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Ben Monder: Hydra
by Mike Jacobs
Stylistically hard-to-describe artists are nothing new. However, with Ben Monder's solo excursions, one often feels the need to issue a warning/disclaimer that might read something like, “Caution--Exiting Known Musical Universe." The 24-minute title track from his album Hydra (Sunnyside, 2013) indeed melds techniques and generic signposts from jazz, rock, medieval and modern classical music, but it ...
Iiro Rantala: Goldberg Variation III
by Scott Lichtman
Finnish pianist and composer Iiro Rantala (pronounced “Ee'-ro Rahn'-tah-lah") is a grand master of jazz, classical music, and film scores; he even serves as a UN goodwill ambassador. Give him a Django Reinhardt-like gipsy swing piece, or an Art Tatum stride, or a Keith Jarrett solo improv, and he'll respond with even greater flow, tighter precision, ...
Ken Peplowski: All the Things You Are
by John Chacona
Even if you are new to jazz, you have likely heard “All the Things You Are" dozens of times, maybe hundreds. But you have never heard it like this. Jerome Kern's tour through the circle of fifths, catnip for improvisers, is usually played as a mid-tempo stroll or faster, but it was written as a ballad ...
Brian Landrus: AGRA
by John Chacona
The palette of Duke Ellington, jazz's first notable colorist--and arguably its greatest--drew on a range of instrumental hues that might still be unmatched in jazz history. Picking one as the essential pigment in the Orchestra's sound is a fool's errand. But here goes: it was Harry Carney's baritone saxophone, without which the Ellington sonic signature is ...
Farahser: Flatland
by John Chacona
As Farahser, Torontonians John Kameel Farah, a classically trained pianist, and drummer/producer Nick Fraser roam the frontier where improvised and notated music meet. It is well traveled territory these days, but on their eponymous release these sonic explorers find a borderland between memory and legend, imagination and investigation. Echoes of the Palestine of Farah's ancestors ripple ...
Richie Beirach: Sea Priestess
by Scott Lichtman
Pianist Richie Beirach has been a foundation of the jazz community since the '70s, having released over 70 albums through 2022. His style combines romanticism with a dissonant compositional flair. His music, usually expressed in solo, duet and trio formats, sounds exceptionally intimate. Beirach could create chemistry with most anyone and has collaborated with luminaries such ...
James Blood Ulmer: Family Affair
by Ian Patterson
Nobody does blues, funk or jazz quite like singer/guitarist James Blood Ulmer. “Family Affair," from Black Rock (Columbia, 1982), is a slow-grooving, soulful delight. Vocalist Irene Datcher's honeyed tones combine with Ulmer's gravelly blues to wonderful effect, while the guitarist's inimitable knotty playing growls and sparks over Amin Ali's churning bass ostinato and drummer Calvin Weston's ...
John Escreet: Departure No. 1
by John Chacona
When you first listen to “Departure No. 1," from John Escreet's The epicenter of your dreams (Blue Room Music, 2024), you might well ask, Who wrote that? At once familiar but tantalizingly hard to pin down, the composition sounds like a Bud Powell tune or maybe an undiscovered Herbie Nichols gem, perhaps in an edition by ...
Angela Bofill: Tonight I Give In
by Scott Lichtman
Angela Bofill was a majestic soul/jazz/pop vocalist starting in the '70s and '80s. Slightly older than the more well-known Anita Baker, Bofill recorded stunning ballads that highlighted her impeccably sweet tone and emotional interpretations. “Tonight I Give In" epitomized the “Quiet Storm" genre. Bofill passed away on June 13, 2024, but for her fans, her tracks ...
The Bad Plus: Flim
by Scott Lichtman
The 2001 first album from The Bad Plus was a shot across the bow for redefining the piano trio genre. Covering bands from ABBA to Nirvana and offering original compositions that swung, whispered and pounded, pianist Ethan Iverson, upright bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King drew new audiences to jazz. The second album, These are ...
