Under the Sun is the title of the outstanding contemporary jazz release on Patrick's Song Factory from the masterful keyboardist/composer Patrick Bradley. His initial solo release, Come Rain or Shine, appeared four years ago serving as the artist's formal introduction. On Under the Sun the artist has emancipated all his enormous creative chops to craft a modern tour de force that provides gratifying classy excellence throughout.
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For her Vanguard Records debut, Diane Schuur does something she's never done. She performs 10 country tunes. The Gathering, her first album in three years, is a bold move that pays off.
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Monika Herzig is a supremely talented jazz pianist/composer/arranger who was born in a small village in Germany. Upon obtaining the chance to come to the United States on a student exchange program, she seized the opportunity to further her jazz studies and now has merited a prestigious position teaching music at Indiana University. Her new enchanting CD is titled Come With Me, and includes a DVD which features several live performances and penetrating background information and interviews with both herself and fellow musicians. The CD exhibits a profound harmonic density with the music manifesting itself on many levels; much like the multiple layers of skin on an onion.
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White Hills' second album for Thrill Jockey records is in part, based on corporate misgivings and an insipid quality of life in America. Here, the musicians generate space-rock, modern psychedlia and noise music to shape a rather punishing sequence of events. And from the noise or volume perspective, these gents would give vintage Black Sabbath a run for the money.
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When jazzy sisters meet to spend some time together, the result can be found in the highly intelligent and welcoming "The Mosaic Project", a compilation from Boston drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.
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Founder of the seminal progressive-rock band King Crimson, guitarist Robert Fripp employs his legendary Frippertronics effects with formidable saxophonist Theo Travis on this resonating live release culled from a performance at the Coventry Cathedral in the U.K. Travis’ work with the Soft Machine Legacy instills a deep-rooted sense of British progressive-rock colonialism while teaming with the fabled and undeniably influential guitarist. And his escalating stature within jazz and rock vistas has served him well amid numerous first-call session gigs and solo endeavors. Here, the duo parlays a rather sanctified realm of musical notions.
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In the music press, much (perhaps too much) has been made of the need for American jazz musicians to preserve traditional jazz sounds. Never mind that the truest tradition of jazz is one of constant change and rebirth, many use this historical preservation imperative as an excuse to simply regurgitate the past over and over until the listening public is inundated with CDs titled 'So-And-So Plays The Standards.' In fact, what jazz really needs to remain relevant in the 21st Century is original compositions, and a deeper, cross-cutting understanding of the myriad ways that contemporary musical styles relate to jazz and blues. Bay-Area saxophonist and composer Howard Wiley accomplishes this and then some on "12 Gates To The City," where he explores musical traditions – both past and present - with a suite of extended, poly-stylistic compositions that draw inspiration from myriad facets of the vast African American artistic legacy.
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Frank Carlberg's "Tivoli Trio" is one of those rare piano trio beasts that makes an immediate impression. It helps that Carlberg himself is a fascinating composer who has an immediately recognizable touch on the keys. He's also one of those players who's impossible to pigeonhole. His precise, lively piano playing seems informed by classical music, but he's a jazz dude through and through. There's no gimmick here – no pop covers and no bad boy posturing. Even within the jazz realm, Carlberg's style is idiosyncratic – he's clearly not a Chick / Herbie / McCoy / Bill Evans acolyte. Nor is he a Cecil Taylor-esque freebird. Rather, Carlberg seems to come out of a quirky modern jazz / proto-free jazz lineage that would include players such as Richie Beirach, Ran Blake, Steve Kuhn, and Paul Bley.
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"Sketches" is Azerbaijan-born pianist Amina Figarova 11th recording as a leader: she's been creating high-quality modern mainstream jazz since the mid-1990s.
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Agogic is, in some ways, a musical homecoming celebration for Seattle natives Vu and D'Angelo (whose work with Matt Wilson, Human Feel and Kurt Rosenwinkel is nothing short of remarkable) following extended stays in Boston and New York City. Agogic's other two members – bassist Luke Bergman and drummer Evan Woodle – are products of Seattle's very fertile jazz and experimental music scene. With this young and extremely capable rhythm section in tow, Vu and D'Angelo are free to explore all sorts of stylistic variations and intersections, unfettered by big city music politics and the ensuing creative burnout.
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The story keeps unfolding for this fabled trio that released its first outing in 1978. With rest stops along the way, the musicians' synergy remains as a source of amazement, coupled with their perpetual creative sparks that sculpt a route embedded with fresh concepts and supreme musicianship.
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A true metamorphosis in every sense, the Italian musicians, including American avant-garde strings performer Mat Maneri, subliminally metabolize various genres into an exceedingly persuasive string of events. It's a free-form gala that also relies on structure and a group-focused sense of democracy.
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New York-based organist Jared Gold leads a no-nonsense set of original progressive jazz compositions on All Wrapped Up, his fourth release for Posi Tone Records. Along with a trio of acclaimed sidemen—tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen, trumpeter Jim Rotundi and drummer Quincy Davis—Gold draws deep into the well of organ-led jazz, preserving the styles of some of the genre's more intricate pioneers, particularly Don Patterson and Larry Young.The disc's high flying opener, "My Sentiments Exactly," features a twisting melody, deftly pronounced by Gold, Bowen and Rotundi. All three soloists careen through the tunes' clever changes and boisterous bebop tempo. The angular stride and soulful bounce of "Get out of My Sandbox" inspires swinging rounds by all. Here, Gold stands out with his hard-driving, aggressive approach.
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Who would have guessed that British singer and actress Julie Tippetts, known for her work with organ great Brian Auger; affiliations with Rod Stewart and recordings with husband, pianist Keith Tippett would lead to her alliance with avant-gardist Martin Archer? Stranger things have happened as they say, yet with the follow-up to Ghosts of Gold (Discus 37CD, 2009) the vocalist's charismatic contributions yield additional rewards.
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Multiple Grammy-Award winning guitarist, singer and producer Paul Brown has the Midas tough. With over 50 #1 smooth jazz radio hits credit, the innovative guitar God has engineered and produced for virtually every top contemporary jazz artist during the past two decades. Brown's talents have been summoned by such luminaries as George Benson, Patti Austin, Al Jarreau, Boney James, Luther Vandross and Kirk Whalum among countless others. Featuring Paul's soulful vocal smash, 'Love You Found Me,' 'T
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Recorded in 1978, Fat Doggie is a genre-defying fusion of jazz, funk, disco, soul and Latin. Solid rhythm section, tight horns, great tunes. Imagine Average White Band, Santana, James Brown, Albert Ayler and Tower of Power all on one album! The Greg Alper Band featured the finest jazz players in New York, including Richie Morales (Spyro Gyra, Brecker Bros), Chuck Loeb (Bob James, Fourplay) and Ray Anderson (Best Trombonist: Down Beat magazine critics poll 1987-91).The disco-infused funk opening
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Adventurous expressionism is a key factor within semi-structured or avant jazz-based endeavors. With their second quartet outing for Intakt Records, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and violinist Mark Feldman cover a gamut of articulately designed modes of interaction. Introspective, sublime and occasionally foreboding, the quartet engineers a potpourri of delicacies, all executed with a deterministic modality. On pieces such as “Dunes,” the sterling audio processing might enable the listener to hea
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One of the preeminent soprano saxophonists in modern jazz, Jane Ira Bloom possesses more than just technique. Very few jazz artists are able to project a distinct or personalized sound. For example, most ardent jazz aficionados would be able to identify her in a Downbeat magazine style blindfold test. Once again, Bloom imparts memorable compositions, underscored with sinuous developments and a prevailing sense of intrigue. Bloom’s equally prolific supporting cast featuring, bassist Mark Helia
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Though the Danish multi-instrumentalist Robin Taylor has made a name for himself as a prolific and innovative composer in the progressive rock and jazz-rock fusion realms, many may not be aware of his considerable abilities as a free improvising musician. His free-jazz alter-ego manifests itself most frequently in a musical aggregation he’s called Taylor’s Free Universe, a band comprised of musicians who tend also to be involved in his various prog and fusion efforts.As one might expect, Taylor’
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We had to share a table with a stranger but it was ok -- he bought us a few drinks. It was in “The Blue Room” of the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, circa 1975 and Ray Charles was the headliner. It’s been almost forty years and I can’t remember what we had for dinner or if there was an opening act. I can remember that Ray Charles was still at the top of his game. The Raeletts were there and his stage band performed to perfection as the crossover genius dazzled the crowd with a collection of hits
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He beckons on the cover, seated at the piano, an imposing figure in a yellow Moroccan shirt and cap. The CD opens to show him grinning and seated at the keys. The liner notes are by the author of the best biography of Thelonious Monk. The recording is a solid set of compositions, all but one written by him and many dating back decades. At 84, Randy is still going strong, after more than a half century of composing and performing. More than 50 CDs and albums in, he still has something to say, as
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The significance behind influential guitarist Bill Frisell’s 858 Quartet theme was conceived several years ago when he was appointed to compose music inspired by artist Gerhard Richter’s 858 series of paintings. With the band’s first album in five years, its purveyance of modern Americana elicits lucid imagery via these seventeen endearing works that intertwine like a sequence of vignettes. Frisell’s stylistic nomenclature poses a hybrid breadth of material that toggles between cutting-edge el
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Something Quiet is Bob Gluck's second recording following up his 2008 Sideways. This is his first recording as an acoustic jazz player. The trio consists of Gluck, Joe Giardullo on soprano sax, and Christopher Dean Sullivan on bass. On this recording the listener is treated to some intricate compositions, ensemble playing, and improvisation that ranges from the quietest of moments to the cacophony of all out interaction between the musicians. Gluck's compositions are entertaining for their depth
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Prior to the 21st Century, Merle Haggard's name did not come up all too often when discussing modern jazz - or jazz of any kind, for that matter. Along with everything else, this seems to have changed. Pretend It's The End Of The World is the product of saxophonist Bryan Murray's quest to bring the name 'Merle Haggard' to the lips of Brooks-Brothers-wearing be-boppers, finger-snapping hipsters, and poetry-reciting beatniks the world over. The tongue-in-cheekiness of the whole concept is fleshed
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The word 'fusion' is a pretty good descriptor of a style of music only when you know what sorts of music are being fused. I suppose that one could describe Mercury Falls' impressive debut CD, Quadrangle, as 'fusion' – but that would only be 1/10th of the story (if that!). In today's increasingly chopped-up and micro-pigeonholed landscape of music sub-sub-sub genres, it is well-nigh impossible to describe the Bay Area-based quartet's music without resorting to terms that most jazz fans will not k
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