Scott Albin
Scott’s Contributions
10/23/12 Albums
The Elvin Jones Project-- Michael Feinberg
Feinberg's The Elvin Jones Project is as much a salute to four outstanding bassists who played alongside Jones as it is to the great drummer himself. Being a bassist, Feinberg was struck by the work of Jimmy Garrison, Dave Holland, George Mraz, and Gene...
10/16/12 Albums
Organ Monk: Uwo in the Black-- Greg Lewis
Greg Lewis has everything a jazz organist needs, from spirit and soul to imagination and technique, and a longtime obsession with the music of Thelonious Monk. The latter, of course, is not a requirement, but it helps if you are in the process of compiling...
10/09/12 Albums
Unfolding-- Natalie Cressman & Secret Garden
This CD should be considered one of the best debut jazz releases of 2012, as it reveals Cressman's admirable talents as a trombonist, vocalist, composer, and arranger. The 20-year-old artist has already compiled a substantial resume, performing with salsa...
10/03/12 Albums
Reunion: Live in New York-- Sam Rivers / Dave Holland / Barry Altschul
Of all the groups and venues that were part of the '70's loft jazz scene in New York, none surpassed the Sam Rivers trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul at his Studio Rivbea on Bond Street. Although this trio was together from 1972 to 1978, they only...
09/25/12 Albums
Funkengruven: The Joy of Driving a B3-- Kevin Coelho
Tony Monaco was mentored by Jimmy Smith as a teenager and was subbing by the age of 16 for Hank Marr and Dr. Lonnie Smith at clubs in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, before going on to become one of today's leading jazz organists. Monaco in turn has mentored...
09/18/12 Albums
Turn of Phrase-- Paul Kogut
Paul Kogut's outstanding third CD, a trio date with the unbeatable rhythm team of George Mraz and Lewis Nash, will hopefully generate wider recognition for this polished guitarist. Kogut plays with secure confidence and a pristine, mellow sound that has...
09/11/12 Albums
Alive at the Vanguard-- Fred Hersch Trio
The word "Alive" in the title of this two-CD set certainly describes the tremendous vitality of the music, but more likely refers to the fact that Fred Hersch is a survivor, having recovered from a major health crisis in 2008 that kept him in a coma for...
09/03/12 Albums
The Nearest Exit May Be Inside Your Head-- David Bixler
For David Bixler's fifth CD as a leader, the alto saxophonist returns to the pure territory of hard bop and post bop, somewhat of a departure from his work in recent years with Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Risa Negra sextet, and his collaboration...
08/28/12 Albums
Live at the Freight-- Jessica Jones & Mark Taylor
It's quite apparent that this quartet reached an exceptional level of cohesiveness by the end of its 2011 California tour, as can be heard on this CD recorded live at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, CA. It helps that the co-leaders, tenor...
08/21/12 Albums
Moraga-- Carol Robbins
Of the few jazz musicians who have played the harp, Dorothy Ashby (1932-1986) was one of the first to make any kind of impact. Over the course of her 10 albums, Ashby demonstrated that the harp could be a viable front line instrument on which fluent improvisations...
08/14/12 Albums
Mary Lou Williams -The Next 100 Years-- Virginia Mayhew Quartet
Perhaps the best known, and certainly one of the most perceptive quotes about Mary Lou Williams came from Duke Ellington: "Mary Lou Williams is perpetually contemporary. Her music retains a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like Soul on Soul...
08/08/12 Albums
Show Me the Way-- Stephanie Nakasian
Stephanie Nakasian is perhaps best known for her CD tributes to various other female jazz singers, such as June Christy (Lullaby in Rhythm), Billie Holiday (Billie Remembered), Lee Wiley (Dedicated to Lee Wiley), and no less than 20 other vocalists on Thrush...
07/31/12 Albums
Four MFs Playin' Tunes-- Branford Marsalis Quartet
The unassuming title of this CD doesn't do justice to the music contained therein. This is not a case of casual acquaintances getting together to have fun jamming on commonly known standards, but rather this is music played with purpose, direction, artistic...
07/24/12 Albums
Single Petal of a Rose-- Duke Ellington Legacy
The nine-piece Duke Ellington Legacy is not one of those repertory bands that slavishly recreate original charts as authentically as possible, but is rather a group that puts its personal stamp on fresh arrangements that leave ample room for individual expression...
07/17/12 Albums
Continuum-- Richard Sussman Quintet
Pianist Richard Sussman made an auspicious debut with his 1978 Free Fall, a riveting post bop/progressive album featuring saxophonists Jerry Bergonzi and Larry Schneider, trumpeter Tom Harrell, bassist Mike Richmond, and drummer Jeff Williams. A follow-up...
07/11/12 Albums
Down Home-- Curtis Fuller
This recording could easily have been released by Blue Note in the '60's, and if it had been then perhaps a track approaching the popularity of Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" might have emerged from its highly listenable slate of tunes. Fuller calls the quintet...
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ReportAbout Scott Albin
Scott Albin has been a contributing writer to Jazz Times and jazz.com, and has also written for Down Beat as well as such long-forgotten publications as Changes, Zygote, and The Herald. He was an active member of the old New York City promotional organization Jazz Interactions, and worked for many years in publishing in New York, where he haunted the many jazz clubs and lofts. Now he resides in South Florida, where opportunities to hear live jazz are to be cherished, not yawned at.