Charles Pillow Large Ensemble, Electric Miles (Mama Records) Whatever the title Electric Miles might lead you to expect, chances are that it wouldn’t be an album of non-electric big band music. A Louisiana alto saxophonist long since ensconced in New York, with skill and imagination Pillow … [Read more...]

Jeff Cosgrove, Scott Robinson, Ken Filiano, Hunters & Scavengers (Grizzley Music) Drummer Cosgrove gets composer credit for all but one of the ten pieces in this collection. The exception is Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman,” the album closer. Coleman, of course, was a pioneer of free … [Read more...]

Cyrille Aimée" Live" (Mack Avenue) Cyrille Aimée is not a gypsy, but she has Roma fervor and intensity reminiscent of Django Reinhardt’s. It’s no wonder; when she was a little girl in northern France she sneaked out at night to join the neighborhood gypsies who sang and played around their … [Read more...]

Milt Buckner: The Life and Music of a Unique Jazz Pianist and Organist (Woodward) Willard “Woody” Woodward writes a straightforward account of the career of the keyboard artist who pioneered the Hammond B3 organ in jazz. Milt Buckner paved the way for later organ heroes including Jimmy Smith, … [Read more...]

Roberta Piket, West Coast Trio, 13th Note Records The seasoned New York pianist traveled west to record with a sterling rhythm section of veteran Los Angeles players. The bicoastal combination clicked. Drummer Joe La Barbera, bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, and—on two pieces—guitarist Larry … [Read more...]

On Call: Peter Erskine & The Dr. Um Band (Fuzzy Music) Erskine’s quartet luxuriates in excitement that recalls and updates his achievements as Weather Report’s keystone drummer. " Later when he was with Steps Ahead, " that group further contributed to electronica as a legitimate jazz … [Read more...]

Jim McNeely, The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Barefoot Dances and Other Visions (Planet Arts) McNeely fortifies his position in the upper echelon of jazz arrangers in this set of new pieces for the formidable Frankfurt Radio Big Band. The album begins with his tribute to the late Bob Brookmeyer, … [Read more...]

Lilian Terry, Dizzy Duke Brother Ray And Friends (Illinois) Lilian Terry’s book is full of anecdotes about her friendships with the musicians mentioned in the title—and dozens of others. Enjoying modest renown in Europe for her singing, Ms. Terry has also been involved in radio and television … [Read more...]

Oscar Peterson Plays (Verve) In this five-CD reissue, the formidable pianist plays pieces by ten composers who dominated American popular music for decades. Peterson had bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Barney Kessel, succeeded by Herb Ellis. It's the trio that made Peterson famous with Jazz At … [Read more...]

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra 25th Anniversary Project (ArtistShare) It has been a quarter of a century since Buddy Rich’s manager and relief drummer Stanley Kay found himself conducting a band whose drummer was young Sherrie Maricle. Intrigued by her playing, Kay set out to find whether there were … [Read more...]

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette, After The Fall (ECM) In 1998 Keith Jarrett was emerging from a siege of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that had sidelined him for two years. As he felt better, he was uncertain how completely his piano skill and endurance had returned. He decided to test … [Read more...]

Gerhard Kubik, Jazz Transatlantic, Vol. I and Vol. II (University Press of Mississippi) The first volume of Kubik’s work is subtitled, “The African Undercurrent in Twentieth–Century Jazz Culture;” the second, “Jazz Derivatives and Developments in Twentieth-Century Africa.” The … [Read more...]

Roberto Magris Sextet Live in Miami @ the WDNA Jazz Gallery (J Mood) Widely experienced and recorded in Europe, pianist Magris demonstrates in this club date that he knows how to reach an American audience steeped in Latin and Caribbean music. The front line has trumpeter Brian Lynch at his … [Read more...]

Andy Sheppard, Romaria (ECM) The title tune, written and first recorded by the Brazilian Renato Teixeira, was made still more famous by the singer Elis Regina’s 1977 recording. It has been a beloved standard song in Brazil for four decades. British saxophonist Sheppard and his quartet hew to … [Read more...]

Dawn Clement, Tandem (Origin) Dawn Clement’s recording history includes piano collaborations with saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and trombonist Julian Priester, among other prominent colleagues. The Seattle Times has called her, “The leading Seattle keyboardist of her generation.” Trumpeter … [Read more...]

Jeff Sultanof, Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener’s Companion (Rowman & Littlefield) The scope of jazz played by large ensembles is vast, but the clear-thinking scholar-musician Jeff Sultanof compresses its century-long history into a 200-page book. He accomplishes that feat by leading … [Read more...]

Marilyn Crispell, Raymond MacDonald, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay: Two Duos, Three Trios (Bruce’s Fingers) The daring American pianist Marilyn Crispell’s free jazz adventures have more than once been compared to volcanic activity. Here, Crispell joins the Scottish saxophonist Raymond MacDonald … [Read more...]

  Director Étienne Comar’s Django portrays guitarist Django Reinhardt’s life during two years when it seemed that Europe might fall to Germany. His account emphasizes the greatness of Reinhardt’s music and the Nazis’ recognition of his extensive popularity. They coerce his … [Read more...]