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Chris Potter: Underground
by Paul Olson
Anyone who's been floored in the last few years by a particular live or recorded performance by Chris Potter--whether he was fronting his own group or playing, say, with Dave Holland or Dave Douglas--may raise an eyebrow at this statement, but here it comes anyway.He's gotten even better.If you weren't at the ...
Tim Berne: Superstitious Pragmatist
by Paul Olson
Alto saxophonist/composer Tim Berne's been an enormous presence in improvised music for over twenty-five years. Although he didn't pick up the alto until he was nineteen years old, he had moved to New York City and begun lessons with his great mentor Julius Hemphill by the time he was 20, in 1974. Berne's been notable for ...
Odyssey the Band: Back in Time
by Paul Olson
Guitarist/vocalist James “Blood Ulmer has managed to recreate himself as a bluesman in the last few years, as he convincingly demonstrated on last year's Birthright (Hyena). On that set of unaccompanied solo pieces, Ulmer somehow made his wildly unique unison tuning and Ornette-derived harmolodic sensibility sound like the very essence of the blues. It was the ...
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey: Three-Way Street
by Paul Olson
There's no better gigging band than the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. The trio of pianist Brian Haas, bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Jason Smart ought to be a great live band--Haas and Mathis have been playing together for well over a decade (Smart joined the band more recently) and have, year after year, maintained a tour ...
Mark O'Leary: Levitation
by Paul Olson
Mark O'Leary may not be the best-known guitarist around--it's perhaps a little harder to get attention when you're based in Cork, Ireland. But what O'Leary lacks in public profile is more than made up for by his immense talent and originality. Levitation is one of four sessions recorded on his own dime over the course of ...
Barry Romberg: No Soap Radio
by Paul Olson
Toronto drummer/Romhog Records factotum Barry Romberg probably needs to go out and get some sun and fresh air. Fortunately for us, however, he can't be bothered; he's too busy toiling in the bowels of his Romhog Digital studio making recordings like No Soap Radio, the fourth in his Random Access series. The Random Access formula's simple ...
Charlie Peacock: Accepting the Gift of Freedom
by Paul Olson
Charlie Peacock's been in the music business for twenty-five years; his recordings as a solo artist and producer (Amy Grant, Al Green, CeCe Winans, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Switchfoot) in the pop, gospel and alternative rock genres have sold millions of records. I'll admit I looked askance at his new jazz CD Love Press Ex-Curio--prejudiced by his ...
Wallace Roney: Fulfilling the Promise
by Paul Olson
Trumpeter Wallace Roney has been working in jazz for over thirty years. He made his recording debut at age fourteen and played in the bands of Tony Williams, Art Blakey, David Murray and Herbie Hancock—just to name a few. A bandleader on his own for many years, Roney has dazzling chops and has composed some classic ...
Greg Burk: Everyone Should Be Present
by Paul Olson
Pianist Greg Burk first came to listeners' attention during his tenure with Russ Gershon's Either/Orchestra, appearing on their Afro-Cubism and Neo-Modernism albums while simultaneously releasing his own CDs Checking In and Carpe Momentum. This year has seen Burk do the almost impossible: in a jazz world crowded with superstar pianists, he's put out the best piano ...
Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings: Other Stories (Three Suites)
by Paul Olson
This is not a “cornet with strings album.Cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum does include a string quartet on Other Stories, and he certainly plays cornet on the record--but anyone hoping for an hour of standard jazz soloing over strings will be nonplussed. Anyone else will simply be astonished and delighted. As the album's title states, ...
