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Dhafer Youssef: 39th Gulay (To Istanbul)
by Mike Jacobs
Dhafer Youssef's live tour de force, “39th Gulay (to Istanbul)" vibrates with the electrifying hallmarks the oud master's work is known for: beautifully odd matrices spun with harmonic and instrumental eclecticism with participation from a wide variety of A-listers. Featured here are Kristjian Randalu on piano, Eivind Aarset on electric guitar, Phil Donkin on upright bass, ...
Ibrahim Maalouf: True Sorry
by Scott Lichtman
AAJ's Ian Patterson has written A Brief Guide To Lebanese Jazz, in which trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf is a highlight. Maalouf was forced to migrate from Beirut to Paris during the Lebanese Civil War and has since become known worldwide for his melding of world, jazz, pop and classical genres. One of his most moving pieces is ...
Kenny Wheeler: Smatter
by Scott Lichtman
The song “Smatter," from trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, offers the chance to hear several grandmasters of jazz concoct high-energy music together. For Wheeler's debut on ECM Records, Gnu High (ECM, 1976), he gathered the creative forces of Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland on the album's three tracks. Gnu High would quickly be deemed a classic. ...
D.D. Jackson: I Call
by John Chacona
"I Call" is a poem about the immigrant's dilemma of identifying with two places but fully inhabiting neither, using the refrain, “a place that doesn't exist" to name this condition. Yet Quebec-born Toronto poet Choucri Paul Zemokhol's family came to Canada from the Middle East, a place that, even in the interval since the poem's publication ...
Branford Marsalis & Joey Calderazzo: Face on the Barroom Floor
by Scott Lichtman
On “Face on the Barroom Floor," the duo of Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo pay tribute to Wayne Shorter by distilling one of Shorter's most beautiful pieces into its essentials. The sentiment might be interpreted as “a lovelorn individual drinks himself into forgetfulness. We hope for a happier future for him." Marsalis and Calderazzo take the ...
Slow Poke: Listen Here
by Ludovico Granvassu
Here is a track in which the simmer might be low, but the temperature is definitely very high. “Listen Here" is a composition which Eddie Harris wrote and played with his, usual, fat groove. This, however, is a sultrier rendition by a band that made the savoring of each note, and the development of a hypnotic ...
Sam Wilkes: When I Can Read My Titles Clear
by Scott Lichtman
Bassist Sam Wilkes is known in jazz inner circles for the beauty of his instrumental sound. Immersing yourself in the flow of his ambient compositions, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that his electric bass is the bedrock of the harmony as well as the melody and rhythm in these songs. Wilkes also ...
Remembering Benny Golson: Killer Joe
by Ian Patterson
Benny Golson, one of Philadelphia's most famous jazz sons, died on 21 September, 2024. He was 95. One of the last giants of the golden age of jazz, Golson enjoyed a rich career as a leader, composer and arranger. His recording career as a leader spanned seven decades, from The Modern Touch (Riverside, 1958) to Horizon ...
