[contextly_auto_sidebar id="rX0NZDW3WB3FoR9ZMlHHgguyjYZCw2nD"] Duke Ellington, BigBands Live (Jazz Haus) Watching the Ellington band perform in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, the listener was likely to be struck by the contrast between the sidemens’ laconic demeanor and—on a good … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="zJChnqQ4r3juZ69mobPkmoBKeF1fnvzm"] Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Last Dance (ECM) Following Haden’s death last Friday, this duet recording of the bassist with his former boss takes on poignancy even beyond the empathy that he and the pianist develop in nine … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="UD0p0AiiHUWujaquLKWEcSOGuWy1Bgg0"] Denny Zeitlin, Stairway To The Stars (Sunnyside) Stairway To The Stars comes from the same engagement as Zeitlin’s Trio In Concert, released in 2009. If anything, the sequel finds the pianist even more intimately engaged with … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="0GPMwIHOLPUdIT3tNZNpNRKsStwpPh6N"] Theo Croker, Afro Physicist (Okeh) Much of the verbiage about the elimination of borders between musical categories is the work of publicists. It is marketable to be, or claim to be, cross-genre. However, in the case of Croker, an … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="bEUzJ9bHLGp29bPmmRGwtMXlUF53vVkc"] Sonny Rollins, Road Shows Volume 3 (Okeh) Thriving on the energy he gets back from his listeners, Rollins can electrify them. In the third volume of his Road Show series the formidable tenor saxophonist sends currents through … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="7DPha5QfIp4WT0KBzWzYcMZZHzi7GYVw"] Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band, Mother’s Touch (Posi-Tone) Regulars at the uptown New York club Smoke relish not only the musicianship but also the slap-dash camaraderie that pianist Orrin Evans’ big band exhibits during … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="sjkY1UjIKw0xd98oWw6Vk974EZ6Bau3F"] Artt Frank, Chet Baker: The Missing Years, A Memoir Frank’s personalized story is a valuable adjunct to James Gavin’s dark biography of Baker, Matthew Ruddick's balanced bio and Jeroen de Valk’s exploration of the … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="Wj1vo6zYdVs9aIeivTrDwGJyjhEJFOyt"] Dick Titterington & The Three Trumpet Band, Three Trumpets, No Waiting (Heavywood) Trumpet stars of the Portland jazz scene, Dick Titterington, Paul Mazzio and Thomas Barber blend and challenge one another. From the outset, the … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="eNfAa6d5AeRDATQZk5HyGRXd4hIrPWLO"] Jessica Williams, With Love (Origin) This masterpiece of quiet reflection is the pianist’s first recording since surgery repaired spinal deterioration that kept her out of action for more than two years. With exquisite slowness, … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="iMLfOD50kXPBIC0zJc3jtrCsaZRP4DMc"] Armen Donelian, Sayat-Nova: Songs Of My Ancestors (Sunnyside) Alone and with a trio, Donelian plays works that inform his sense of who he is and confirm that great music is timeless and universal. The music of the Armenian composer … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="QOPo2UZkV30pIkiku4L2Yk2lrGo5sUU9"] Alan Broadbent And NDR Big Band, America The Beautiful (Jan Matthies Records) Broadbent, a New Zealander who migrated to The United States, writes a tribute to his adopted land and records it with a German band. The shimmering … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="qZsiDrgZippNAOLGZ4Dp1jTL8XrlGLy3"] George Cables, Icons and Influences (High Note) After nearly 50 years during which he himself has become a piano icon and influence, Cables offers a dozen pieces that have affected his approach. They are by, about, or reflect the … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="iW9bT12G5p7pQFLUn1hKYfZjlQELZR42"] The slow acceptance of women as jazz artists is a microcosm of the larger struggle for equality of females in society. For decades, women jazz performers were largely relegated to ghettos known as all-girl bands. Today, increasing … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="tF8m5PHtncFh0WGVdeHMCILsCGtAy3iY"] The Keynote Jazz Collection 1941-1947 (Fresh Sound) The Keynote records produced by Harry Lim trace jazz as it evolved from traditional through swing and bebop. The 11 CDs in the set begin in New Orleans with George Hartman’s … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="kw6Xr0Dh2pYBkwNz6hFMWDLs8yBXHSC5"] Cava Menzies/Nick Phillips, Moment To Moment (NPM) Although Pianist Menzies and trumpeter Phillips make judicious embellishments in the ballads of this enchanting collection, their operating principle seems to be adoration of the … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="YfM8aiJzlVZ9I1pRFK7n7T0nDMC14K0N"] Bill Kirchner, Lifeline (Jazzheads) In 2008, I initiated an occasional series called Medium But Well Done. It highlights the accomplishments of groups bigger than combos but smaller than big bands. Introducing it, I wrote, “Six … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="15XNLConhJoli3lKH4UOD3rCrRi5lT4p"] Anton Schwartz, Flash Mob (AntonJazz) The front-line blend of the leader’s tenor saxophone and Dominic Farinacci’s trumpet may recall Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham, but if this is hard bop, its 21st century attitude is … [Read more...]

Bob Dorough, Eulalia (Merry Lane Records) In addition to endearing vocal performances of several of his best songs, Dorough gives listeners what may come as a surprise to many; his ingenuity as an arranger. The deceptive simplicity of “Eulalia,” the album’s sole instrumental, is one of … [Read more...]

Rudy Royston, 303 (Greenleaf Music) In his debut as a leader the young drummer from Denver (area code 303) fronts a septet of his generation’s more adventurous players. The eclecticism of the music encompasses Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” the Mozart motet “Ave Verum Corpus,” a drum … [Read more...]