Michael J. West
Michael J.’s Contributions
05/06/13 Albums
Sean Moran Small Elephant Band
Tusk
Most of Tusk sounds like Frank Zappa’s chamber music. It’s got favorite Zappa instruments (guitar, clarinet, vibraphone and drums); atonal, gnarled compositions; and blinding speed and staccato percussion. Sean Moran’s acoustic guitar style even uncannily...
04/29/13 Albums
Museum Vol. 1
Kevin Harris Project
There’s no suggestion in pianist Kevin Harris’ liners that Museum Vol. 1 is in any way an exercise in minimalism. The soulful postbop record is crowded with repetition, however, certainly in Harris’ otherwise-admirable originals. Vamps, riffs, phrases and...
04/24/13 Albums
Deep in the Shed: A Blues Suite
Marcus Roberts Nonet
Reinterpreting one’s own album isn’t as odd as it seems; after all, it happens with songs all the time. What is remarkable, however, is listening back to Roberts’ original Deep in the Shed from 1990 and realizing how beholden it is to Ellington. The 2013...
04/18/13 Features
Dan Tepfer: "One of the Guys We Talk About"
At 30, the classically informed, conceptually inspired pianist is delivering on great promise
04/17/13 Albums
Late August
Gregg August
The postbop of Four by Six , so named for the two bands (quartet and sextet) that bassist Gregg August leads through his eight original compositions, is as stark as the cover photograph. Its melodies arrive in odd shapes and angles; its rhythms are irregular...
04/16/13 Albums
Conviction
Kendrick Scott Oracle
If Conviction is an examination of character—including the famous ones of Malcolm X and St. Francis of Assisi—drummer-composer Kendrick Scott’s own personality proves thoughtful and mellow, without sacrificing intensity. The second album by Scott’s quintet...
04/02/13 Albums
Songs I Like a Lot
John Hollenbeck
It’s easy to hear traces, in the songs drummer-composer John Hollenbeck likes a lot, of his melodic sense and cinematic structuring. His grasp of atmosphere and texture, though, is his own. That much is clear once he’s given command of the 16-piece Frankfurt...
03/19/13 Features
Enrico Rava and Rome's PM Jazz Lab Honor Michael Jackson
Band in the mirror: Jazz musicians and the King of Pop
03/17/13 Albums
The Messenger
Kevin Eubanks
Some elements of The Messenger just shouldn’t work: the too-cute grumble/ scat on “Led Boots” and the too-delicate guitar on “The Gloaming” all but beg to tank. They don’t. Instead, the sheer force of guitarist and former Tonight Show band director Kevin...
02/13/13 Overdue Ovation
Mike Longo: Keeping the Bebop Faith
From his work with Dizzy through his teaching today, the picture of dedication
01/20/13 Albums
La Peur du Vide
Bill McHenry
La Peur Du Vide sits uneasily between straight-ahead and free jazz, occasionally tipping to one side or the other. It’s familiar ground for tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry—even more so for his quartet (pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Andrew...
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...
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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