Fred Hersch Silent, Listening ECM Like Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Craig Taborn, Paul Bley and several others, Fred Hersch now adds his name to the vast solo piano catalog of ECM, with Silent, Listening. His is a mix of composition and improvisation with originals and a few standards as well. Hersch was inspired by his […]
Arnaud Dolmen & Leonardo Montana LéNo Quai Son Records and Samana Production A colleague used the expression recently “music that means something,” which is more than fitting for this collaboration between Arnaud Dolmen, drums, glockenspiel and backing vocals, and Leonardo Montana, piano and backing vocals. Dolmen is of Guadeloupean origins, and this is his third […]
Dave Douglas Gifts Greenleaf Music Trumpeter, composer, and label owner Dave Douglas convenes a new trio/quartet for new originals and four Billy Strayhorn pieces reimagined for this bass-less group. Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis seems practically ubiquitous lately and appears on five of the ten tracks. Joining those two are two members of the Oscar-nominated post-rock […]
Andrea Wolper Wanderlust Moonflower Music Not being aware of adventurous vocalist Andrea Wolper until now, this writer did what he usually does, checked her accompanists and her background. Both were impressive. In terms of the latter, she began like most do, by singing standards, moving on to big band and then to free jazz with […]
Rees Shad The Galahad Blues Self-released Rees Shad is one of the most prolific artists on the scene, having released some 30 albums in his three decades as a recording artist. He’s a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and storyteller rife with unexpected themes and ideas. Beyond that he is a polymath of first order, a luthier, a […]
Nick Finzer Legacy – A centennial celebration of JJ Johnson Outside in Music Among the great trombonists in jazz history, the preeminent one by almost any’s rank order is JJ Johnson (1924 -2001). Today we have our veterans such as Steve Davis, Steve Turre, Wycliff Gordon and others and a younger crop such as Alan […]
Old 97s American Primitive ATO One of Americana’s most enduring bands, The Old 97’s celebrate their 30th anniversary with American Primitive, their 13th album. These guys have been around before the term Americana became a ‘thing,” labeled originally as an alt-country outfit. The Old 97s have always painted a realistic, though daunting picture of our […]
Matthew Shipp Trio New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz ESP Few artists are more prolific both as a leader and as sideman than pianist and composer Matthew Shipp. Our coverage of his brilliant work is not nearly in keeping with his artistry, but we have been catching up somewhat in recent years. In 2023 we […]
Dayna Stephens Closer Than We Think Cellar Music Group Mighty saxophonist, composer, and educator Dayna Stephens steps forward with a bold new sound on his twelfth album, Closer Than We Think Now, his debut for the Cellar Music Group. You’ve seen him mostly as a sideman on these pages. He’s played with legends such as Billy […]
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams All This Time Royal Potato Family The husband-and-wife duo of Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams return with their fourth album, and All This Time just feels different than the others. It’s as if the duo is no longer in the shadow of Levon Helm or Bob Dylan, two artists that […]
Gilad Hekselman Live at the Village Vanguard la.reserve Imagine this. You are one of the acknowledged top guitarists in jazz having spent nearly the past two decades on the NYC jazz scene. Not only have you dreamed of playing in jazz’s most hallowed venue, The Village Vanguard, for a weeklong residency, but your wife is […]
Sam Anning Earthen Earshift Music Melbourne, Australia’s bassist, and composer Sam Anning delivers his third septet album with Earthen, a tribute to indigenous Australian music icon, Uncle Archie Roach. The album brims with gorgeous, cinematic soundscapes and is especially noteworthy as a jazz tribute to Roach who was an award-winning singer-songwriter, musician, and respected elder. […]
Rachel Z Sensual Ozmosys Media Group/Dot Time Records. The renowned, virtuoso pianist, keyboardist, composer, and electronic musician Rachel Z, one of the modern-day pillars of jazz fusion, surprises with Sensual. Yes, this writer, having seen her and drummer husband, Omar Hakim, perform at the 2022 Montclair Jazz Festival in a high energy jazz fusion performance […]
Altin Sencalar Discover the Present Posi-Tone Discover the Present is trombonist and composer Altin Sencalar’s fifth album as a leader and by this writer’s count his third for the Posi-Tone label, all covered on these pages. On this date he leads a large ensemble but varies configurations. With eight originals in these eleven, Sencalar is […]
Mark Lockheart Smiling Edition Saxophonist and composer Mark Lockheart has been on the vanguard of British jazz for four decades now, one surge in the ‘80s and the other here in the 2000s. Yet, his bent for experimentation and genre-agnostic approach would have many considering him an emerging force rather than an elder statesman for the music. […]
Julieta Eugenio STAY Self-released Argentinian-born saxophonist Julieta Eugenio returns with her trio for Stay, a self-released effort following 2023’s acclaimed debut Jump (Greenleaf Music). Eugenio’s trio includes bassist Matt Dwonszyk and drummer Jonathan Barber, and for this outing the outstanding fellow Argentinian keyboardist Leo Genovese joins on Fender Rhodes on two tracks. The inspiration for the album can be found on […]
Willy Rodriguez Seeing Sounds Self-released Drummer-composer Willy Rodriguez makes his debut with Seeing Sounds, not a Latin jazz record that we might expect from the experienced Puerto Rico-born, New York based musician but one that ventures into the avant-garde. Joining Rodriguez in his trailblazing adventure are trumpeter Jason Palmer, saxophonist Hery Paz, pianist Leo Genovese, bassists John Hébert and Kenneth Jimenez, special guest artist, saxophonist Dave […]
Dan Weiss Even Odds Cygnus Dan Weiss is one of the leading drummers in jazz and bandleaders of the first order, highly respected in new and improvised music, both acoustic and electronic. His swath is wide, also embracing Indian classical music, contemporary classical, West African, extreme metal, and atmospheric, emotional cinematic music. This effort, Even […]
Triad Triad Ropeadope Leave it to Ropeadope to break the mold. That should come as no surprise to fans of the progressive label. Triad is not only a trio with instrumentation like you’ve never heard but with a debut album that’s so full of stunning surprises, that you’ll be checking your player to ensure you’re […]
Ian Carey & Wood Metal Plastic Strange Arts Slow and Steady Trumpeter and composer Ian Carey pays homage to his recently passed visual artist father, to whom the cover and jacket art of the album owes. Leveraging a grant from Intermusic SF, Carey added a string trio to his working quartet, Wood Metal Plastic, comprised […]
Vinicius Cantuaria Psychedelic Rio Sunnyside Psychedelic Rio offers a refreshing departure from the cool strains of Brazilian music, most identified by cool and breezy bossa nova or the steamier, danceable samba. Brazilian composer, guitarist, and vocalist virtuoso Vinicius Cantuaria decided to radicalize these forms by going electric and turning up the amps in the vein […]
Charlie Parr Little Sun Smithsonian Folkways Minnesota-based singer, songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist Charlie Parr is the epitome of prolific as Little Sun is his eighteenth album in a recording career that began only in 2002. Yet, Little Sun marks a first in a couple of respects. This is the first time that Parr recorded in […]
Tony Monaco Trio Over and Over Chicken Coup Hammond B3 organ master Tony Monaco returns with his thirteenth album Over and Over. Somehow, we missed his 2022 Four Brothers but did cover his 2019 Definition of Insanity. So, as mentioned there, Monaco studied under the great Jimmy Smith and is well immersed in the music […]
Lauren White Making It Up As We Go Along Café Pacific Vocalist Lauren White returns with her fifth album, Making It Up As We Go Along, a follow-up to her 2021 Ever Since the World Ended, which we covered here. White, though not a composer, is a lover of lyrics and spoken words, having worked […]
Leon Lee Dorsey, Mike Clark, and Michael Wolff Letter to Bill Evans Jazz Avenue 1 Letter to Bill Evans is the seventh installment of the partnership between bassist Leon Lee Dorsey and drummer Mike Clark, many of which we’ve covered here. For this outing, they enlisted pianist Michael Wolff, who has long internalized the music […]
Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop A Canadian Songbook TPR Toronto drummer and composer Ernesto Cervini leads his Canadian sextet Turboprop on their fifth album, A Canadian Songbook. While Cervini also leads other projects, notably Tetrahedron and Tune Town, Turboprop earned a JUNO Award nomination for their 2022 Joy, for which this is their follow-up. The band features […]
Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble Elegy for Thelonious Sunnyside Pianist, composer, educator and now conductor Frank Carlberg continues his ongoing homage and fascination with the music of Thelonious Monk by leading a large ensemble replete with two vocalists on the ambitious Elegy for Thelonious. As alluded to, this is not Carlberg’s first Monk ‘rodeo.” He played […]
Jacob Shulman High Firmament/Ferment Below Endectomorph L.A.-based saxophonist and composer Jacob Shulman teaches mathematics and programming in his “day job,” which might provide some clues into his far-reaching thought process. For his sophomore recording effort, he delivers two albums, two sides of the coin. High Firmament brilliantly captures, even from the opening glistening notes of […]
Kevin Sun Trio The Fate of the Tenor Endectomorph We have the confluence of two fierce tenor saxophonists releasing albums on the same label on the same day as documented on these pages. (hint -Jacob Shulman). Moreover, they share the same bassist. Yet, here our focus is on tenorist Kevin Sun, his sixth recording as […]
Jeremy Rose and the Earshift Orchestra Discordia Earshift Music Award-winning saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose and owner of Australia’s most important jazz label, Earshift Music, leads his large ensemble on Discordia. In 2023 Rose turned heads with his acclaimed Disruption: The Voice of Drums featuring the twin drummers Simon Barker and Korean stylist Chloe Kim, the latter […]
JeanFrancois Prins Blue Note Mode GAM As the title and blues hued album cover suggest, Blue Note Mode is an ode to the classic material of the Blue Note label, led by the Belgian- born guitarist JeanFrancois Prins, with a star-studded quartet/quintet/sextet through a dozen compositions over a generous 79 minutes. For added authenticity the […]
Willie Morris Attentive Listening Posi -Tone Saxophonist and composer Willie Morris returns with his second album, Attentive Listening, just six months after his debut, Conversation Starter, which we covered here in August 2023. As stated then, Morris is not only a master of his instrument and an impassioned player, but his compositional skills are quite […]
Claudia Gibson The Fields of Chazy Self-released Claudia Gibson is an Austin-based singer-songwriter that doesn’t always sound very Texan as she’s not a native, but one drawn to a city of songwriters. Instead, her mostly folk based music embraces Celtic and that traditional folk sound we associate with the British Isles. Yet, her environs do […]
Lynne Arriale Trio Being Human Challenge In addition to being compassionate about causes, and by all accounts a sincere and caring person, pianist and composer Lynne Arriale, delivers some of the most lyrical pianism today. Many have likened her to a musical poet. Her compositions ring with both beauty and emotion, and, as the title […]
Julian Lage Speak to Me Blue Note Guitarist and composer Julian Lage has now evolved his wordless narratives by increasing his ensemble and delivering his latest, Speak to Me, across two albums with a surprising but astute choice for producer in Joe Henry. Singer-songwriter and noted producer of albums by Allen Toussaint and Solomon Burke, […]
Xavier Richardeau A Caribbean Thing Continuo Jazz This may well be a first for this writer and our readers – music from the island of Guadeloupe. Saxophonist and composer Xavier Richardeau earned his jazz stripes in Paris and in New York before moving to the island, where he has resided for the past six years. […]
Randy Napoleon The Door Is Open: The Music of Gregg Hill OA2 Make this the fifth album bearing the subtitle, “The Music of Gregg Hill” in the past four years. Again, it’s the jazz musicians from the fertile Michigan State University Jazz program and specifically guitarist Randy Napoleon who now presents The Door Is Open. […]
Rodrigo Recabarren, Pablo Menares, Yago Vazquez Familia Greenleaf Music This piano trio offers a divergent path from the usual piano trio, which is understandable given the backgrounds of the three members. Drummer Rodrigo Recabarren and bassist Pablo Menares hail from Chile while pianist Yago Vazquez is from Galicia, Spain. On Familia, all three contributed compositions […]
Amigo The Devil Yours Until the War Is Over Regime Music Group This rather bizarre dirge-like music from the Austin-based artist with the moniker Amigo the Devil (Danny Kiranos) is perhaps not for everybody but this iconoclastic artist has amassed a considerable following for his singular approach. His songwriting bears similarities to Leonard Cohen, Tom […]
Jim Snidero For All We Know Savant Ask jazz folks to name the top ten alto saxophonists, and you’ll be hard pressed to find Jim Snidero on many lists but if you alter the question to those who are well steeped in the music as to who is the most lyrical and possesses the purest […]
Moppa Elliott Advancing on a Wild Pitch (Quintet) – Disasters Vol. 2 Acceleration Due to Gravity (Nonet) – Jonesville Hot Cup The creative compositional mind of bassist Moppa Elliott is so full of brimming ideas that he’s released two recordings with two different bands on the same day. In fact, other than the leader, his […]
Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir Wonderful Cellar Music Group We’ve had countless reviews of organ-based soul-jazz albums on these pages but this is a first, not only here but likely in music. You’ve read about Mike LeDonne as a pianist in this space but here as the B3 maestro, he leads his elite […]
Christian Fabian Trio Hip to the Skip Spice Rack This trio recording comes as a surprise for at least three reasons. It’s the first time that drummer Jason Marsalis has played in a funk/fusion mode for the entire album, and secondly, it’s rare for a trio to render a funk/fusion record as most have horns […]
Gustavo Cortinas Live in Chicago Desafío Candente The intimacy and crystal-clear sound of this recording by composer, drummer, and educator Gustavo Cortiñas puts the listener right on the bandstand or at least in the proverbial first two. Add to that the warmth and sincerity of Cortiñas’ introductions to his compositions, and it makes for a […]
Greg Murphy You Remind Me Whaling City Sound We last visited with pianist and composer Greg Murphy with his 1991 Cool Water on these pages. While that album celebrated his travels to Africa, this is a heartfelt love letter to his recently passed wife, Nancy. Having studied extensively with the late pianist Ellis Marsalis and […]
Johnny Griffin Live at Ronnie Scott’s 1964 Gearbox This latest discovery hit with little warning, but true audiophiles and tenor sax aficionados may already be hip to this this latest offering from Gearbox – Johnny Griffin’s Live at Ronnie Scott’s 1964. This white-hot set has already issued on digital, CD, standard, limited edition, and Japanese […]
Giorgi Mikadze Trio Face to Face – Georgian Songbook Vol. 1 Peewee! Georgian-born pianist and composer Giorgi Mikadze leads his trio in an exploration of notable Georgian composers in this highly melodic and memorable effort, as Volume One suggests more will follow. Mikadze studied in the U.S. at Berklee and The Manhattan School of Music […]
Diego Rivera With Just a Word Posi-Tone Saxophonist and composer Diego Rivera has been prolific both as a leader and sideman for Posi-Tone in recent years but on this leader effort, With Just a Word, he augments his typical quartet configuration, inviting trumpeter (and conquero) Pete Rodriguez to form the double horn front line classic […]
Rufus Reid & Sullivan Fortner It’s The Nights I Like Sunnyside This music, most of which has been released before on Elan Mehler’s vinyl only NewVelle Records, under the title Always in the Moment comes coincidentally at a time not long after a review of Sullivan Fortner’s Solo/Game on these pages and Mehler’s Trouble in […]
Terry Adams Terrible Omnivore Notwithstanding the album title itself, which is likely just a tongue-in-cheek reference to the opposite, this is an album that attests to NRBQ’s leader and keyboardist Terry Adam’s jazz chops. NRBQ albums have covered Monk, Sun Ra, and other jazz artists but excepting the full album for Monk, usually in the […]
