Contributors' Corner - Feature Stories
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A True Gem
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As the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and multi-track recording, Les Paul’s role in shaping the sound of modern music cannot be overstated. From his string of hit records with Bing Crosby and Mary Ford in the 1940s and 1950s and his innovative studio in Hollywood of the same era to the greatest rock guitarists using his...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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Halloween at the Blue Note
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Halloween night marked the fourth evening of special performances by Toots Thielemans at New York’s Blue Note. Belgian-born Toots was in town for his 80th Birthday Celebration and on the stage with him was longtime collaborator Kenny Werner on piano and special guest Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone.
This was a very special night of music initiated by a...
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Concert Review by Darren Nealis
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Autumn Jazz 2002 Rehoboth Beach Festival
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The 13th annual Rehoboth Jazz Festival: raise your hat and regain your soul! This year's theme, “Hat’s off to Jazz", was exemplified by a variety of artists and genres from Blues to Bebop, from Big Band to Contemporary Jazz.
From October 17th to the 2lst the Rehoboth-Dewey Beach area was alive with the sound of Jazz. Over...
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Concert Review by Wendy E. Ross
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The Big Bands Are Back
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There once was a time when the big bands accounted for a surge in jazz music’s popularity, the likes of which we will never see again. The economical landscape of the ’30, ‘40s and ‘50s was quite different from the current era of high inflation and diminishing returns. It is only on rare occasions then that today’s...
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Viewpoint by C. Andrew Hovan
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Epiphanies of Between
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For the closing concert of the season of the Boston Creative Music Alliance, at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Joe McPhee and Trio X performed two sets. The members of the Trio are Joe McPhee on brass and reeds, Dominic Duval on electrified string bass and Jay Rosen on drums and percussion.
The Trio began with a blast of abstract...
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Concert Review by Lyn Horton
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Paul Taylor Exposed in Houston
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Paul Taylor is one of jazz's finest saxophonists, yet in cities such as Houston, Texas, he may be one of the genre's best kept secrets. In fact, Paul could be considered as an undercover jazz artist on a secret mission. On August 24th, Paul appeared in concert at Houston's IRIS Jazz Resort, the city's premier jazz venue. For those...
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Concert Review by Sheldon T. Nunn
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Nancy Kelly's West Coast Tour
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Nancy Kelly has traveled the world over, from Istanbul to Switzerland as well as the Far East, with stints at Birdland and the Blue Note in New York City. She has graced the stages of the major jazz spots on both coasts. But when the first eight bars of "I Love Being Here With You" were sung, a packed...
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Concert Review by John Gilbert
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Tribute To John Coltrane
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The second week of Elvin Jones’ two-week 75th Birthday Festival paid homage to his late, great friend and musical soulmate John Coltrane. Together they expanded the jazz canon. Gathered for the honor of playing tenor saxophone this evening were Ravi Coltrane, John’s son, and Mark Shim, two fresh, inventive soloists. The spotlight was on Shim early....
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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The String Trio of New York Live In Grand Rapids
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For 25 years The String Trio of New York has produced innovative music with emotional ranging going from beautiful to quirky with some occasional dissonance thrown in for good measure. Guitarist James Emery, bassist John Lindberg and violinist Billy Bang made up the original formation but in the years since then a number of violinists, including Charles Burnham and Regina...
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Concert Review by Micah Holmquist
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75 And Still Cookin': Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine
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Much anticipation preceded the show. Getting an opportunity to celebrate the final night of Elvin Jones’ weeklong Birthday Engagement at the Blue Note is a blessing for any jazz fanatic. He has blazed a path over the last half century that has redefined the most essential aspect of the art form: rhythm.
The evening started with a rendition...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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Lenore Raphael Trio
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Lenore Raphael, Chris Colangelo, Tim Pleasant
Michael D's Santa Rosa Jazz Club, Camarillo, Ca.
September 27-28..
Lenore Raphael..Piano,
Chris Colangelo..Bass,
Tim Pleasant..Drums.
September the 27th. was the anniversary of Bud Powell's birth, and Lenore Raphael's interpretation of the legendary Pianist's music was done with love and affection and swung nicely, despite occasional forays into Monk-isms. Raphael has a very...
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Concert Review by John Gilbert
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Sfraga Sfings Afgain!
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Though hardly a household name along the lines of Julie London or The Manhattan Transfer, this New York singer Barbara Sfraga is – how do the kids say it – somethin’ else. But Not For Her are the codependent “my man’s a real creep but, gosh, I’m glad he’s mine” clichés that have historically defined/plagued female jazz singers...
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Viewpoint by Mark Keresman
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Dianne Reeves Quintet
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Dianne Reeves is a vocalist with much more than just a great voice - she is an instrumentalist bearing the torch of her idols and keeping vocal jazz alive and well. Reeves along with her seasoned band, performed a diverse set of material throughout the evening - featuring selections from the Grammy- winner’s latest Blue Note release, "The...
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Concert Review by Ron Miller
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Garmarna: Great Pale Music-Ancient To The Future
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At first glance, one might take Garmarna to be just another band of alterna-rock 20-somethings, but as the Blues Poet Willie Dixon once observed, you can’t judge that chunk of reading matter by its superficial graphic design. From Sweden, Garmarna are five singers/players who take the traditional folk music of their land’s history and invest/interpret it with modern...
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Concert Review by Mark Keresman
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What Marsalis Only Implies
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On last Monday night, at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA, Branford Marsalis performed with his quartet: Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, Eric Revis on bass and Joey Calderazzo on piano. Marsalis played both the soprano and tenor saxes.
It is not surprising that the hall was packed to hear this quartet. The Marsalis name is...
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Concert Review by Lyn Horton
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NOW on Tour: modern oud wizard Anouar Brahem
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Anouar Brahem (b. 1957, Tunisia) is a virtuoso player of the oud (or ud, depending on you and/or where one asks), a North African/Middle Eastern stringed instrument of the lute/guitar family with a deep, amber sound. While well-versed in Arabic music, Brahem was and is decidedly influenced by jazz and improvised music, and he’s become a truly “internationalist”...
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Viewpoint by Mark Keresman
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Jazz Band Ball Orchestra-40 years
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Polskie Nagrania MUZA PNCD 620 April 2002
JAZZ BAND BALL ORCHESTRA 40 YEARS * BLUE LOU
1.Blue Lou (M Sampson - Mills), 2.St. Louis Blues (W.C. Handy), 3.Fascinating Rhythm (Gershwin), 4.I'm beginning to see the light (Ellington - Hodges - George), 5.Rockin Rhythm (Ellington - Carney - Mills), 6.Ballad Medley: You've changed (Cary Fisher), In a sentimental mood...
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Viewpoint by Tolek Lisiecki
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Sfraga Sfings!
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As anyone who’s familiar w/ my review/rants, most jazz singers aren’t among my favorite things. Too many are either stuck in a Great American Songbook/confusing-masochism-with-love time warp, or they are “instrumentalists” who display (way too) much (numbing) technique but seem not to care one whit for the lyrics/content of the song. NYC-based singer Barbara Sfraga is a...
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Concert Review by Mark Keresman
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East Meets Jazz opens tour in Milwaukee
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Exactly a year to the date, Indian tabla master Sandip Burman returned to Milwaukee’s Shank Hall with a new version of his East Meets Jazz group. Last year’s tour (cut short by the events of 9/11) featured a blistering all-star 6-piece ensemble. They navigated the twists and turns of Burman’s Indian music, creating a true fusion of genres. This...
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Concert Review by Michael Bettine
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Hearing Voices
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Drummer Ben Karetnick artfully drew together a quartet of seemingly out of balance proportions: the members of the group could be described with a graph that measured hyperbolic waves of maturity and experience of each individual. Joe McPhee played tenor & soprano saxes and pocket trumpet; Cliff White, a player from the Western Massachusetts area, was on alto &...
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Concert Review by Lyn Horton
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Charlie Haden & Paul Bley: Back Together Again
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[As Mr. Haden’s Saturday night show was covered on this very site a few days ago, just a brief intro/recap:] Composer/bandleader Charlie Haden has been one of THE jazz bass giants to come of age in the post-bop generation. Aside from his many recordings as a leader (of Liberation Music Orchestra and Quartet West) and a member of...
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Concert Review by Mark Keresman
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Seven on Eighty-Eight
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Without a doubt, the piano trio provides an ideal format for jazz. Complex and yet ideally manageable, the grouping can speak with the authority of a big band or bring it down to a soft whisper. Furthermore, the bass and drums offer up enough variety in terms of sound and texture to keep it all interesting. ...
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Viewpoint by C. Andrew Hovan
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Bassist & Birthday Boy: Charlie Haden
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Composer/bandleader Charlie Haden has been one of THE jazz bass giants to come of age in the post-bop generation. If he did nothing but play in the groundbreaking Ornette Coleman Quartet (the 50s/early 60s), his place in history would be assured. Fortunately for us, he’s done MUCH more: aside from his many recordings as a leader (of...
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Concert Review by Mark Keresman
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Sound Tribe Sector Nine @ High Sierra
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Sound Tribe Sector Nine is a pioneering 5-piece band that dives into thought provoking musical journeys with unpredictable improvisation and group interplay. While people like to put labels and categories on fresh new types of music, this bands ability to seamlessly blend Jazz, Ambient, Rock and Dance music subgenres such as Drum ‘N Bass and Organica makes them...
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Concert Review by Cory Ferber
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Gunter Hampel: Live @ Triad, NY
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Composer/bandleader/multi-instrumentalist Gunter Hampel doesn’t get to these shores much, as European climes are notoriously more receptive to his brand of lyrical, swinging free jazz. Hampel has been at the jazz game since the 1960s – he was among the first Euro-improvisers on the legendary ESP Disk label – also he was of the generation of Euro-avant-jazzers who developed...
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Concert Review by Mark Keresman
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