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Results for "Robert Glasper"
Rob Luft: Burning the Candle at Both Ends
by Peter Jones
What kind of musician gets asked to write a concerto for a 65-piece orchestra--the BBC Concert Orchestra, no less--when still in his twenties, and when he has never previously written for an orchestra? Well, somehow or other, UK guitarist Rob Luft is that kind of musician. Writing for an orchestra is something he has ...
Wayne Shorter: An Essential Top Ten Albums
by Chris May
At the start of September 2021, trumpeter Terence Blanchard released Absence (Blue Note), dedicated to saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, who for health reasons had recently been obliged to retire from performing, at least temporarily. Some people celebrating their eighty-eighth birthday, as Shorter did the previous month, might not welcome being the dedicatee of an album ...
Zoöphyte: Galapagos
by Ian Patterson
Zoöphyte is a ten-piece pop band boasting some of London's finest jazz musicians. Its debut album, Signs Of Life (Howlin' Werewolf, 2020), was a pleasing hybrid of uber-catchy grooves, ear-bending psychedelia and sizzling jazz virtuosity. How could it be otherwise for a band that cites influences as diverse as Canterbury progressives Soft Machine and Caravan, psychedelic ...
Manuel Valera Quintet: Vessel
by Chris May
Cuban born and raised, pianist and composer Manuel Valera moved to the US in 1994, attending high school in Florida before moving to New York City in 2000 to study at the New School. His classmates included Robert Glasper, Mike Moreno, Michael Rodriguez, Marcus Strickland and E.J. Strickland. Fast company. Valera's career as ...
Dan Rosenboom: Polarity
by Jerome Wilson
On this album, trumpeter Dan Rosenboom and his quartet engage in a free-wheeling session which comes off as a modern update of Wayne Shorter releases such as The All-Seeing Eye (Blue Note, 1966). He engages in playful genre-crossing and experimentation here which incorporate the sensibilities of hip-hop and ambient music as well as modern jazz.
Danny Fox Trio: Time Took Care of It
by Neil Duggan
Brooklyn-based pianist and composer Danny Fox has an eye-catching background. He has studied with John Kamitsuka, Fred Hersch, Ethan Iverson and Garry Dial, and performed with artists as varied as Bruce Springsteen, Cassandra Wilson and Emmylou Harris. Since 2008, he has led the Danny Fox Trio with Time Took Care of It being their fourth album. ...
José James: Why The Female Of The Species Is Groovier Than The Male
by Peter Jones
Jazz singer José James considers Erykah Badu to be the Joni Mitchell of his generation, a woman who has constructed a world of her own in order to tell her own alternative story. To prove the point, earlier this year he released On & On (Rainbow Blonde), a whole album of Badu songs, which he has ...
Take Five with Melvin Johnson
by AAJ Staff
Meet Melvin Johnson Houston, TX pianist/composer Melvin Johnson will offer a gift to the world with his debut album, Little Red Wagon (Sincerely Yours Music, 2023), overflowing with musical narratives on family love and the life lessons they provide. Johnson, who once thought of himself as only a live performer, found a unique hunger for recording ...
Jimmy Greene: Gifts and Givers
by C. Andrew Hovan
The two-tenor battle is not a new idea, with iconic pairings from the jazz pantheon running the gamut from Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray to Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin. In more recent times, Eric Alexander and Grant Stewart have fueled the fire with their own incendiary adventures as heard on the current albums Wailin' ...
Voision Xi: Lost For Words, Found In Sounds
by Jiaowei Hu
Voision Xi has been taking steps from behind the scenes to centre stage. Starting out as a program coordinator at China's multi-faceted jazz business company JZ Music, she has swiftly risen to be one of the most active jazz vocalists in the country. Warmth and the simplest joy can be found in her singing, with no ...
