making a Scene

Sullivan Fortner Solo Game Artwork We’ve covered many pianists this year in 2023, remarking often about this new generation that includes the likes of Isaiah J. Thompson, Sean Mason, Joey Alexander, and several others. Yet, the generation that preceded them, the ‘thirty somethings’ if you will, point to Sullivan Fortner with the utmost admiration. His […]

Benjamin Koppel White Buses – Passage to Freedom Cowbell Music Often music is the best conveyor of stories.  And, if there were justice in the music world, Danish saxophonist and composer Benajmin Koppel’s White Buses – Passage to Freedom would accrue the kind of publicity that Silk Road Ensembles’ American Railroad (that amplifies the untold […]

Geri Allen + Kurt Rosenwinkel A Lovesome Thing – Live at the Philharmonie de Paris Motema Sometimes it seems pointless to describe in words music that is so sublime, delicate, and intricately woven into gorgeous layers. That’s the case with this recently unearthed recording from the late, revered pianist Geri Allen and guitar great, master […]

Cory Weeds and his Little Big Band Home Cookin’ Cellar Music You’ve seen Vancouver-based Cory Weeds’ name often on these pages but typically in the producer role as he is also the label owner of Cellar Music. Weeds is a terrific tenor saxophonist as well as you may also realize. So, here on Home Cookin’ […]

Trio Grande 2.0 Urban Myth Whirlwind We brought you the first foray of Trio Grande with their eponymous 2020 album featuring co-leaders guitarist Gilad Hekselman and saxophonist Will Vinson (also on synths and Wurlitzer). For that date they had Grammy-winning drummer Antonio Sanchez. That was their only showing as the pandemic precluded any chance of […]

Mike DiRubbo Inner Light Truth Revolution Inner Light is alto saxophonist and composer Mike DiRubbo’s tenth album as a leader, fronting a quartet of long-held collaborators. DiRubbo cut his teeth as a sideman for the likes of Al Foster, Harold Mabern, and Cecil Payne among others before proving to be a steadily prolific leader in […]

Silvan Joray UPDRAFT Ubuntu Music The Swiss-born, NYC-based guitarist Silvan Joray is releasing UPDRAFT, his second album as leader. Having established considerable acclaim in Europe, Joray is poised to expand his footprint in the U.S. and globally. Beginning as many Europeans do, he studied classical guitar but when hearing jazz, he switched to electric guitar, […]

Ray Gallon Grand Company Cellar Music Group  Pianist and composer Ray Gallon collaborates with the legendary bassist Ron Carter and nearly legendary drummer Lewis Nash, for this trio release, Grand Company. Gallon, previously not covered on these pages, is known for his work with such luminaries as Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton, George Adams, Wycliffe Gordon, […]

Yuhan Su Liberated Gesture Sunnyside What are the odds of us covering two female Taiwanese-born, NYC-based vibraphonists leading quintets and releasing albums in the same week?  However low those odds may have been, we bring you Liberated Gesture, the fourth album (and second for Sunnyside) from Yuhan Su, and you will also see on these […]

Mareike Wiening Reveal Greenleaf Music Reveal is drummer and composer, the German-based Mareike Wiening’s (Mar-eye-kuh Vee -ning) third album for Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music. We covered her second, 2021’s Future Memories, on these pages and much remains intact not only in terms of personnel but also in outlook, namely that her band, spread throughout the […]

Hassan Ibn Ali Reaching For the Stars: Trios/Duos/ Solos Omnivore This writer’s two previous reviews of the legendary pianist Hassan Ibn Ali appeared in another outlet so it’s probably best to provide some background information. Reaching For the Stars: Trios/Duos/ Solos is the third collection released by Omnivore Records, another look into the previously unheard […]

John Chin Sun of Music: Live From The Lockdown Self-released Pianist John Chin leads a trio of bassist Sean Conly and drummer Jaimeo Brown in a live performance without an audience from Smalls in NYC during the height of the pandemic. Fortunately, the tape machines were rolling. The trio has played together for decades but […]

Lafayette Gilchrist Undaunted Morphius The Baltimore-based, D.C.-born pianist and composer Lafayette Gilchrist leads a sextet through five of his compositions on Undaunted that course through a potpourri of styles from, barrelhouse blues, stride, post hard bop, hip-hop, R&B, and his foundational go-go, the musical style of Washington D.C.  His angular style makes him a descendant […]

Chien Chien Lu Built In System (Live from New York) Giant Steps Art Vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu leads her top shelf quartet of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, bassist Richie Goods, and drummer Alan Mednard in this vibrant live recording, Built In System (Live from New York) from Hunter College in January of 2023. Lu composed all […]

Joe Santa Maria Echo Deep Orenda Joe Santa Maria is a L.A.- based versatile multi-reedist, comfortable playing behind rock groups, laying down post-bop lines, or playing in experimental formats.  Echo Deep, a project that has consumed him for ten years, is his ‘sonic biography,” a daring, totally unique foray into many different cultures and locales. […]