanco
The debut recording from one of the most exciting new groups around, Clarity documents a boppish session of straight ahead traditional jazz delivered by the Unhinged Sextet, a well-seasoned cast of players from all corners of the country who have joined forces for this dynamic recording. Led by pianist Michael Kocour, Director of Jazz Studies at ...
Michael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
by David A. Orthmann
Wherever You Go, There You Are, Michael Kocour's energetic, deeply focused, imaginatively performed solo recital, is a patchwork of eight, twentieth-century jazz and popular songs, as well as two of the pianist's original compositions. On the one hand, Kocour is clearly cognizant of the original intent and the performance history of material ranging from “Con Alma," ...
Two OA2 Records Releases Featuring Pianist Michael Kocour
by Mark Sullivan
Two recent releases from OA2 Records feature piano playing and production by Michael Kocour, a longtime member of the Chicago jazz scene (and a regular sideman with the late James Moody and Benny Golson). He has been director of jazz studies at Arizona State University since 2004. Unhinged Sextet Clarity OA2 ...
Barney McClure: Show Me!
by Jack Bowers
While organist Barney McClure receives top billing on this exhilarating new album, he is happy to share it, for good reason, with the superlative Central Washington University Jazz Band from Ellensburg. As McClure asserts in the liner notes, “I was no more than a lucky rider on the bus." Well, a bit more than that, Barney, ...
Danny Green Trio: After the Calm
by Edward Blanco
San Diego-based pianist/composer and educator Danny Green polishes off his third album as leader with the exceptional After the Calm offering ten outstanding original compositions of the mainstream contemporary nature blending a bit of the aggressive groove with a good portion of intimate jazz ballads and just a touch of Brazil for good measure and variety. ...
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