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Gene Ess: One Note Says It All
by Paul Olson
Guitarist Gene Ess--born Gene Shimosato--grew up on an American military base in Okinawa, Japan, and the eclectic mix of music he was exposed to there gave him a far-reaching enthusiasm for music. It also, perhaps, pulled him away from the classical piano his mother had encouraged him to pursue. A musical scholarship sent him to the ...
Ted Reichman: My Ears Are Bent
by Paul Olson
Composer/accordionist Ted Reichman is an integral part of the New York musical community, whether he's leading the Ted Reichman Emigré Band or playing as sideman in John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet. For My Ears Are Bent, Reichman takes the accordion right out of the picture. Instead, he employs pump organ, percussion, bass, guitar and piano (plenty of ...
Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Husky
by Paul Olson
Tenor saxman Skerik is such an irrepressible personality on his horn, and such a joyously human presence in groups like Critters Buggin', Garage à Trois and Bobby Previte's Coalition of the Willing, that it's sometimes easy to underestimate him and think of his talents as more instinctive and spontaneous than analytic or accomplished. The wryness of ...
Dave Douglas: Music, Commerce and Culture Wars
by Paul Olson
Trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas is one of the best-known players and bandleaders in jazz music. With countless performances, groups and recordings to his credit, his success hardly seems surprising, or anything less than hard-earned. One struggles to list his accomplishments. If you randomly name a New-York-based improvisational heavyweight, Douglas has probably played with him. His longstanding role ...
Anthony Burr / Oscar Noriega / Chris Speed: The Clarinets
by Paul Olson
The Clarinets is both the name of the all-clarinet improvisational trio of Chris Speed, Oscar Noriega and Anthony Burr, and the title of their new CD, the first release on Speed's new Skirl Records imprint. Here Speed (on clarinet), Noriega (on bass clarinet and clarinet) and Burr (on bass clarinet) explore the possibilities of their instruments ...
Sao Paulo Underground: Sauna: Um, Dois, Tres
by Paul Olson
Expatriate Chicagoan cornetist/composer Rob Mazurek has been on an impressive run of musical projects and recordings; recent Mandarin Movie and Chicago Underground Duo releases pretty strongly undermine any notion that his move to Manaus, Brazil has been anything but inspiring. Sauna: Um, Dois, Três, the debut from Mazurek's new Underground collaboration with Brazilian drummer/programmer/trumpeter Mauricio Takara, ...
Heernt: Locked in a Basement
by Paul Olson
Mark Guiliana's work in Avishai Cohen's trio has more than demonstrated his rhythmic wit and precision in a consistently demanding musical setting. The drummer takes on the bandleader role with his new trio Heernt, whose debut, Locked in a Basement, reveals a sonic concept unlike Cohen's--and to Guiliana's credit, unlike anyone's. This is ...
Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa: Raw Materials
by Paul Olson
Pianist Vijay Iyer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa are long-time collaborators. Mahanthappa's an important member of Iyer's quartet and vice-versa, and the two have produced a substantial body of recorded work together.The two musicians' ten-year-old Raw Materials duo project, however, has remained officially undocumented until now. The important release of Raw Materials fills a ...
Avishai Cohen: Continuo
by Paul Olson
No bassist on the contemporary jazz scene is more technically able than Avishai Cohen, nor more immediately recognizable on a recording: his muscular, singing tone and richly melodic lines are unique. He's also got one of the tightest trios on earth, and the countless gigs pianist Sam Barsh and drummer Mark Guiliana have played with Cohen ...
Donny McCaslin: Close to the Spirit
by Paul Olson
California-born, New York-based saxophonist Donny McCaslin has become an overnight sensation. Except that he's not--he's been playing tenor (as well as other reeds and flute) with all sorts of heavyweights for years, including Gary Burton, Mike Manieri's Steps Ahead, Brian Blade and Danilo Pérez. McCaslin was a co-founder of the collaborative band Lan ...
