Mike Shanley
Mike’s Contributions
01/31/12 Albums
With one very obvious exception, all the tracks on Riptide flow together without a break, often making it hard to distinguish if a mood shift comes in the middle of a piece or if it cues the next composition. Tense, repetitive licks give way to murky drones...
01/06/12 Albums
For an album of works composed and directed by the drummer, September Trio doesn’t focus on Harris Eisenstadt. Tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin stands out with his broad tone and flair for microtonal pitch bends, which lends drama to his voice. Pianist Angelica...
12/24/11 Albums
There have been vocal-and-bass albums, but none have sounded like this. Jen Shyu has been heard most prominently as a member of Steve Coleman and Five Elements, where her voice is integrated into the music with the horns. In that setting and this one, Shyu...
12/19/11 Albums
Mike Shanley reviews the reissue of Julius Hemphill's 'Dogon A.D.'
12/16/11 Albums
Klezmer music has come a long way in the past quarter century and a group of downtown New York musicians have played a big part in boosting its visibility. Klezmer has been called “Jewish jazz”: It often involves a fast, complex melody line over a steady...
12/09/11 Albums
Mike Shanley reviews drummer Tyshawn Sorey's latest, 'Oblique – I'
11/03/11 Albums
Mike Shanley reviews a long-out-of-print reissue
11/02/11 Albums
Satoko Fujii’s writing for her Orchestra New York frequently feels like the work of Carl Stalling, who directed the music of Warner Brothers cartoons during its golden age. Much like the Looney Tunes maestro, the pianist peppers Eto ’s “The North Wind and...
10/18/11 Albums
Kaze brings together the husband and wife team of pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura with French musicians Peter Orins (drums) and Christian Pruvost (trumpet) for a 2010 performance in Poland. “Noise Chopin” honors the bicentennial of the...
10/14/11 Albums
It’s probably stated any time his name comes up in discussion, but it bears repeating: Alto saxophonist Lee Konitz always seem to play a new song, even if the album lists a well-worn standard or one of his own oft-recorded compositions. “Lover Man,” on his...
10/14/11 Concerts
Mazurek, Adasiewicz and Herndon play big in a small room
10/06/11 Albums
Pianist Satoko Fujii’s Min-Yoh Ensemble takes its name from the Japanese term for folk music, but Watershed doesn’t sound like any kind of typical folk song, Japanese or otherwise. The pianist, husband/trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and trombonist Curtis Hasselbring...
09/08/11 Concerts
Wide-ranging weather and music at this year's Motor City event, directed by Jeff "Tain" Watts
08/27/11 Albums
Jeremy Udden named his group Plainville after his hometown in Massachusetts. His writing for the quintet incorporates pastoral rock and folk and puts more emphasis on ensemble sound; the compositions aren’t merely launching pads for soloists. Udden’s alto...
08/21/11 Albums
When assembling a tribute to Charles Mingus with just cornet and piano, Kirk Knuffke and Jesse Stacken, respectively, considered their limitations. This session contains no prayer meetings, hits in the soul, fight songs or any Mingus piece that depends on...
08/18/11 Albums
It might be best to consider Knives From Heaven’s self-titled release as a sound collage. Thirsty Ear touts it as a follow-up to Matthew Shipp vs. Antipop Consortium , the 2003 meeting of the inventive pianist and the equally inventive hip-hop group. But...
About Mike Shanley
Mike Shanley wishes there were more hours in the day to just sit and listen to music, probably with some coffee close at hand. A native of Pittsburgh, he served as arts & entertainment editor at two of that city's alternative newsweeklies, InPittsburgh and Pulp. In addition to JazzTimes, he freelances for Pittsburgh City Paper, Blurt and maintains a blog at www.shanleyonmusic.blogspot.com where he rambles on about whatever has landed on the turntable or disc player at that moment. His writing has appeared in Harp, Pittsburgh Magazine, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and on the website PopCity.com. He has also played bass guitar in a number of Pittsburgh indie rock bands over the past two decades.
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