Undertones
11/24/12 By Britt Robson
Click Track Jazz: Slave to the Machine
Seed
Long established on the Sydney, Australia, jazz scene, keyboardist Sean Wayland, who has lived in New York since 2005, makes his biggest play for a heightened Stateside profile with this two-disc, 27-song collection. It’s instructive to know that he’s conservatory...
11/22/12 By Michael J. West
Nadje Noordhuis
Little Mystery
With a few exceptions, trumpeter/flugelhornist Nadje Noordhuis’ debut recording is all soft-colored, European-inspired melodies and gentle rhythms. It’s an extremely muted album, in other words, but that fact doesn’t diminish its power. Noordhuis has a sweet...
10/07/12 By Bill Milkowski
Jester
BJU
Bassist-composer Arthur Kell fronts a crew of top-shelf improvisers and consummate team players—alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, guitarist Brad Shepik, drummer Mark Ferber—on this winning quartet outing. The riff-based opener, “Quarter Sawn,” recalls the...
10/04/12 By Bill Milkowski
Tone
Fresh Sound New Talent
Guitarist-composer Ryan Meagher has recruited a group of fellow musical renegades for his sophomore outing. Like last year’s impressive Atroefy , this one falls into the “modern jazz for the indie rocker” camp. Trumpeter and Kneebody co-founder Shane Endsley...
10/01/12 By Bill Milkowski
Dialogue
Origin Records
Trumpeter Thomas Marriott joins alto saxophonist Mark Taylor, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer (and Origin label head) Matt Jorgensen on this solid, cooperative live album. Marriott and Taylor make a formidable frontline on such modernist...
09/28/12 By Bill Milkowski
Watch the Walls Instead
Underwolf
There’s something chilling and distinctly sci-fi about the atmospheric improvisations by bassist Giacomo Merega, guitarist Marco Cappelli and saxophonist Noah Kaplan on this stark, freewheeling affair. Add the minimalist, atonal piano tinkling of Anthony...
09/25/12 By Bill Milkowski
Christian Escoudé Plays Brassens: Au Bois de Mon Coeur
Sunnyside
The late poet, musician and political activist George Brassens began performing his affecting songs after World War II and was a beloved cultural hero in France at the time of his death in 1981. Here, veteran French guitarist Christian Escoudé interprets...
09/21/12 By Bill Milkowski
Seven
Alfa Jazz
This all-star aggregation features some of the most prominent names on Italy’s modern jazz scene, including trumpeters Enrico Rava and Fabrizio Bosso, drummer Roberto Gatto, superb pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and the father-son team of valve trombonist Dino...
09/19/12 By Bill Milkowski
Secret World
Between The Lines
A founding member of Minsarah, the Brooklyn-based trio probably best known for its collaborations with Lee Konitz, accomplished bassist-composer Jeff Denson delivers 10 original gems on this precious quartet offering. The kindred personnel here are heavy...
09/16/12 By Bill Milkowski
Soul Blueprint
EmArcy
Italian alto saxophonist-composer Gianni Bardaro showcases his considerable chops and penchant for writing difficult material on his fifth project as a leader. The turbulent “Neffertiti” (not the Wayne Shorter composition) exhibits his laser-sharp precision...
