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...and in three months' time, Cecil Taylor freed jazz

by Daniel Mège
February 14, 2026

In the 1950s, while jazz explored its coolness far out west, Cecil Taylor, freshly back from Boston, took up the Thelonious Monkian revolution in New York City. Three years younger (1929) than John Coltrane and Miles Davis, he launched two kids, Archie Vernon Shepp (1936) and Steven Norman Lackritz (1934)--better known as Steve Lacy--whom he drew from dixieland. ...

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Vincent Peirani: Magnetic Dancing on the Cliff

by Daniel Mège
February 8, 2026

There exists a mystery to melody. For example, “Left Alone," composed on a cross-country flight by Mal Waldron and Billie Holiday. In a few hours, the melody and the chords were established, an absolute compositional masterpiece, full stop. So much beauty served by implacable writing rigor: giants achieve it. Vincent Peirani achieves it. “Physical Attraction," released on ...

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Patrick Watson: Peter, The Wolf, And The New Orleans Bayou Ghosts

by Daniel Mège
February 7, 2026

Is Patrick Watson a jazz musician? Lennie Tristano said that jazz is defined by feeling. Having seen Patrick Watson on stage in 2025 in Lausanne and 2026 in Winterthur, Switzerland, he definitely has it, plus very cool vibes. He deserves the title. Since its release, “Peter and the Wolf" from Uh Oh (Secret City ...

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Ben Wendel With Gilad Hekselman: October

by Mike Jacobs
February 4, 2026

Ben Wendel's 2015 The Seasons was initially a video-only project featuring the saxophonist in a different duet for each month of the year. The project was so successful, it later spawned a tour and a studio album [The Seasons (Motéma Music, 2018)] that featured Aaron Parks, Gilad Hekselman, Matt Brewer and Eric Harland. “October," with guitarist Hekselman, was ...

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Jon Herington: Kernel Of Truth

by Mike Jacobs
February 2, 2026

From Jon Herington's Pulse and Cadence (ESC, 2008)--[which is itself a re-release of Herington's Japan-only solo debut, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary (Glass House, 1993)]--"Kernel of Truth" features the future Steely Dan touring guitarist with stalwarts Peter Erskine, Jim Beard, Victor Bailey and Arto Tuncboyaciyan in what may be one of the most interlocking arrangements ...

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Tim Motzer & Markus Reuter: Sound of the Sun

by Geno Thackara
January 31, 2026

It stands to reason that if the sun has an actual sound, it would be a very slow and subtle one. This would be right in the wheelhouse for Tim Motzer and Markus Reuter--well, one wheelhouse among several, since their experimental ambition can also get plenty wild . This ambient meditation from their first duo album ...

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Marilyn Mazur's Shamania: The Birds Are Early Out

by Ian Patterson
January 30, 2026

A modern tribe of female voices--ten in all--that thrives on exploring the rhythms of body, voice and instruments. Shamania, founded in 2015 by drummer, percussionist and composer Marilyn Mazur, brought together kindred spirits from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. From the album Rerooting (CYH Records, 2022), “The Birds Are Early Out" captures the fearless exploratory spirit of ...

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Mary Lou Williams: A Fungus Amungus

by Ian Patterson
December 29, 2025

The title sounds like something from the fertile imagination of Charles Mingus. A blindfold listening test might throw up Sun Ra. “A Fungus Amungus," however, is Mary Lou Williams and nothing but. This solo piano piece clocks in at a swift three minutes, but the Atlanta-born, Pittsburgh-raised pianist packs a lot of notes and ...

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Cab Calloway & The Nicholas Brothers: Jumpin' Jive

by Ian Patterson
December 25, 2025

Born on Christmas Day 1907 in Rochester, New York, bandleader Cab Calloway enjoyed a brilliant career that spanned the 1920s to the 1990s. He made his name at the helm of the Cab Calloway Orchestra between 1930-1948, a period that included a four-residency at the Cotton Club. At various times his swing orchestra included musicians of ...

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Martí Mitjavila: Somebody Nobody Loves

by Artur Moral
December 19, 2025

Jack Bowers, our esteemed elder statesman, made it quite clear in his article James Danderfer: If Not Now that the clarinet, once one of jazz's signature instruments, is currently experiencing hard times. But it is not all bad news. Whether on the formerly more popular soprano clarinet or the more solemn--and experimentation-friendly--bass clarinet, luminaries ...