CD Reviews on projects by Jazz artists
Mike Holober & Balancing Act Don’t Let Go Sunnyside Initially you may think that this chamber music project, Don’t Let Go, is a quiet, pensive, mostly classical music listening experience by judging the first few notes that you hear. If you’re familiar with GRAMMY nominated pianist and composer Mike Holober and his several big band […]
Kind Folk Head Towards the Center Fresh Sound New Talent Yes, Kind Folk is a different kind of a name for a jazz quartet, but ardent listeners may recognize it as the name of Kenny Wheeler’s piece from his 1997 ECM release Angel Song. Of course, that’s not by accident as the group debuted in […]
Jo Harrop The Heart Wants Lateralize British jazz vocalist and songwriter Jo Harrop brings her second album, The Heart Wants, stateside. One immediately senses her intimate, smoky, bluesy voice as the album opens with “The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants,” to the accompaniment of a first-rate lineup that boasts bassist Christian McBride, trumpeter Andy […]
Josean Jacobo Trio Herencia Criolla E7 Studios The last time we heard from Dominican pianist Josean Jacobo, he was with his sextet Tumbao for Cimarron, not only one of the best Latin jazz albums of 2019 but one of the best overall in the umbrella category of jazz. He now returns with his trio and […]
Harry Skoler Living In Sound: The Music of Charles Mingus Sunnyside As you all likely know by now, this is the centennial year for Charles Mingus. Clarinetist Harry Skoler has been influenced since adolescence by the iconic bassist and one of the elite composers of jazz. Now, over 40 years later, Skoler, the current professor […]
Ben Markley Big Band with Ari Hoenig Ari’s Fun-House OA2 Let’s introduce you to the two collaborators. Renowned Philadelphia-born drummer Ari Hoenig, who plays drums on all seven tracks, has over a dozen recordings as a leader plus many more as an accompanist on many other sessions. He is a formidable composer and award-winning educator […]
Bouvier Blachant Renewell Bouvier is the nickname for Dr. Jackie “Bouvier” Copeland, who is releasing her spiritual, socially conscious inspired debut Blachant. The latter is a trademarked term for blachanting – her practice of deep reflection, social action, prayer, and her chanting vocal style, which is indeed unique. It’s a blend of the singer-songwriter’s jazz […]
Myra Melford For the Love of Fire and Water Rogueart Pianist and composer Myra Melford assembles a super group of improvising players for what she has dubbed the Fire and Water Quintet and an album of a similar name, For the Love of Fire and Water. She says this is the first installment of a […]
George Freeman Everybody Say Yeah! Southport The jazz history of Chicago great, guitarist George Freeman, continues as he reaches his 95th birthday. This writer can only think of two other active musicians in his sphere, drummer Roy Haynes and Sun Ra Arkestra leader, Marshall Allen, both of whom are 97. There are likely just a […]
Mark Winkler Late Bloomin’ Jazzman Café Pacific Late Bloomin’ Jazzman is the 20th album for singer-songwriter/jazz vocalist Mark Winker and the fourth we have covered on these pages since 2018. Two of them were in collaboration with other artists – 2018’s Eastern Standard Time with Cheryl Bentyne, and 2021’s Old Friends with David Benoit. 2019’s […]
Dave Douglas Secular Psalms Greenleaf Music We have covered contemporary jazz composer, trumpeter, bandleader, and owner of Greenleaf Music Dave Douglas on the pages previously, but as a sideman. Introducing him with this work, Secular Psalms, may be a bit off the cuff and not the most direct representation of his style. Yet, all things […]
Jean-Michel Pilc Alive – Live at Diese Onze, Montreal Justin Time Rarely will you hear so much energy from a piano trio as you do here with Jean-Michel Pilc’s trio playing live in one of Montreal’s best jazz clubs, Diese Onze, on the album Alive. This is the essence of spontaneous, improvised jazz even though […]
Lisa Hilton Life Is Beautiful Ruby Slippers Productions Life Is Beautiful marks the 25th album for pianist, composer and producer Lisa Hilton, and the third recorded during the pandemic years with her trio of bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Rudy Royston. Here we have ten originals and one cover, the classic, bluesy “Ernie’s Blues,” composed […]
James Brown Song Within the Story NGP With the most familiar of names, Canadian jazz guitarist James Brown is likely not familiar to those who are now reading this. Song Within the Story is his first album in more than a decade to boot. It’s primarily a trio recording, featuring bassist Clark Johnston, and drummer […]
Ryan Keberle’s Collectiv Do Brasil Sonhos Da Esquina Alternate Side Trombonist and composer Ryan Keberle, who traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2017 and 2018, began to collaborate with the city’s longstanding trio of Felipe Silveira (piano), Thiago Alves (bass), and Paulinho Vicente (drums), eventually forming the quartet Collectiv do Brasil and recording this beautiful […]
Danilo Perez Crisalida Mack Avenue The GRAMMY-winning pianist, composer, educator, and longtime member of The Wayne Shorter Quartet, Panamanian Danilo Perez, delivers essentially an idealistic world music effort imbued with Latin, classical chamber music, jazz improvisations (mostly his) and choral strains via his new band, The Global Messengers. This is very different sounding album than […]
Eugenie Jones Players Open Mic Rarely will you see so many luminaries on one album. Well, okay it is a double disc and the third album on her own label for talented jazz vocalist/composer/lyricist Eugenie Jones who fronts various bands in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and her home base, Seattle on the aptly titled, Players. […]
Kristen Lee Sergeant Falling Tiger Turn Kristen Lee Sergeant may not be your dad or mom’s prototypical jazz vocalist. There isn’t even a hint of scat, for example. She presents a much bigger package, especially here on her third album, Falling, where her interpreter role now takes a back seat to her own original material, […]
Julieta Eugenio Jump Greenleaf Music Argentinian-born saxophonist Julieta Eugenio makes her debut in a trio with Jump on Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music label, the same one behind fellow saxophonist Donny McCaslin’s trio effort Recommended Tools in 2008. Eugenio’s trio includes bassist Matt Dwonszyk and drummer Jonathan Barber, both of whom are based in Connecticut where […]
Tritone Asylum The Hideaway Sessions Blue Canoe Tritone Asylum is a collective that brands their music “electro-acoustic,” filled with jazz-fusion, jazz improvisation, and Latin rhythms. It’s a tantalizing concoction that nods to familiar fusion pioneers of the ‘70s, Pat Metheny, the breakthrough sound of ECM, and versatile players such as Eddie Harris and The Brecker […]
Ron Jackson Standards and My Songs Roni Music Ron Jackson is the master of the 7-string jazz guitar, a rarely played instrument that’s not unique to but the center of Jackson’s domain, one that he’d like to broaden to other guitarists. On Standards and My Songs, his ninth as a leader on his own label, […]
Andrew Boudreau Quartet Neon Fresh Sound New Talent Neon is the Nova Scotia-born, now Brooklyn-based pianist Andrew Boudreau’s debut as a leader. He is joined by Neta Raanan on tenor saxophone, Simon Willson on bass and Eviatar Slivnik on drums. These bandmates met in the Boston are when Raanan and Slivnik were Berklee students, and […]
Alex “Apolo” Ayala Bámbula Truth Revolution Bámbula is the debut album from New York-based bassist and composer Alex “Apolo” Ayala. It celebrates his Afro-Puerto Rican culture, comments on his identity, and pays tribute to his late mother and grandmother. Over the course of seven original compositions and one interpretation, Ayala blends Afro-Caribbean styles with jazz traditions in a […]
The Adam Larson Trio With Love, From Chicago Outside in Music Talk about stripped-down. Saxophonist Adam Larson’s trio outing With Love, From Chicago has a black and white photograph for the cover art and no liner notes or details on the inside jacket. More glaringly, in terms of music, there is no chordal instrument either. […]
Micah Graves Pawns Self-released There’s a buzz in Philly, a city that has boasted more than its fair share of legendary jazz artists, about the emerging pianist/composer/educator, 24-year-old Micah Graves, and his already prolific output. He has caught the attention of NPR and when one considers his development, we have a musician that clearly bears […]
Mathis Picard Live at the Museum Outside in Music Mathis Picard, only in his mid-twenties, is an emerging French-Malagasy pianist, composer, producer, and bandleader who currently resides in New York City and is ascending in popularity. If you’ve been fortunate to hear him, it was probably through his genre-bending 2020 EP World Unity under the […]
Emile Parisien Sextet Louise ACT Music & Vision French soprano saxophonist Emile Parisien forms American-European sextet for Louise, marking a decade with the Munich-based label, ACT Music & Vision. New listeners to Parisien will quickly sense a distinctive soprano saxophone tone, one that is softer and that often reads like a string instrument such as […]
The Jazz All Stars Volume 2 Le Coq The straight-ahead jazz label Le Coq enters its second year, reprising their introductory salvo of 2021, Volume 1, featuring an aggregation of premiere jazz musicians, with The Jazz All Stars, Volume 2. Most of the inaugural roster is aboard including both pianist/composer/arrangers Bill Cunliffe and John Beasley […]
John Hébert Sounds of Love Sunnyside Bassist John Hébert who keeps progressive company with the likes of Fred Hersch, Mary Halvorson, Uri Caine and bands led by Andrew Hill and Paul Bley earlier in his career, has long been fascinated with the music of Charles Mingus to the extent that he has modeled Sounds of […]
Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre Visión Ovation Visión is the third release and the second on his own label, Ovation, for Multi-GRAMMY® Winning pianist, composer and bandleader Oscar Hernández, a giant of Latin jazz, most known as the leader of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra (SHO). Here, he leads his quintet, Alma Libre – a Los […]
Dave Wilson Stretching Supreme Self-released Dave Wilson’s Stretching Supreme is a follow-up of sorts to his 2019 release One Night At Chris’, a Philadelphia jazz institution that is the site for this tribute to John Coltrane. We did cover that release on these pages. Yes, one may be asking – do we need another tribute […]
Tony Malaby The Cave of Winds Pyroclastic The title, Cave of Winds, sounds like a rock formation but draws its name from an interesting place where saxophonist/composer Tony Malaby and his trio played in 2020 during the lockdown months. Beginning in July of that year, Malaby began hosting improvisational jamming sessions featuring bassist John Hébert […]
Taru Alexander Echoes of the Masters Sunnyside Drummer Taru Alexander was blessed with the jazz genes from his father, saxophonist Roland Alexander, and an extended family of professional musicians while growing up in Brooklyn, NY. As the title, Echoes of the Masters, suggests, the drummer pays tribute, in one of the most sacred traditions of […]
Roswell Rudd & Duck Baker Live Dot Time This is one that broke late in 2021 that we’d be remiss to overlook. It is not often that one finds duets between trombone and fingerstyle guitar to begin with and considering that the trombonist is the late legendary Roswell Rudd along with the renowned finger stylist […]
Making a Scene Presents Jim Hynes Top Jazz Releases for 2021 2021 marked by far the most jazz reviews we have ever done in this space which has proven to be a haven for some lesser-known names, artists making debuts, and a surprising number of forward-thinking, explorative performers. In hindsight, the list, which includes […]
Greg Amirault News Blues Self-released This week’s theme seems to be mostly about Canadian artists. Jazz guitarist, educator, and composer Greg Amirault originally hails from Nova Scotia and has been living and performing in the Montreal area for over three decades. As an educator he teaches at the prestigious McGill and Concordia Universities. He has […]
Dave Young Mantra Modica Music This is the third review you may be reading this week about a Canadian artist, in this case, the seemingly ageless bassist and composer Dave Young, 81 years young (not a play on words, it just turned out that way). If you are unfamiliar with him, consider that he has […]
Asaf Yuria Exorcisms Jojo Israeli saxophonist Asaf Yuria’s Exorcisms is an old school album, or mostly a vintage hard bop excursion. One can tell Yuria grew up on the great Blue Note era of the 1960s with artists such as Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Lee Morgan, and early John Coltrane. Consider the conventional […]
Cory Weeds With String – What Is There To Say? Cellar Music Group We’ve heard so many produced projects recently from Cory Weeds that we’ve almost forgotten that he’s quite an artist in his own right. In fact, Weeds would likely let you know that he is a saxophonist first, and an entrepreneur in his […]
Martin Wind My Astorian Queen Laika We’re brought to this new release, My Astorian Queen by German native, New York-based bassist and composer Martin Wind partly through coincidence. Having just reviewed on these pages, the terrific vocal album While You Were Gone from Paul Jost, on which Wind plays impressively on four tracks as a […]
Mareike Wiening Future Memories Greenleaf Music Certain jazz labels such as Greenleaf Music, Pyroclastic, and Outside in Music are just a few that one can count on for creative jazz presentations today. Greenleaf, the subject at hand, is an independent music company owned, operated and curated by trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas. The label is […]
Joe Fiedler Fuzzy and Blue “Open Sesame” Multiphonics Music Who would have thought we’d encounter the music of the long-running television show Sesame Street through a progressive jazz outfit? Well, this is not the first but the second time for trombonist Joe Fiedler who released Open Sesame in 2019 and is the EMMY-nominated music director […]
Eberhard Weber Once Upon a Time Live in Avignon ECM Bassist Eberhard Weber has been recording since the mid-1970s back in the dark ages when this writer was just beginning his now-retired radio career. Perhaps that’s why we are taking up for the first time a review of a solo bass album. You may not […]
Shubh Saran inglish Art of Life Shubh Saran is a New York-based guitarist, composer, and producer who has performed globally and grew up in six different countries. His nomadic raising shapes a wide range of influences in his music, sourcing from modern jazz, neo-soul, rock, classical Hindustani and Rajasthani folk music, and more. In short, […]
Dylan Jack Quartet Period Pieces Creative Nation Music Period Pieces is the follow-up to this quartet’s 2020 Tale of the Twelve-Foot Man which we covered on these pages. Although we don’t see “Dylan Jack Quartet” on the cover, we see the same four names – guitarist Eric Hofbauer, drummer Dylan Jack, bassist Anthony Leva and trumpeter Jerry […]
Dino Govoni Hiding in Plain Sight Whaling City Sound Hiding in Plain Sight is a terrific title when considering that tenor saxophonist and composer Dino Govoni hasn’t issued a recording in nearly a decade yet has remained continually active as an educator, a long-time faculty member at Berklee School of Music. This is his third […]
Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson Searching for the Disappeared Hour Pyroclastic Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson are two of the most forward-thinking musicians on their respective instruments. While a duo recording of two chordal instruments may seem bound for clashing rather than harmonizing, one can point to classics such as Bill Evans and […]
Paul Jost Quartet While We Were Gone – Live at Soapbox Gallery Self-released Paul Jost’s While We Were Gone may well be the top jazz vocal album of 2021. Yes, we said the same about Roseanna Vitro’s Sing a Song of Bird, but let’s just consider that one a collaborative vocal effort. Jost delivers a […]
Jeremy Monteiro & Alberto Marsico Jazz-Blues Brothers Jazz Note Back in April of this year, we brought you the elite trio of pianist Jeremy Monteiro aka Singapore’s King of Swing, bassist Jay Anderson, and drummer Lewis Nash Live at No Black Tie. That session introduced this writer and you readers to the swinging, bluesy piano […]
Jane Ira Bloom and Allison Miller Tues Days Outline/Supaphine In 2017 in one of the first jazz reviews (see Wild Lines) this writer contributed to these pages, we praised soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom with these words – “If you love the pure sound of the soprano without the screeching and honking and free from […]
