Thomas Conrad
Thomas’s Contributions
02/07/12 Albums
Pianist Larry Vuckovich makes concept albums, but his concepts are flexible and his illustrations are fresh. Somethin’ Special is mostly about late bop, Blue Note-style. Not a novel idea, but Vuckovich chooses pieces by essential composers that have not...
01/27/12 Albums
With Duduka Da Fonseca, you get two percussionists for the price of one. He is a master of intricate South American rhythmic forms, and a drummer who can kick your ass four beats to the bar. Da Fonseca, who grew up in Brazil and moved to New York in 1975...
01/26/12 Albums
The recordings of certain jazz musicians do not approximate the experience of hearing them live. In person, alto saxophonist Francesco Cafiso, who made his name as one of the most important child prodigies of the new jazz millennium, can intoxicate you...
01/24/12 Albums
Thomas Conrad reviews Brad Mehldau's 'The Art of the Trio' collection
01/18/12 Before & After
Committed listening
01/09/12 Albums
Thomas Conrad reviews Keith Jarrett's latest solo work
01/06/12 Albums
These two intriguing concept albums explore Americana themes. One is mostly celebration; one is mostly protest. Jack Wilkins’ project is a unique attempt to combine jazz with Appalachian mountain music. The two genres prove to be surprisingly complementary...
12/08/11 Albums
Dino Saluzzi of Argentina is a master of the bandoneon , a South American variant of the button accordion or concertina. The sound he achieves on this instrument is a direct, naked appeal to the heart. Anja Lechner of Germany played in the Rosamunde String...
12/04/11 Albums
I really wanted to like this album. The reason is that, while there are warehouses filled with jazz records dedicated to spouses, mistresses, fellow musicians and pets, Blues for Pekar is the only one I can think of dedicated to a jazz critic. It turns out...
11/27/11 Albums
Stefano Battaglia is the least famous of Italy’s major jazz piano players. He is more esoteric and more obviously grounded in European classical music than Stefano Bollani, Enrico Pieranunzi and Danilo Rea. But his chops and his poetic imagination place...
11/09/11 Concerts
In Macedonia, jazz matters more
11/07/11 Concerts
In Serbia, Metheny entertains, Lloyd illuminates, Bollani amazes, Ribot burns
10/28/11 Albums
Augusto Pirodda is a minimalist. He plays few piano notes but chooses them carefully. “Choose” may be the wrong verb. Pirodda is a committed improviser who trusts the moment. The notes he chooses are the first ones; from there, intuition and emotion guide...
10/27/11 Albums
Thomas Conrad reviews the latest in the 'Unreleased Art' series
10/26/11 Features
Keith Jarrett, Jason Moran and Brad Mehldau all apprenticed in his bands
09/13/11 Albums
Bill Evans’ Alone is the default paradigm for introspective solo piano recordings. Evans was actually in Webster Hall in New York (capacity 2,500) when he recorded it, but he sounds exceedingly lonely. Bill Anschell recorded Figments himself, after gigs...
About Thomas Conrad
His day gig notwithstanding (Senior Vice President/COO of Magnolia Hi-Fi, a subsidiary of Best Buy), Thomas Conrad was an active jazz journalist for 20 years, as liner note author, columnist for CD Review, and regular contributor to Downbeat. Beginning in 2005, after foreswearing day gigs forever, he became more prolific. His work currently appears in Stereophile (where he is a Contributing Music Editor), JazzTimes (where he writes the “Eight-Eights” column on piano recordings), and All About Jazz—New York. He travels frequently to international destinations and much of his writing in recent years has dealt with jazz originating outside the borders of the United States. Another recurrent preoccupation in his work has been the audiophile world as it pertains to jazz. Conrad divides his time between Seattle, Washington and Palm Springs, California.
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