Home » Search Center » Results: Troy Dostert

Results for "Troy Dostert"

Article: Album Review

Susan Alcorn, Patrick Holmes and Ryan Sawyer: From Union Pool

Read "From Union Pool" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
March 1, 2023

The inimitable pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn seemingly knows no bounds when it comes to the range of textures, tones and timbres she can coax out of her instrument. She is also a consummate improvisational partner, whether working in free or composed contexts. And she has forged a terrific partnership with Relative Pitch Records, which has ...

Article: Album Review

Jo Lawry: Acrobats

Read "Acrobats" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
February 23, 2023

Australian vocalist Jo Lawry has covered a lot of ground in a musical career that goes back to her well-received debut in 2008, I Want to Be Happy (Fleurieu). Her formidable jazz chops were readily apparent on that release, but she then turned to other genres, including folk and pop on albums like Taking Pictures (ABC ...

Article: Album Review

The Heavy Hitters: Heavy Hitters

Read "Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
February 6, 2023

The self-titled debut from the Heavy Hitters, pianist Mike LeDonne's latest sextet, has the feel of a tribute album. However, unlike most recordings of that nature, there is no classic repertoire present, as all nine tracks are penned either by LeDonne or his colleague, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. Instead, it is a tribute to a sound ...

Article: Album Review

Kenji Lee's Fortune Teller Trio: Kyūdō

by Troy Dostert
January 6, 2023

Detroit-based tenor saxophonist Kenji Lee brings a heady concept to his latest release, Kyūdō. Drawing inspiration from the practice of Japanese archery, Lee sees his music as a pathway to spiritual growth, a process in which technical mastery and an abiding aesthetic sensibility are conjoined. Harnessing the sympathetic partnership of his colleagues, bassist Andy Peck and ...

Article: Album Review

The Attic: Love Ghosts

Read "Love Ghosts" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
December 17, 2022

Portuguese tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado maintains a busy recording schedule, involving dates with heavy-hitters like Joe McPhee, Alexander von Schlippenbach and Peter Evans, in addition to his own lineups, which do not always generate the same kind of buzz. One of his relatively under-recognized groups is The Attic, an outfit which includes bassist Gonçalo Almeida and ...

Article: Album Review

Tyshawn Sorey Trio +1 (with Greg Osby): The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism

Read "The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
December 13, 2022

Even for a musician who thrives on unsettling expectations, Tyshawn Sorey's Mesmerism (Yeros7 Music, 2022) caught a lot of listeners by surprise. The inimitable drummer's recordings have long occupied that amorphous space between avant-garde jazz and contemporary classical music, and “accessibility" has rarely been the term of choice for his creative output. But utilizing a trio ...

Article: Year in Review

Troy Dostert's Best Releases of 2022

by Troy Dostert
December 12, 2022

Did 2022 represent a return to “normal" in the jazz world? Perhaps, although it might be more valuable to keep our eyes focused on the shifting trajectories and stylistic heterodoxies that make this music as unpredictable and surprising as ever. Releases from Steve Lehman and Eve Risser were especially noteworthy, involving pan-continental strivings that are always ...

Article: Album Review

Dan Weiss Trio: Dedication

Read "Dedication" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
November 1, 2022

Approaching any Dan Weiss album requires a willingness to be challenged. From head-scratching time signatures to fascinating shifts in mood and texture, Weiss gives intrepid listeners a number of pathways into his music, and his releases always justify repeated encounters. Dedication, his latest with his regular trio partners pianist Jacob Sacks and bassist Thomas Morgan, is ...

Article: Album Review

Michael Malis with Virago: From Darkness We Awaken

Read "From Darkness We Awaken" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
October 9, 2022

A ubiquitous presence in the Detroit improvised music community since the early 2010s, pianist Michael Malis has also become something of a sage in charting the emotional landscape of the Covid era. His 2020 release, Dualisms, presented a series of impressive duets which outlined the tensions between resilience and despondency. Now he has teamed up with ...

Article: Album Review

Chet Doxas: Rich in Symbols II

Read "Rich in Symbols II" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
October 3, 2022

One of Chet Doxas' more distinctive projects, Rich in Symbols (Ropeadope, 2017), involved the saxophonist/clarinetist engaging the 1980s art movement of New York's Lower East Side, composing pieces that reflected his deep interactions with some of those iconic paintings. Now he has done the same with artists from his native Canada: specifically, the Group of Seven, ...