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Results for "Pheeroan AkLaff"
Cecil McBee: Masterful, And Always Equipped
by R.J. DeLuke
Cecil McBee is one of the finest bass players on the scene, a status he's held among musicians for many years, even if the public is slower to pick up on the achievements of this 79-year-old musician extraordinaire. A natural, he was quick to connect with musicians in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. But ...
Henry Threadgill: Very Very Threadgill 2014
by Kurt Gottschalk
Henry Threadgill Harlem Stage Gate House Very Very Threadgill New York, NY September 27-28, 2014 Henry Threadgill isn't one to repeat himself. In nearly 40 years of recording, he's only repeated a few compositions. So why would a retrospective of his work by a mere recapitulation? Very Very Threadgill--held ...
Wadada Leo Smith: I'm A Dreamer
by John Sharpe
As dreamers go trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith lies at the more serious end of the spectrum. Not for him dreams that fade with the daylight, as evidenced by the realization of his epic Civil Rights inspired Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform, 2012). Smith actually composed the first piece of what developed into a 21 piece magnum opus ...
Chicago Jazz Festival 2013
by Mark Corroto
Chicago Jazz FestivalChicago, ILAugust 29-September 1, 2013Chicago is...You get the feeling it is a jazz city when, waiting in line at the airport, you overhear a conversation about Anthony Braxton's first meeting with Derek Bailey. Then, your suspicions are confirmed in the taxi, on the drive to the 2013 Chicago Jazz ...
Ode to Jef Lee Johnson: The Promise of Lovolution
by Charles Blass
“When the music's happening, life is happening.... Why must we only join hands after the storm?... How true are you? Nothing else even matters." --Jef Lee JohnsonJef Lee Johnson, prolific, virtuosic, humble, was in some ways not made for this world. “I'm over the world," he sang. He was certainly made for music though.
Umberto Petrin / Pheeroan akLaaf Duo: Clusone, Italy, July 21, 2012
by Garrison Fewell
Umberto Petrin / Pheeroan akLaff DuoClusone Jazz FestivalMons TheaterClusone, ItalyJuly 21, 2012A premier performance by the piano-drum duo of Umberto Petrin and Pheeroan akLaff opened the first set on Saturday night at the 32nd annual Clusone Jazz Festival near Bergamo, Italy. Their music provided much more than the stereotypical ...
Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers
by Mark Redlefsen
Wadada Leo SmithTen Freedom SummersCuneiform Records2012Jazz music and the Civil Rights Movement in America have moved on parallel tracks from the 20th century up until the present. Freedom Suite (Riverside, 1958) by saxophonist Sonny Rollins, We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite (Candid, 1960) by drummer Max Roach ...
Victoriaville 2012
by Kurt Gottschalk
Festival International Musique Actuelle VictoriavilleVictoriaville, CanadaMay 17-20, 2012There are many ways to weigh a music festival, but one method that sets a fairly reasonable standard for excellence is whether or not there was at least one point that elicited feelings of good fortune. Not just if it was enjoyable or if highly respected ...
Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets
by Dave Wayne
Trumpet and drums--a truly primal combination--are joined by the delicately trilling, archaic and arcane sounds of the Chinese lute or pipa on Dark Lady of the Sonnets, Wadada Leo Smith's musical venture with a new trio, Mbira. At age 70, Smith's torrid creative pace is matched only by the forged-steel strength of his trumpet playing. Percussionist ...
Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets
by Raul d'Gama Rose
In the epic narratives and gorgeous elegies of trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith lies a heart immersed in the spirituality of the blues. His music drinks from an ancient well that predates organized worship and actually resides in one that celebrates the Creator in his awesome glory. This is why Smith is able to make ...
