Michael J. West
Michael J.’s Contributions
01/17/13 Albums
Stefon Harris/David Sánchez/Christian Scott
Ninety Miles Live at Cubadisco
Ninety Miles , the Afro-Cuban recording by vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist David Sánchez and trumpeter Christian Scott, was among 2011’s best releases; Cubadisco , its new live follow-up, includes six of the nine compositions performed on the studio...
01/08/13 Albums
Rhythm Sessions
Lee Ritenour
Fusion, lest we forget, spawned both new age and smooth jazz. Guitarist Lee Ritenour’s Rhythm Sessions is proof. Alongside its ample fusion credentials (including two dozen accomplished players, among them Marcus Miller and Stanley Clarke), it’s loaded with...
01/07/13 Undertones
Jetway Confidential
Sonic Liberation Front
For all the cunning with which they assemble it, Sonic Liberation Front’s musical patchwork still feels like a mess. But it’s a glorious, enchanting mess. Boasting a range of guests and instruments (especially horns and percussion) so complex it literally...
12/30/12 Undertones
Wah-Wah
Torben Waldorff
Eschewing his usual saxophone partners, Wah-Wah finds Danish guitarist-composer Torben Waldorff leading an American band (keyboardist Gary Versace, bassist Matt Clohesy, drummer Jon Wikan) that’s long on melody but also on texture and atmosphere. Only the...
12/07/12 Albums
Means of Deliverance
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell’s sound on the Warwick Alien—a newly designed fretless acoustic bass guitar—is astonishingly beautiful. Its core is the thick-string timbre of the upright, but rounder and more malleable, ideal for harmonic low-end drones supporting the guitaristic...
12/02/12 Undertones
Moraga
Carol Robbins
The very presence of a harp, Carol Robbins’ instrument, can cloak jazz in the veneer of new age. On Moraga , it does, and the Windham Hill vibe is amplified by low-key tunes and the presence of Gary Meek’s soprano saxophone and Larry Koonse’s classical guitar...
11/30/12 Albums
Angelic Warrior
Tia Fuller
Angelic Warrior is a veritable almanac of the alto saxophone in contemporary mainstream jazz. Tia Fuller gives her distinctive sound a full and exhilarating workout, with bop (“Cherokee”), Coltrane-esque modal jams (“Royston Rumble”), Caribbean flavor (“Descend...
11/25/12 Albums
The Columbia Albums 1971-1975
Weather Report
Weather Report’s first six albums, as Bill Milkowski reflects in the notes for Columbia’s collection thereof, saw the fusion legends move from “an electric avant-garde band that appealed strictly to the cognoscenti” to “a ferocious groove-oriented juggernaut...
11/22/12 Undertones
Nadje Noordhuis
Nadje Noordhuis
With a few exceptions, trumpeter/flugelhornist Nadje Noordhuis’ debut recording is all soft-colored, European-inspired melodies and gentle rhythms. It’s an extremely muted album, in other words, but that fact doesn’t diminish its power. Noordhuis has a sweet...
11/16/12 Albums
Organ Monk: Uwo in the Black
Greg Lewis
The arrangements that organist Greg Lewis uses on Organ Monk: Uwo in the Black , his second quartet album of guess-whose music, show little to no deviation from Monk’s. Instead, Lewis expresses his astonishing originality through his aggressive instrumental...
11/10/12 Features
Dave Douglas: Room to Breathe
The trumpeter discusses his quintet music, his prolific output and more
11/04/12 Overdue Ovation
Allen Vizzutti: Road Warrior
A prolific trumpeter fluent in jazz, classical and more
09/22/12 Features
The Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival
The Kennedy Center's long-running event continues on the path laid down by its founder, Dr. Billy Taylor
09/03/12 Features
Davy Mooney Invents His Own Tradition
7-string guitarist gets a push from John Pizzarelli
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ReportAbout Michael J. West
Michael J. West has loved jazz since he was a teenager in North Carolina, but it wasn't until moving to the big city--Washington, D.C.--after college that he became a devoted fanatic. In addition to JazzTimes, he covers jazz for the Washington City Paper. His work has also appeared in the Village Voice, TBD, Jazz.com, the Monterey County Weekly and the East Bay Express. West lives in D.C., near the "jazz district" of U Street, with his wife and daughter.
Michael J. West joined the JazzTimes community on Jun 13, 2008