Contributors' Corner - Feature Stories
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King Arts Theater Burns!
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You’ve got to forgive me. I didn’t take notes during the Hammond B-3 summit in Columbus, Ohio because I went there solely to enjoy the music. But if you can spare a few minutes to read this, I’ve got to tell you what happened.
Local jazz organist Tony Monaco continued his mission of bringing to Columbus the B-3 masters of...
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Concert Review by Don Williamson
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Trick or Treat with Marian McPartland
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Marian McPartland closed out another successful run of shows at the Jazz Bakery on Halloween night with a delightful bag of tricks and treats. Her set was adventurous and wide-ranging, including luminous originals, warhorses from the great American songbook and a handful of compositions by several of the most distinctive composers in jazz history: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn,...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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A Good Year for Jazz Guitar
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Ah...late fall, when a music critic's thoughts turn to Best of the Year lists. I think it may be just a little premature to write a top ten article just yet, but what I do intend to discuss here is the bumper crop of fine jazz guitar albums that have crossed my desk in 2004. These include...
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Viewpoint by Edward Kane
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Helen Merrill at The Iridium
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Helen Merrill is perhaps best remembered for her stunning Emarcy sessions where a fresh and very young waif like singer first unraveled her soft almost fragile like voice in that hypnotic whisper so entrancing that many listeners (myself included) we’re helplessly hooked. Fifty years later in 2004, Ms. Merrill, in top form, comes to us in the Big...
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Concert Review by Phillip Wong
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2004 Rundown
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Keith Jarrett – Gary Peacock – Jack DeJohnette The Out-of-Towners
ECM Records
It’s partly about class, élan and supreme technical acumen. Twenty plus years and moving forward, this trio continues to brandish a signature sound, still glittering after all these years.
Pianist Keith Jarrett composed the swinging title track, as the band renders standards with a modern...
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Viewpoint by Glenn Astarita
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COBHAM LEADS CULTURAL FUSION EXPLOSION
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Billy Cobham’s Culture Mix blends the sounds of musicians from around the world to create a creative, breathing music that at times has a modern industrial feel but also makes you want to move your feet. Recording for a new live release, the group played Tuesday through Sunday at the Iridium and featured special guests Airto Moreira and...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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Politically Correct
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On October 16, Barry Manilow came to Columbus, Ohio with his politics of feelgoodism.
The U.S. presidential election is scheduled to take place just two weeks after the concert, and the bitter national debate is causing stress in a great number of ways. However, Manilow proved himself to be politically prescient, and he probably wasn’t even aware of it.
Stopping...
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Concert Review by Don Williamson
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Impressions of Santana
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It's hard to write about Santana without venturing into hyperbole. There's Carlos Santana himself, a singular guitarist equally adept at playing with tender lyricism and dealing in raw power; the rest of the band is hardly less accomplished with such long-term members as the versatile keyboardist Chester Thompson and potent drummer Dennis Chambers in tow. Though the...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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The Audi Black Enterprise Jazz Festival Established a Precedent
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For the first time ever, the City of Houston became the major focus of two nationally acclaimed sponsors to highlight one of the finest Jazz Festivals in performance history. Although Houston has had one major Festival for the last 14 years, it has been awhile since a nationally sponsored jazz event has visited the city. In previous years, the...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Honing Inspirations
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For September 24, 2004, pianist David Arner arranged that pianist Dave Burrell play in two venues, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening Space in the Hudson Valley. This day was an opportunity to expose myself to a Burrell marathon event, which became an adventure not to be duplicated.
To my mind, Dave Burrell’s...
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Concert Review by Lyn Horton
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2004 Rundown
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Umphrey’s McGee
Anchor Drops
Umphrey’s McGee
This Chicago area progressive rock unit with the Irish sounding moniker is marked by extremely tight workmanship amid a few lighthearted electro-acoustic numbers. The band even ventures into Country-blues territory when it isn’t exploring complex time signatures and blitzing rock grooves. But what makes this outing work is founded within...
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Viewpoint by Glenn Astarita
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Fourplay Is a Jazz Activated Spiritual Energy Ray
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Since 1991, Fourplay has become one of the most prolific and long-standing groups in contemporary jazz. Originally, the initial make-up of this outstanding array of musicians consisted of pianist Bob James, guitarist Lee Ritenour, bassist Nathan East and drummer Harvey Mason. But after a run of four albums, Ritenour left the band and was replaced by guitarist Larry Carlton....
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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To the (Home of the) Stars
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The Chick Corea Elektric Band's engagement last week at Catalina Bar & Grill was, as always, a popular ticket at the Hollywood venue. The keyboardist always played to a full house at the club's previous location, and the tables were just as full at Catalina's larger, new room; the only difference is that there seemed, thankfully to be...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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Guitars & Saxes Keeps On Rolling
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Historically speaking, jazz has always been about change and the pursuit of a highly evolved style of music. For well over 100 years, the genre has manifested itself into one of America's most significant art forms, yet it continues to be misunderstood and often under-rated. In the beginning, the word jazz meant controversy and in later years, bebop, cool,...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Basking in Artistic Wonder
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This is the second time I have seen Laurie Anderson perform. But when I see her, I feel as though I have known her for years. The reason is that her performance ethic is rich with the material that the avant-garde has been made of since the late sixties. Her work displays the crux of all that art which...
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Viewpoint by Lyn Horton
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I left my heart in Minneapolis
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Wednesday, June 16th, 2004 - I’m nervously tapping my foot as I tell my boss I need to take the next two days off for personal reasons. I’d already decided to book a room, rent a car and buy a flight to the Twin Cities without any guarantee I’d see Prince. My boss gave the okay (but if he...
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Viewpoint by Heidi Marie Skinner (Guest Writer)
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Spyro Under the Stars
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If you've been making music for 30 years and you've only had one hit song you must either have the endurance of a marathon runner or you're just doggedly determined and don't know when to quit.
Jay Beckenstein and his cohorts in Spryo Gyra are built for endurance. Long after jazz fusion bands like Weather Report and Return to...
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Concert Review by Jeff Winbush
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Tackhead / Adrian Sherwood: live in that Windy City
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To paraphrase somebody 'r' other, reality makes strange bedfellows. Producer Adrian Sherwood has twiddled the knobs for some of the trippiest dub ever to emanate from the British Isles (African Headcharge, Creation Rebel, Prince Far I) and he's done production work for nominally more "pop" acts Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. And as hard for it might...
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Concert Review by Mark Keresman
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Opening the Doors of Music History
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The release of Genius Loves Company would've been a big deal no matter what. Any new release from Ray Charles--the Genius not only of Soul, but also jazz, rock, country and western, gospel and probably a few other genres that I can't think of right now, a man who touched virtually every style of American music and left...
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Viewpoint by Edward Kane
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La Manana es la Pregunta
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There are those artists who find a comfortable niche and work within it in for the better part of their productive lives. Others spend their careers seeking new sounds and means of expression. Which group does David Sanchez fit in? Well, consider this: his recent engagement at Boston's famed Regattabar was billed as a party...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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Courage and Skill
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Me’shell Ndegeocello celebrated her birthday by presenting those in attendance with a wonderful gift. She led an amazing cast of musicians through an exotic, flawless performance. Her Brazilian percussionist set the tone at the beginning of the first tune, giving the group a world music feel. Toward the end of the set he did a remarkable...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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Blue Note's Rudy Van Gelder reissues are vital
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Blue Note has been the standard by which most jazz labels have measured themselves since Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff founded the record label in 1939. Blue Note has chronicled some of the most important jazz musicians and movements of the past century, most notably those of the mid-50s to the late 1960s, though certainly they remain vital in...
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Viewpoint by Mark E. Gallo
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Honeyboy Edwards Goes to Harvard
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The story of David "Honeyboy" Edwards reads like the history of the blues itself. Born in Shaw, Mississippi in 1915, he not only witnessed such originators of the Delta blues style Charley Patton firsthand but also performed as a young man with such historic players as Robert Johnson and "Big" Joe Williams. He was recorded by Alan...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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One Evening: Two Jazz Guitar Virtuosos
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A night of glistening guitar-led ensembles started with the Larry Coryell Trio, featuring Mark Egan on bass and Paul Wertico on drums. They performed several tunes off their new CD, Tricycles. The title track really moved with Mark Egan setting a solid bass groove. Another selection from the new CD, Good Citizen Swallow, was also noteworthy....
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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Who Wants the Funk? Long Beach, Of Course
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The 17th edition of the popular Long Beach Jazz Festival closed today on a successful and funky note with a veteran-heavy lineup including Roy Ayers, George Duke and Poncho Sanchez along with saxophonist Steve Cole, soulful crooner Kem, local legend Al Williams & the Jazz Society with Niki Haris and 2004 Jazz Search winner Julie Burrell. The annual three...
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Concert Review by Edward Kane
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