Michael J. West
Michael J.’s Contributions
01/15/12 Albums
Pianist Eric Reed’s ambition for his latest album is right there in the title: to create something beautiful. He succeeds. Something Beautiful is a pristine straight-ahead piano-trio date (with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Rodney Green) that’s equally...
01/12/12 Features
With an acclaimed trio album in the bag, the pianist/composer looks toward the silver screen
01/02/12 Albums
Like this collection’s title, the two-CD Forever Lasting is largely redundant, which is true of any CD by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. They’re one of the world’s most polished ensembles. Their book, the work of cofounder Thad Jones and his protégés (predominantly...
01/01/12 Albums
“Clown Painting,” the industrial groan that opens Wiry Strong , announces that trumpeter Ralph Alessi and his This Against That quintet aren’t sugar-coating their third album. But most of the album has far more melody and form (though similarly outré motifs...
12/09/11 Features
Since the 1920s, all-female groups have made their mark on jazz
12/05/11 Albums
Michael J. West reviews Brad Mehldau & Kevin Hays' 'Modern Music'
11/08/11 Albums
Michael J. West reviews Miguel Zenón’s new CD, 'Alma Adentro.'
11/01/11 Albums
Warren Wolf loves melody, and he likes it spit-and-polish. It’s evident in the song choices for the Baltimorean vibraphonist’s debut. Whether originals or covers, the straight-ahead tunes are all well developed, occasionally even through-composed; no stretched...
10/21/11 Albums
Freedom contains a curious patchwork of styles—none of them, ironically, free. Pianist Orrin Evans and his trio (Dwayne Burno on bass, Byron Landham or Anwar Marshall on drums), plus tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna on two songs, tackle various aspects of...
08/14/11 Albums
How else could Pat Metheny follow the over-the-top grandeur of Orchestrion ? What’s It All About is a solo album, the guitarist performing ’60s and early ’70s pop staples—a couple of them jazz crossovers—mostly on baritone guitar. It’s a quiet, beautiful...
07/14/11 Concerts
Although some American superstars were featured the highlights were—surprise!—the homegrown Danish acts.
06/20/11 Features
Saxophonist Matana Roberts preaches the avant-garde gospel far and wide
06/18/11 Albums
On Latinbird , which is exactly what it says it is, alto saxophonist T.K. Blue gets the recipe right. He picks some great Charlie Parker tunes (plus two originals and “’Round Midnight”), gives them skillful Latin arrangements of all varieties, and assembles...
06/05/11 Albums
Outer Reaches is drummer Ralph Peterson’s tribute to organist Larry Young and trumpeter Woody Shaw. Not surprisingly, its 12 tracks include two-thirds of their 1965 New Thing classic, Unity . The quartet (Peterson, trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist Jovan...
May 2011 Albums
Michael J. West reviews new album from pianist, a live solo set from his week-long residency at the Village Vanguard in December 2010
May 2011 Albums
Considering that South African pianist/composer Abdullah Ibrahim founded his Ekaya ensemble as an anti-apartheid vehicle, Sotho Blue —a straight-ahead re-examination of Ibrahim’s older pieces in a post-apartheid context—is long overdue. Twenty years after...
About 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
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