Results for "Rob Garratt"
Impressions of Zero Gravity
by AAJ Staff
We published Peter Jones's review of Zero Gravity the other week, but other staffers wanted to share their thoughts on the Wayne Shorter documentary, so we collected them and presented them here. Ellen Johnson Zero Gravity, the documentary chronicling the life and music of jazz icon Wayne Shorter, surpasses the boundaries of conventional biographical ...
Atlantis Trio at MutaMenti HK
by Rob Garratt
Atlantis Trio Tsuen Wan Town Hall MutaMenti HK Hong Kong September 27, 2023 A lot of flak is (fairly) laid on the often clumsy, jarring aesthetics of “global-beat," “world fusion," or whatever you want to call it (terms I use sparingly and with reservation). But the ...
Jack DeJohnette: Sorcery
by Rob Garratt
Which Jack DeJohnette is best known? The subtle sticksmith at the heart of Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio, perhaps? Probably the heavyweight hitter driving electric-era Miles Davis' '70s sonic brew. Maybe the percussive upstart propelling Charles Lloyd to crossover flower-power fame? Or even the fearless bandleader behind the ever-thrilling Special Edition band ... ...
Flow Festival 2023
by Rob Garratt
Flow Festival Suvilahti, Helsinki, Finland August 11-13, 2023 The stark quantity and sheer quality of improvised and instrumental music on offer at Finland's Flow Festival only starts to make sense when you dig into its roots. Once loudly crowned by Vogue as “the Nordics countries' coolest festival"--a fact the event's ...
Héctor Lavoe: La Voz
by Rob Garratt
Craft Recordings have been on a roll of late, following 2021's excellently presented Ornette Coleman boxset, Genesis of Genius, with 2023's Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series and imminent Sonny Rollins set Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums. So it is only natural that jazz-inclined audiophiles will start turning their attention to what other treasures the LA-based ...
Makaya McCraven: In The Moment to In These Times
by Rob Garratt
Makaya McCraven needs a coffee--fast. It's 4pm and he's crashing. It will be his third of the day. His first caffeine hit, consumed on stage six hours earlier, was a chemical necessity; McCraven was drinking at a nearby Irish pub until the early hours and nearly missed his early morning panel talk appearance alongside fellow percussion ...
Ezra Collective's Femi Koleoso: On Tony Allen and UK jazz today
by Rob Garratt
Of all the artists to emerge from the overbaked “UK jazz explosion" of recent years, Ezra Collective are arguably the greatest crossover success--based on Spotify stats and tour bookings, anyway. And while the juggernaut of early hype may have worn itself out, things are only looking rosier in 2023: The barrier-busting London quintet is currently gearing ...
Our Jazz Pianists LIVE!
by Rob Garratt
Before you even drop the needle or hit play, take a moment to soak in the title of the recording you hold in your hands. The emphasis must fall squarely on the first word: these are our jazz pianists—Hong Kong's. A proud statement of ownership, acknowledging a fresh wave of young talent breaking in a city not renowned ...
Freespace Jazz Festival 2022
by Rob Garratt
Freespace Jazz Festival 2022 Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District Hong Kong October 26-30, 2022 Hong Kong's best jazz fest launched at the worst possible time. The debut Freespace Jazz Festival, in 2019, struck a bold chord with its choice of A-list international headliners-- most especially Robert Glasper, ...
We Jazz Records: Finland's indie label shaking up the global conversation
by Rob Garratt
The past decade's genre-bending jazz renaissance has been well-documented, but between the trailblazing players taking improvised music to increasingly hip places, and the ever-growing audience queuing up to hear them, sits the homegrown labels bottling these brave, thrilling (r)evolutions for all to hear. In conversations about the state of jazz today, it's often easier to distil ...
