Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow, CBTrios (ECM) Trios concentrates the essence of understanding that Bley, Sheppard and Swallow have developed over two decades of collaboration. She recorded the album’s five pieces in various configurations on earlier albums, but the spare … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="F5bFZzWgCer8vWuwuuExW41JYJFShzs5"] Art Tatum, God Is In The House (High Note) The title comes from what Fats Waller said when he saw Art Tatum walk into a club where Waller was playing. Dan Morgenstern tells the story in his notes for this essential collection, … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="n8YEWjw6XYmBTe8RfdfN41DnIoQmOeRJ"] Jimmy Greene, Beautiful Life (Mack Avenue) The album opens with saxophonist Jimmy Greene’s 6-year-old daughter Ana angelically singing “Come Thou Almighty King” at a 2011 family Christmas celebration. A year later Ana was one … [Read more...]

The Pleasures Of Being Out Of Step: Notes On The Life Of Nat Hentoff (First Run Features) In his 89 years, Nat Hentoff has melded defense of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution with his love of jazz. His writings on those passions have made him a powerful voice … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="7wNaedjFWzhLKbGJSsvLECWilRxVylRc"] Edward Simon, Venezuelan Suite (Sunnyside) Few jazz albums have been devoted to the music of Venezuela. Victor Feldman’s superb The Venezuelan Joropo (1967) was an exception. Latin musicians were impressed with the authenticity … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="FkqneWeMAFtf822TmCBFHe7uIetVblAc"] Holly Hofmann, Low Life (Capri) Holly Hofmann made her reputation concentrating on the C flute, an instrument whose flexibility and three-octave range are suited to her customary orientation toward the bop tradition. Here, she … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="k7mZhMxOjnZmQq1kvc5Ze9SM1WuNoSo4"] Stefano Bollani, Joy In Spite Of Everything (ECM The Italian pianist, his Danish rhythm section mates and two American stars emphasize the joy of the title, but Bollani’s album also has moments of thoughtful stateliness. Tenor … [Read more...]

Dayna Stephens, Peace (Sunnyside) With blissful slowness, Stephens explores ballads in the company of superior sidemen. On soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, he plumbs the emotional and harmonic content of 11 songs. Among them are Horace Silver’s title tune, Dave Brubeck’s “The … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="NxHwrOUt3A4ZolXGvQ5e7SjPO0SFVu71"] Hush Point, Blues And Reds (Sunnyside) Suspended ageless between neo-traditionalism and the iconoclasm of free jazz, trumpeter John McNeil and alto saxophonist Jeremy Udden continue adventures in the Shangri-La of their pianoless … [Read more...]

Zoot Sims, Down Home (Bethlehem) One of the later albums in Bethlehem’s reissue series presents the tenor saxophonist in a rollicking 1960 quartet session. Sims and pianist Dave McKenna were often together in the New York loft scene of the fifties and sixties. Bassist George Tucker broke in … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="w5Oa9DdFfq6mImsA6vY03PpP0M3gkPu1"] Art Jackson: Underground Masterpiece (Independent) The CD is in general release, and its title claim of masterpiece status could be questioned. Nonetheless, it is impressive music from contemporary Latin bands arranged and led … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="eLGqKTVu9BcEJMc9dg6KFgrxMenyWU3E"] Dee Daniels, Intimate Conversations (Origin) Accompanied only by Martin Wind’s forthright bass lines, the singer sets her story-telling course with the imperishable 84-year-old “Exactly Like You.” She and Wind are so … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="ISZxkrkQhOkAlato9pn6SY8rSH7uQvje"] Ali Jackson, Amalgamations (Sunnyside) In this appropriately titled collection, the irrepressible drummer and 13 colleagues from the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra and elsewhere combine in groups as small as two. Jackson's … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="5qRmd8CplKQ3LDavL9URbHBQZpmNzSx8"] Mark Turner, Lathe Of Heaven (ECM) The tenor saxophonist bases the CD’s title on an Ursula K. LeGuin sci-fi novel in which dreams seem to change reality. Her story line turns on unclear perceptions, but Turner’s music is … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="67ncgR1vvlmj1hiIh5BAhDnIaOTTmnBY"] The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Over Time: Music of Bob Brookmeyer (Planet Arts) This is the album Bob Brookmeyer was preparing for the Vanguard orchestra before he died at the end of 2011. As a composer and arranger, Brookmeyer was a … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="53TXKS50KDjTxqDnBXbLIhXuv0824emK"] Tom Harrell, Trip (HighNote) A dozen compositions by trumpeter Harrell provide a framework for variety and surprise in this recording by the pianoless quartet he calls Trip. The centerpiece, “The Adventures of a Quixotic … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="VVLa8X9A6IqVJSpbvypicAmX9AU549Jw"] Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, What’sNext? (Dünya) Using orchestral techniques that stem in part from his early training as a classical pianist, Sanlikol blends aspects of music of his native Turkey and of Arabic countries into … [Read more...]

Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Spellbound (Status) Of Sudanese heritage, the bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1927-1993) was born Jonathan Timms in Brooklyn. After working with Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk, among others, Abdul-Malik studied music of other cultures. He was among the first to incorporate Middle … [Read more...]