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New Memphis Colorways and Utopia: Way Outside the Box
by Doug Collette
Rendering cliches moot is no small achievement. Yet if these two records prove anything, it is that it's possible to accomplish this daunting task in a variety of ways. In the case of Paul Taylor, aka New Memphis Colorways, his truth lies in the restoration of the fundamental notion a single individual can indeed sound like ...
Antonio Tosques and Multi-Form Band: Touch Me
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With the possible exception of the upright bass (where it's more of a pas a deux), a guitar allows its player to bring the instrument intimately close to their heart and inner voice. The fingered manipulation of strings can trigger caresses, teases, intensities and poetry. Played well, as it is here on this excellent recording from ...
John Patitucci: The Quintessence of Acoustic and Electric
by Jim Worsley
John Patitucci had his life's work in mind at age twelve, At a time when most of us were worried about junior high school and pimples, Patitucci concluded that he was to be a professional musician. This was no typical young boy fantasy of playing center field for the Yankees, being an astronaut, or even being ...
Samara Joy: Ascension Into Jazz
by R.J. DeLuke
When Samara Joy performs, she takes her place, stands confidently and sings. Immediately the strength and richness of her voice—which is natural—grabs the attention of the listener. There are no gyrations. It's refreshing that a young artist doesn't see the need for unnecessary vocal gymnastics. Too often, those can miss the mark. Her style ...
Dan Wilson: Vessels Of Wood And Earth
by Chris May
Dan Wilson's Vessels Of Wood And Earth starts well. Just over a minute into track one, the guitarist launches into a lightning-speed solo which sounds a little like Wes Montgomery channeling Charlie Parker on speed. On track two, Stevie Wonder's well named “Bird Of Beauty," he rings the changes, exchanging Montgomery and Parker for Pat Metheny ...
Bill Cunliffe: Always Doing It The Right Way
by Jim Worsley
Most notably a jazz pianist, it comes as more than a surprise that Bill Cunliffe was not in the same orbit as jazz until he was in college. With the sheer volume of top shelf jazz he has written and recorded since, he would seem to have made up for any lost time. That time, those ...
Pino Palladino: The Craftsman from Wales
by Ludovico Granvassu
Refined craftsmanship is in small supply in today's music business, especially in the music business that fills sports arena or large music venues. Pino Palladino belongs to the small guild of refined craftsmen whose membership is reserved to musicians who do not seek the spotlight but pursue beauty through art, because that is what they were ...
Yelena Eckemoff: Adventures of the Wildflower
by Dan McClenaghan
The seeds of pianist-composer Yelena Eckemoff's Adventures Of The Wildflower were planted in 2013, when she traveled to Hollola, Finland, to record Blooming Tall Phlox (L&H Productions, 2017) with a group of young Finnish musicians. Several Eckemoff albums came about after that recording, but the experience with her Finnish friends must have exerted a sort of ...
Logan Richardson: To Boldly Go Where No Jazz Has Gone Before
by Chris May
In a 2016 interview, Kansas City-born alto saxophonist Logan Richardson said: “Jazz will constantly change because there's constantly a new us, new times. There will always be a fight from the conformists--but they don't represent where the tradition is coming from." Richardson was talking not long after the release of his adventurous Blue Note album, Shift, ...
Diego Rivera: Indigenous
by Kyle Simpler
The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words" might be a cliché, but it also contains an element of truth. Some of the most powerful messages come across without relying on words. And when it comes to music, lyrics are not always needed to convey a message. Such is the case with Diego Rivera's ...
