Results for "Tom Harrell"

Tom Harrell

Praised by Newsweek for his pure melodic genius, Tom Harrell is widely recognized as one of the most creative and uncompromising jazz instrumentalists and composers of our time. Even with a discography of over 260 recordings and a career that spans more than four decades, Harrell has managed to stay fresh and current as he continues to actively record and tour around the world. He is a frequent winner in Down Beat and Jazz Times magazines' Critics and Readers Polls and a Grammy nominee. Harrell is also a Trumpeter of the Year nominee for the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Awards. His warm, burnished sound on the trumpet and the flugelhorn, and the unparalleled harmonic and rhythmic sophistication in his playing and writing, have earned Harrell his place as a jazz icon to aspiring musicians and devoted fans alike. Following the success of his first four albums with the current members of his quintet - a remarkably cohesive unit that includes tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, pianist Danny Grissett, drummer Johnathan Blake, and his bassist of 13 years, Ugonna Okegwo, Harrell’s latest quintet offering, NUMBER FIVE, was released in May 2012. The quintet's previous albums, THE TIME OF THE SUN (2011), ROMAN NIGHTS (2010), PRANA DANCE (2009) and LIGHT ON (2007), received wide critical acclaim and won SESAC awards four years in a row for topping the radio charts in the U.S. In contrast to his signature recordings during the RCA/BMG years (1996 - 2003) where much of his focus was on projects involving large ensembles, the latest albums on Highnote demonstrate Harrell's skills as a leader of a smaller unit that calls to mind the energy and rapport of Art Blakey’s and Horace Silver’s bands

Carl Saunders: Jazz Trumpet

By DAN BILAWSKY

Septuagenarian trumpeter Carl Saunders, whose horn served and enhanced the music of Stan Kenton, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and numerous other icons, has been a steady presence on the Summit Records imprint. Whether exploring rare Bill Holman charts or crafting a program with a patriotic shine, acting as a featured guest with the Gary Urwin Jazz ...

John Swana: Philly Gumbo

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in June 2000. In addition to being one of the finest contemporary jazz trumpet players, John Swana is a human being who is spontaneously authentic and refuses to play a false role. Having reached the ripe old age of 38, John has ...

Take Five with Markus Rutz

By MARKUS RUTZ

Meet Markus Rutz Markus Rutz plays trumpet with bluesy, soulful style and a tone that has been called gorgeous. He composes music from his home base in jny: Chicago, Illinois where he also performs modern jazz. As described by Downbeat's J.D. Considine, with his “big, dark tone and a fluid ease to his phrasing," trumpet player, ...

Oded Tzur: Here Be Dragons

By KARL ACKERMANN

On his previous releases, Like a Great River (Enja, 2016) and Translator's Note (Enja, 2017), New York-based tenor saxophonist Oded Tzur amalgamated Eastern and Western elements and deep, balmy phrasing which drew sincere comparisons to John Coltrane. Not surprisingly, Manfred Eicher took notice and signed the Tel Aviv native to ECM for his third album, Here ...

Various Artists: Newvelle Muri

By KARL ACKERMANN

Swiss drummer/percussionist and composer, Stephan Diethelm lived in Zimbabwe for several years and was musically influenced by the African rhythms he heard. He had appeared on four albums when he launched the Muri Series, an ongoing succession of concerts that began in 2002, sometimes called Musig im Pflegidach. Pflegidach is a monastery that dates to the ...

"ECM Records at 50" at Lincoln Center

By TYRAN GRILLO

ECM Records at 50 Rose Theater, Lincoln Center New York, NY November 2, 2019 On the 1st and 2nd of November 2019, Jazz at Lincoln Center commemorated the 50th anniversary of ECM Records with two nights of musicians—many longtime associates, some newer additions—from the label's roster. More than that, it was ...

Larry Willis + Tomeka Reid, Ghost Horse, Matana Roberts & Other New Releases

By LUDOVICO GRANVASSU

This week we remember pianist Larry Willis (1942—2019) who passed away in September, followed by the perusal of a pile of exciting new releases and re-relases building jazz bridges between North America and Europe, featuring Midnight Lilacs (i.e. Chris Speed, Marc Ribot, Danilo Gallo and Zeno De Rossi), Ethan Iverson Quartet with Tom Harrell, Simone Graziano, ...

Jean Christophe Cholet - Matthieu Michel: Extended Whispers

By NERI POLLASTRI

Album che prosegue il precedente Whispers del duo tra il pianista francese Jean Christoph Cholet e il trombettista svizzero Matthieu Michel--artisti che collaborano da quando, molti anni fa, si incontrarono nella Vienna Art Orchestra--allargando la formazione a quintetto e quindi arricchendo suoni e scenari. Il programma prevede tredici brani originali (sei di Cholet, quattro ...