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Results for "Thelonious Monk"
Prestige Records: An Alternative Top 20 Albums
by Chris May
Along with Alfred Lion's Blue Note and Orrin Keepnews' Riverside, Bob Weinstock's Prestige was at the top table of independent New York City-based jazz labels from the early 1950s until the mid 1960s. Like those other two labels, Prestige built up a profuse catalogue packed with enduring treasures. Originally a record retailer, Weinstock ...
Jason Moran: Promoting the Freedom Principles
by Leo Sidran
Pianist, composer, conceptual artist Jason Moran on truth versus passion, promoting the “Freedom Principles," America's unfortunate way of forgetting the past, when innovation becomes rhetoric, what it means for African American musicians to move freely “from the stage to the table," the power dynamic in choosing repertoire, coming up in Houston among a generation of jazz ...
Josh Nelson Trio: The Discovery Project: Live In Japan
by Dan Bilawsky
When pianist Josh Nelson's name surfaces in conversation, the art of the trio isn't typically a topic that comes up. A first-call accompanist and collaborator for the vocal elite, and a conceptualist who's crafted smartly arranged musical love letters to everything from steampunk sci-fi to the City of Los Angeles as part of his ongoing Discovery ...
Geoff Mason: GMQ
by Jack Bowers
Geoff Mason, one of the UK's leading jazz trombonists, mans the front line by himself on the slyly named GMQ, an eloquent quartet session from which Mason's longtime colleague, the outstanding saxophonist Simon Spillett, is regrettably missing. As nothing can be done to set that right, best to focus on the music at hand, which binds ...
Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio: Angels Around
by Mark Sullivan
Jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel's previous album Caipi (Heartcore Records, 2017) was unique in his discography. Not just original music—that was true of many of his previous records—but Brazilian influenced, and featuring his vocals. This set is a call back to the Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio's Reflections (WOMMUSIC, 2009): a selection of mostly modern jazz standards, played ...
Riverside Records: An Alternative Top Ten
by Chris May
From 1953, when it was set up, to 1964, when it was acquired by ABC, Riverside Records rivalled Blue Note and Prestige as one of the leading independent jazz labels based in New York City. The founders of all three labels were jazz fans who operated on slim margins and became producers partly because they enjoyed ...
Composer Tributes: Strayhorn, Shorter, Monk and Sam Jones
by Jerome Wilson
There always seem to be albums coming out that pay tribute to accomplished jazz composers. Here are some newer ones, three on very familiar names and one on an often overlooked musician. John Di Martino Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn Sunnyside Records 2020 Pianist John ...
Brian Landrus: For Now
by Jack Bowers
On For Now, his tenth album as leader, multi-reed specialist Brian Landrus gives voice to the many faces of romance, using as his means of expression a talented core quintet, amplified on several themes by a four-member string section, with arrangements by the notable opera composer Robert Aldridge. While Landrus plays four instruments including flute and ...
Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: The Intangible Between
by Paul Rauch
Pianist Orrin Evans has a deep understanding of the unshakeable bond between fellowship, humanity and the creative process. That knowledge has guided him through creating a remarkable catalog of music as both a leader and sideman, along the way, experiencing the fellowship of a collective of musicians he often refers to as “The Village."
Sun Ra Arkestra: Live In Kalisz 1986
by Ian Patterson
In December 1986, the Sun Ra Arkestra performed at the 13th International Jazz Piano Festival in Kalisz. The Arkestra was making its first ever appearance in Poland and the historic occasion was duly recorded for posterity. The tapes, however, languished in a basement, unloved and forgotten, until they were unearthed over three decades later. Thanks to ...
