cd review

Ingrid Laubrock The Last Quiet Place Pyroclastic The title, The Last Quiet Place, certainly has a foreboding ring to it. Where is such a place – is it physical or is it some corner of our inner selves that becomes increasingly more difficult to reach? Saxophonist and composer Ingrid Laubrock posed these questions to herself […]

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Peter Case Doctor Moan Sunset Blvd. Apart from the great, though purposely dichotomous album title, Peter Case marks his first piano driven album, the sixteenth in his storied five-decade career that’s ranged from punk, jangly rock, and introspective folk to what we can now add his latent hints of jazz and blues. While researching this […]

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Canadian Jazz Collective Septology – The Black Forest Session HGBS Blue The Canadian Jazz Collective (CJC) is fronted by three of Canada’s most acclaimed and accomplished jazz treasures and familiar names to readers of these pages, especially trumpeter Derrick Gardner alongside saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, guitarist Lorne Lofsky. We introduced clarinetist Virginia MacDonald (Kirk’s daughter) on Michael Dease’s recently issued The Other […]

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Mark Lewis Sunlight Shines In Audio Daddio Leave it to legally blind musician, saxophonist/flutist Mark Lewis to entitle his album this way. It’s his way of marking a new chapter for the Washington state born and now residing Lewis who has nearly two dozen albums to his credit and has spent most of his career […]

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Ralph Alessi It’s Always Now ECM It’s Always Now is the eleventh release and fourth on ECM for American trumpeter and composer Ralph Alessi. Departing from previous ECM works, Alessi moves away from his NYC quartet in favor of new European- American lineup that features German pianist Florian Webber (co-writer on three compositions and fourth […]

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Michael Dease The Other Shoe – The Music of Gregg Hill Origin You may well recognize that trombonist and composer Michael Dease is the second major artist to cover the music of Gregg Hill, who co-produces.  Bassist Rodney Whitaker, who is a guest of Dease’s ensemble here for The Other Shoe – The Music of […]

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Esthesis Quartet Time Zones Ears And Eyes The aptly named Time Zones brings together four improvising female jazz musicians who hail from different parts of the U.S. This is their second effort as their eponymous Esthesis Quartet released in 2021. The four musicians, educators, and composers met through festivals, conferences and sessions throughout the country […]

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Pierre L. Chambers Shining Moments Dash-Hoffman “Mr P. C.” will inevitably be associated with the legendary bassist Paul Chambers, but now for the first time on record we hear from his son, poet and vocalist Pierre L. Chambers, who pays homage to his father and mother with his debut recording, Shining Moments. Proving that it’s […]

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Billy Childs The Winds of Change Mack Avenue Although it’s a bit hard to fathom that Billy Childs may need an introduction, it’s likely the first time we have covered him on these pages as a leader. Childs is one of the most critically acclaimed pianists in contemporary jazz and among America’s most awarded and commissioned modern […]

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David Ake Green Thumb Posi-Tone Even though this is regular David Ake’s seventh album for Posi-Tone, Green Thumb marks our first coverage for the pianist and leading educator at The University of Miami’s esteemed Frost School of Music.  Now, we may have mentioned this before but because the Posi-Tone producer/engineer duo of Marc Free and […]

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Dave Askren Jeff Benedict Denver Sessions Tapestry Denver Sessions is the fourth collaborative album for guitarist Dave Askren and saxophonist Jeff Benedict and follows their 2020 tribute to the recently passed Wayne Shorter, entitled Paraphernalia. The two have actually recorded together a dozen times in their 30-year history in L.A. The location and lineup are […]

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Margherita Fava TATATU Self-released TATATU is the debut recording for Italian-born, Knoxville, TN-based pianist and composer Margherita Fava who has assembled a top tier quartet for her highly lyrical, soulful original six compositions. She nods to Thelonious Monk and to Jerome Kern with her two covers. Joining Favre, who forges a group sound versus a […]

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Ally Fiola & The Next Quest Interblaze – featuring Jeff Coffin Self-released Nova Scotian alto saxophonist and film composer Ally Fiola delivers her second album, the contemporary jazz, New Orleans flavored Interblaze. Her guest accompanists are quite impressive beginning with multi-Grammy nominated tenor saxophonist Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones) and […]

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Simon Moullier Isla Self-released Scanning the album photograph and instrumentation for this quartet, one might think that emerging and prolific vibraphonist and composer Simon Moullier presents an ethereal, almost New Wave-like sound.  Well, that’s dead wrong.  This quartet swings!  Isla is Moullier’s third album in less than three years and while the others were rendered […]

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Christopher Hale Ritual Diamonds Earshift Music Bassist-composer Christopher Hale reimagines Korean ritual drumming and contemporary jazz, creating mysteriously beautiful sound rich in rhythmic complexity and harmonic colors for Ritual Diamonds. In some respects, this is similar to, almost a sequel to the concept album Disruption: The Voice of Drums released in 2022 by the same […]

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Vivienne Aerts Typuhthang Self-released Like you, this writer is having trouble pronouncing the album name. In fact, for a self-released project, this is an incredibly ambitious and unusual one. Vocalist, performer, and composer Vivienne Aerts has gathered 100 next-generation female musicians to launch a special touch for International Women’s Day on March 3. In collaboration […]

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Jesse Davis Jesse Davis Live at Smalls Jazz Club Cellar Music Group and SmallsLIVE Living Masters Series  Admittedly some readers of these pages may have first associated the name Jesse Davis with Taj Mahal’s late guitarist, better known as Jesse Ed Davis. Yet, alto saxophonist Jesse Davis has been a staple within the jazz community for nearly forty […]

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East Axis No Subject Mack Avenue We don’t associate the label Mack Avenue or Christian’s McBride’s Brother Mister Productions with improvised, avant-garde offerings except for his own New Jawn but that has changed with the issuance of this quartet, East Axis and their debut, No Subject. Based on the sounds heard here, more of this […]

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Planet D Nonet Blues to Be There A Salute to Duke Ellington Eastlawn The Planet D Nonet is a Detroit-based group, actually numbering ten, lead by percussionist and music personality RJ Spangler and trumpeter/vocalist James O’Donnell. Prior to this salute to Duke Ellington the band has engaged in what they feel are neglected jazz and […]

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John Bailey Time Bandits Freedom Road Versatile and in-demand trumpeter and composer John Bailey has played alongside Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Latin jazz giants Ray Barretto and Arturo O’Farrill as well as with major jazz musicians in NYC. The backing ensemble he has recruited for Time Bandits, his third album as a leader, […]

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Richie Goods & Chien Chien Lu Connected Vol. 1 Richman Music Renowned bassist Richie Goods and respected vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu are documenting what looks to be the first in a series of collaborations. You may have already heard some of their work as “We Three Kings” was released in the Fall of 2020 and “Rain,” which […]

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Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets Pan Africa Impact Jazz Trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Derrick Gardner has been regarded prominently ever since his 2005 debut with Slim Goodie. He has also received international acclaim for his 18-piece ensemble Derrick Gardner & The Big dig! Band, highlighted by their critically acclaimed 2020 recording debut Still I Rise, which we covered […]

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Nadje Noordhuis Full Circle Newvelle The Australian-born trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis leads a first-rate quartet on Full Circle, the fourth album in NewVelle Records’ Renewal Series.  Flanked by pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Rudy Royston, Noordhuis, who composed all eight compositions, gives each of her bandmates plenty of solo opportunities.  This is a […]

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Rodney Whitaker Oasis – The Music of Gregg Hill Origin Detroit native, Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, and esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker is back with his third album dedicated to music of his East Lansing neighbor, composer Gregg Hill, with Oasis. If this, the first one this writer has heard, is any […]

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