CD Reviews on projects by Jazz artists
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 […]
Alex Brown The Dark Fire Sessions Self-released Pianist and composer Alex Brown is relatively new on the scene and The Dark Fire Sessions marks only his second release as a bandleader. Having seen Brown perform in virtual performances such as Sean Jones’ Dizzy Spellz at the 2021 Detroit Jazz Festival and at Baltimore’s Keystone Korner […]
Benjamin Schnake Ensemble The Joy of Playing Self-released The Benjamin Schnake Ensemble presents an enticing meshing of jazz and South American music. Schnake, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger was born in Chile and studied both classical and popular music growing up. He is skilled at the charango (Andean small guitar), pan flutes, and quena (Andean […]
Kazemde George I Insist Greenleaf Music I Insist is the debut as a leader for Brooklyn-based tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator Kazemde George. The title is to both signify an emphatic statement and a nod to Max Roach’s landmark 1960 protest album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite. George has previously released a series of electronic […]
Farnell Newton Feel the Love Posi-Tone Feel the Love is third Posi-Tone release for Portland, OR-based trumpeter and composer Farnell Newton. We covered his second one, Rippin’ and Runnin’, on these same pages in May 2020. Newton, who after being raised in Miami, FL attended the Philadelphia High School for creative and Performing Arts, studied […]
Adonis Rose and The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra feat. Cyrille Aimée Petite Fleur Storyville The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) under the direction of drummer Adonis Rose issues its second release, cementing the city’s French connection on a 10-song collaboration, Petite Fleur, with French vocalist, turned Crescent City resident Cyrille Aimée. It was she who […]
Marilyn Crispell and Yuma Uesaka Streams Not Two/Polyfold Music Avant-pianist Marilyn Crispell has built her distinguished career in the company of inventive saxophonists, from the AACM artists Anthony Braxton and Joseph Jarman to more recent outings with Joe Lovano’s Tapestries. She now teams in duo format with Yuma Uesaka, and emerging talent among multi-reed performers. […]
Kurt Elling SuperBlue Edition Recently this writer is pondering if there are any limits to Kurt Elling’s talent. We witnessed a two-hour radio play, Big Blind, at the virtual Detroit Jazz Festival held in the beginning of September. His 2020 project Secrets Are the Best Stories, with pianist Danilo Perez won a Grammy. Now we […]
Mary LaRose Out Here little (i) Music Seldom has there been a more appropriate title for an album but it’s fascinating for fans of Eric Dolphy and the edgy music that he made in the early sixties. Vocalist Mary LaRose dedicates Out Here, a play on ‘out there,’ entirely to the music of Dolphy, using […]
Q’d Up Going Places Tantara This is for all the folks, and there are many, who say that there’s no jazz in Salt Lake City, let alone Utah, despite the name of its NBA team. This quintet, Q’d Up, is here to negate that statement. The founder is multi-instrumentalist Ray Smith who started a band […]
Michael Stephenson Meets The Alexander Claffy Trio (with Benny Benack III) Cellar Music Group Sometimes just a couple of highly recognizable names will draw one to an album. Although familiar with Claffy and Benck III, it was Executive Producer Cory Weeds and Producer Jeremy Pelt that caught my attention and neither plays on this album […]
Mark Zaleski Band Our Time – Reimagining Dave Brubeck Origin Our Time is far edgier than one might guess, considering that the Mark Zaleski Band is reimagining the music of Dave Brubeck. Mark Zaleski is featured here on alto and soprano saxophone alongside tenor saxophonist Jon Bean, pianist Glenn Zaleski, guitarist Mark Cocheo, bassist Danny Weller, and drummer Oscar Suchanek. […]
Joe Farnsworth City of Sounds Smoke Sessions Drummer and composer Joe Farnsworth has done a great job of branding himself with ‘swing.’ His 2020 album and accompanying emblazoned merchandise are entitled “Time to Swing.” So, it’s that time again as Farnsworth reenlists pianist, NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, and renowned bassist Peter Washington for another […]
Miki Yamanaka Stairway to the Stars Outside in Music This is our second entry for Miki Yamanaka, who’s stunning 2020 Human Dust Suite we covered on these same pages. She returns with a more intimate recording, Stairway to the Stars, her third album, this time with a drumless trio featuring returning bassist Orlando le Fleming […]
Chet Doxas You Can’t Take It With You Whirlwind Tenor saxophonist Chet Doxas leads a drumless trio featuring bassist Thomas Morgan and pianist Ethan Iverson for You Can’t Take It With You, his twelfth album as leader or co-leader. Doxas plays in another esteemed band, Riverside, with his brother Jim and Dave Douglas and while […]
Eric Wyatt A Song of Hope Whaling City Sound Saxophonist and composer Eric Wyatt bursts out firing on A Song of Hope, his follow-up to 2019’s The Golden Rule, which was a tribute to his self-described godfather, Sonny Rollins. Here, with mostly different bandmates, he moves in a more eclectic direction, honoring Rollins at times, […]
Raymundo Sodré Dengo Ropeadope Listening to the uplifting music of Raymundo Sodré for the first time evoked two references. His Brazilian music hails from the Nordeste (Northeast) and resembles the juju music from Nigeria. Casual listeners may in fact think that it is African music. Also, Charlie Musselwhite once explained to me in an interview […]
Chick Corea Chick Corea Akoustic Band LIVE Concord We are still mourning the sudden, unexpected passing of Chick Corea earlier this year and his smiling face that adorns the cover and photos within, not to mention his spirited playing, deeply reminds us how much we miss him. However, not surprisingly there is Corea music left […]
David Sanford Big Band (Featuring Hugh Ragin) A Prayer for Lester Bowie Greenleaf Music We must warn you that this is so far from your father’s big band music, that you need to be ready for progressive, improvised jazz that weaves in modern classical and defiant flavors of both avant-garde and punk. Okay, so with […]
Roseanna Vitro Sing a Song of Bird Featuring Sheila Jordan, Bob Dorough, Marion Cowings, Gary Bartz, Mark Gross Skyline Sing a Song a Bird is a collaboration of four vocal and two saxophone giants as they celebrate the music of the iconic Charlie Parker. The main mover here is Grammy nominee vocalist Roseanna Vitro who […]
Marc Cary Life Lessons Sessionheads United Keyboardist Marc Cary is veteran who built his reputation backing such giants as Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter, Roy Hargrove, Jackie McLean, and Randy Weston. Yet, with now 18 albums as a leader, this trio debut Life Lessons, with bassist Dan Chmielinski and drummer Diego Joaquin Ramirez reveals a very […]
Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette Skyline 5Passion Skyline is the first of a planned trilogy of piano trio albums for his own label, 5Passion Records, that the Cuban-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba founded in 2010. Rubalcaba tapped two living legends to deliver this inaugural foray, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette. They were two […]
Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge Within Us Summit Chuck Owen reconvenes his 19-piece big band along with special guest Warren Wolf to commemorate the five-time Grammy-nominated band’s 25th anniversary with Within Us. This is the Florida-based ensemble’s seventh recording and marked the first time many had recorded with other musicians in the same room […]
Ray Obeido Latin Jazz Project Vol. 2 Rhythmus Latin Jazz Project Vol. 2 is the tenth release by the Bay Area guitarist and composer Ray Obeido, his originals plus one from producer/arranger Gerald Wilson. Of the 29 musicians in the credits, 15 of them return from Volume 1, they being mostly Bay Area veterans but […]
Pat Metheny Side-Eye – NYC (V1-IV) Modern Recordings No ‘jazz’ musician except Chick Corea has amassed more Grammy awards than Pat Metheny but the use of quote marks around jazz indicates that both for Corea and Metheny, some of these awards were due to projects in other genres besides jazz. Our greatest artists are both […]
Aakash Mittal Nocturne Self-released This unique project, Nocturne, from alto saxophonist and composer Aakash Mittal and his Awaz trio transports you to the nighttime streets of Kolkata, (formerly Calcutta), India. The instrumentation is unusual to say the least as Mittal fronts the trio of guitarist Miles Okazaki and percussionist Rajna Swaminathan (playing mridangam and Kanjira). […]
Dave Zinno & Unisphere Fetish Whaling City Sound Bassist and composer Dave Zinno issues his third album, Fetish, with his group Unisphere. Zinno calls it the culmination of a year without live music and thus, it’s a huge, in some cases, unbridled release of energy for he and his band members – Mike Tucker (tenor […]
Andy Farber and his Orchestra Early Blue Evening ArtistShare Saxophonist, arranger, composer and bandleader Andy Farber issues his fourth album as a leader and second big band effort with Early Blue Evening. His is a 17-piece band that digs back to the original big bands and infuses those sounds with a more contemporary language. The […]
Lisa Hilton Transparent Sky Ruby Slippers Productions Composer/pianist/producer, Lisa Hilton is back less than a year later with her follow-up to her 2020 More Than Another Day, again featuring her longstanding bandmates: Rudy Royston on drums, and Luques Curtis on bass. Considering that this writer has covered Hilton twice previously for two different outlets, perhaps an introduction is appropriate for […]
Carlos Henriquez The South Bronx Story Tiger Turn Carlos Henriquez is best known as the bassist for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a position he has held for over two decades. Henriquez is also a composer and bilingual artist, stepped in the Latin music of his Puerto Rican heritage. Currently, many acknowledge him as […]
Andrew Renfroe Ride in the Storm Self-released Ride in the Storm is guitarist Andrew Renfroe’s first album as a leader with all original compositions. Renfroe has built a reputation as a first call guitarist for artists such as Braxton Cook, Tia Fuller, and Jonathan Barber, to name a few. Renfroe’s many references, based on his […]
Kerry Moffit What Goes Around Comes Around Self-released Veteran composer, arranger, trumpeter Kerry Moffit has been playing professionally for 41 years, appeared on over 70 recordings as a sideman in many configurations, and is just now issuing his debut as a leader with What Goes Around Comes Around. Moffit leads his sextet, Turning Circles through […]
Gary Meek Monterey Groove Autumn Hill Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Gary Meek debuts a new band formed in and inspired by California’s central coast, as indicated in the title. The project began with no intention of a recording but simply to form a fusion band which was unique to the Monterey area, for playing locally. You’ve […]
Tom Cohen My Take Versa Music Philly drummer Tom Cohen leads the modern incarnation of the jazz organ trio across three different configurations on My Take, for extended versions of jazz classics from Gigi Gryce, Benny Golson, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Stitt, and Vincent Youmans. Featured are master organist and fellow Philadelphian Joey DeFrancesco, tenor giants […]
Leon Lee Dorsey Freedom Jazz Dance Jazz Avenue 1 Bassist Leon Lee Dorsey and legendary drummer Mike Clark are a tandem that just keeps on chugging, raising curiosity as to who will be the third member to join them on their next outing. Freedom Jazz Dance marks their fourth collaboration, having begun with 2019’s Monk […]
Jeff Pearring Pearring Sound – Socially Distanced Duos Self-released Alto saxophonist Jeff Pearring usually leads groups ranging from trio to quintets under the group name Pearring Sound, but the pandemic intervened. So Pearring took a safe approach instead, deciding to play duos with six diverse musicians across eight selections, each recorded in a socially distanced […]
Tim Motzer Many Ways Around the Sun Ropeadope Tim Motzer’s Many Ways Around the Sun is a true solo album with the multi-instrumentalist who has made nine solo soundscape albums now adding vocals to his compositions for the first time. Playing mellotron, guitars, bass, prophet synth, optigan, wood flute, cymbals, drums, reed organ, electronics, drum […]
Billy Test Trio Coming Down Roses ATM His name is not yet widely known but this writer first became familiar with Pennsylvania-bred pianist and composer Billy Test when he and trio mates, bassist Evan Gregor and drummer Ian Froman backed Dave Liebman in last year’s Invitation by The Generations Quartet. Having studied with Liebman while […]
System 6 Tales from the Backyard Skipper Productions Bandleader and multi-reedist, the English-born and now L.A. based Benn Clatworthy, returns with does his long-standing sextet, the totally acoustic System 6, with Tales From the Backyard, a follow-up to last year’s Bennie’s Lament, which we covered on these pages. Initially this writer felt that this one […]
Blue Reality Quartet Blue Reality Quartet! Mahakala In another time the album cover would come across as daunting with four men, each with his face covered with a mask. Yet, in these times, we quickly realize that these four musicians have recorded an album during the height of the pandemic. That’s a blue reality itself […]
Keith Loftis Original State Long Tone Music Original State is saxophonist Keith Loftis’ fourth album as a leader. Loftis is the saxophonist for the three-time Grammy nominated Baylor Project, among his other pursuits. This is a new quartet for him in this lyrical, free blowing, mostly swinging session that features six originals in the nine […]
Greg Ward, Rajiv Halim, Sharel Cassity Altoizm AFAR Music Usually any three-headed saxophone group comes together to honor a legend like Bird or Trane, notwithstanding bigger units such as the World Saxophone Quartet of Odean Pope’s Saxophone Choir. Yet this unit, self-dubbed Altoizm, is making their own music with all seven compositions composed by the […]
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol An Elegant Ritual DÜNYA Last year one of our Top 30 Jazz albums was from multi-instrumentalist and composer Mehmet Ali Sanlikol leading a large ensemble featuring NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman for The Rise Up: Stories of Strife, Struggle, and Inspiration. This one, An Elegant Ritual, is almost entirely different as Sanlikol […]
Mike Clark and Michael Zilber Mike Drop Sunnyside Renowned jazz drummer Mike Clark and acclaimed saxophonist Michael Zilber have a decade-long musical relationship in the Bay Area. Although Clark spends more time now in New York, the two had such an inspiring week of performances in the Bay Area in 2018 that they decided to […]
William Parker Mayan Space Station – Painter’s Winter AUM Fidelity This likely introduces some of our readers to William Parker for the first time. Parker is an edgy, free jazz, avant-garde composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, shaman, and community leader. His major instrument is the bass, but he plays such instruments as the trombonium and shakuhachi […]
Art Hirahara Open Sky Posi – Tone Pianist/composer/ and bandleader for his sixth outing on the Posi-tone label, Art Hirahara, furthers his appealing mix of straight-ahead jazz to standards to progressive jazz as he splits the selections between a trio and quartet on Open Sky, the title alone suggesting few, if any boundaries. The trio […]
Samara Joy Samara Joy Whirlwind We first introduced our readers to jazz vocalist Samara Joy, who appeared on Bruce Harris’ Soundview, released just a few weeks ago. Now Joy delivers her self-titled debut, after winning the Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition. Consider that past winners include the likes of Jazzmeia Horn and it harbingers […]