Toots Thielemans, Yesterday & Today (Out Of The Blue) Two CDs with thirty-eight tracks, most previously unreleased, follow Thielemans from 1946, when he was a 23-year-old guitarist with a Belgian swing band, to a 2001 harmonica performance of “What A Wonderful World” with pianist Kenny Werner. In the late 1940s and early ‘50s, when many European musicians were struggling with the style, Thielemans had a firm grasp of bebop. Playing through the decades with George Shearing, Hank Jones, … [Read more...]

Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann, Turn Signal (Capri) Pianist Wofford’s and flutist Hofmann’s quintet set is notable for variety, rich textures and harmonies, and depth of feeling. In conception and sound, trumpeter Terell Stafford blends beautifully with them. Bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Richard Sellers are strong and flexible in support. Among the highlights are Wofford’s “The Dipper,” a Horace Silver tribute that evokes Silver’s writing and playing; Stafford’s powerful solo … [Read more...]

Mathew Shipp, Elastic Aspects (Thirsty Ear) The first track of the pianist’s album has no piano, just bassist Michael Bisio bowing and drummer Whit Dickey generating sepulchral sounds with mallets on cymbals. The second track is a few seconds of Shipp unaccompanied in what might be heard as late Debussy. With the third track, the trio is off and running with a kind pointillist post-bop, a suggestion of Bud Powell’s “Un Poco Loco,” lots of interaction and mutual improvisation. This … [Read more...]

Lee Konitz with Dan Tepfer (Jazz Heaven) Designed as a master class, the DVD provides fascinating listening and viewing for anyone curious about the creative process of making jazz. In conversation with his frequent collaborator, pianist Tepfer, Konitz discusses and demonstrates the wisdom he has accumulated in his nearly 85 years. In the hour-and-a-half conversation, he frequently picks up his alto saxophone to demonstrate a concept or a point and brings Tepfer into the spoken and played … [Read more...]

Judth Schlesinger, The Insanity Hoax: Exposing the Myth of the Mad Genius (Shrinktunes) With wit and a nice sense of irony, Schlesinger lays siege to the popular notion that to be truly creative, a person must be mentally unbalanced. A PhD psychologist and a jazz critic, Schlesinger discusses myths about Charlie Parker, Chet Baker and other jazz musicians but also about Balzac, Beethoven, William Blake and Gustav Mahler, among other geniuses presumed to have been insane to some degree. She … [Read more...]