Carlo Wolff
Carlo’s Contributions
09/30/12 Albums
For the Moment
Bob Mintzer Big Band
A love letter to Brazil, this aural travelogue blends tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer’s compositions with tracks by Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Chico Pinheiro, a São Paulo guitarist and vocalist whose version of “Corcovado” transforms Jobim’s glittery...
09/06/12 Concerts
Review: Detroit International Jazz Festival 2012
Rollins, Blanchard, Wynton and Metheny are among the highlights
09/04/12 Albums
Within a Song
John Abercrombie Quartet
Guitarist John Abercrombie, saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Joey Baron construct a mesmerizing fire in this tribute to the (mostly) ’60s jazz that shaped Abercrombie’s musical tastes. Produced by Manfred Eicher in typical crystalline...
08/08/12 Albums
Arturo Sandoval
Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You)
This slick, exciting CD is trumpeter Arturo Sandoval’s reimagining of the key work of John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, his mentor, inspiration and friend. It recasts more than reanimates his benchmark tunes by way of punchy arrangements from a gang of top-flight...
07/19/12 Albums
Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Part 2
Dr. Michael White
Clarinetist Dr. Michael White’s second installment in a project designed to freshen traditional New Orleans material with newer tunes done in that same style has a certain charm; it certainly goes down easy. It’s also limited, and some of White’s choices—particularly...
05/18/12 Albums
Discoveries
Josh Nelson
Pianist Josh Nelson seems the type who, as a boy, gazed at the stars, wondering what kind of life exists out there; his fifth album, with its evocations of early sci-fi and fantasy, bubbles with that sort of wonder and curiosity. It’s a supple disc spanning...
05/13/12 Albums
Floratone II
Floratone
A delightfully creative work, Floratone’s second effort presents soundscapes that trigger wonder and a drive to spot the allusion. Guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer-percussionist Matt Chamberlain turn Chinese in “The Bloom Is On” (don’t miss Jon Brion’s...
05/09/12 Albums
Oddyssey of Nostalgia
Mac Gollehon
The one original on this curiously fresh collection is the title track, a brisk, upbeat workout for brass ensemble sparked by bandleader Mac Gollehon’s cutting trumpet and Warren Smith’s driving yet airy drumming. The easy-breathing arrangement and the tune’s...
05/03/12 Concerts
Concert review: Cleveland's Tri-C JazzFest
Spirit and joy mark the 33rd annual event
04/13/12 Concerts
2012 Cape Town International Jazz Festival
Jazz and plenty of pop at this sold-out South African fest
04/12/12 Albums
Soul
Jeremy Pelt
This intimate, confident disc worms its way into your head. Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s sixth album is an understated affair showcasing supple songwriting, a persuasive way with a phrase and the expert interplay of the band he has led over his past four albums...
03/27/12 Albums
Per Sempre
Eddie Gomez Quintet
Bass player Eddie Gomez weaves a centered, pensive tapestry on this intimate, personal album. An exercise in empathy and implication, Per Sempre is deeply romantic and warm. The tunes, all melodic if not all equally memorable, span Gomez’s “Pops and Alma”...
03/20/12 Albums
All Ya Needs That Negrocity
Burnt Sugar
You have to stretch your vocabulary to parse All Ya Needs That Negrocity , the pointedly titled 12th album from Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber. Burnt Sugar is the sprawling, tribal band Village Voice writer Greg Tate (on guitar, lyrics and laptop) and...
02/26/12 Albums
Route De Frères
Andrew Cyrille & Haitian Fascination
The core of this lucid, invigorating disc is the title triptych, a musical walk along the brotherhood road of Haiti, drummer Andrew Cyrille’s spiritual homeland. Paced by the burly baritone sax of Hamiet Bluiett and spiced by the pointillistic acoustic guitar...
01/10/12 Albums
Hearts Wide Open
Gilad Hekselman
Carlo Wolff reviews the Israeli guitarist's new release
01/10/12 Albums
Celestial Circle
Marilyn Mazur
Paced by the gallant, round piano of John Taylor, the austere mezzo-soprano of Josefine Cronholm and Anders Jormin’s space-carving bass, percussionist-composer Marilyn Mazur explores diverse territory on these pellucid 14 tracks. Each member of the band—also...
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