Andrew Hamlin on social media
Billie Holiday got knocked down. But she got up again. Actually, she had to get knocked down and get up again several times, according to … Read More “Kevin Whitehead: Play the Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film (Oxford University Press)”
“Empty your mind,” Bruce Lee said famously (by way of his friend, screenwriter Stirling Silliphant). “Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a … Read More “Christian Sands: Be Water (Mack Avenue)”
Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and sax man Walter Smith III wander in and out of this set, anchored by the leader’s piano and Rhodes, Ivan Taylor’s … Read More “Connie Han: Iron Starlet (Mack Avenue)”
Sara Serpa’s new album started out as the soundtrack for a film she assembled to chronicle, and critique, Portuguese nationalism in Angola. The film consists … Read More “Sara Serpa: Recognition: Music for a Silent Film (Biophilia)”
The best album of the year (so far) crept up and caught me on the cusp of the virus, but thankfully in time to keep … Read More “Peter Campbell: Old Flames Never Die (Peter Campbell)”
I met Chris Speed in my ancient youth, in a summer jazz program—he among the best, me among the worst. Even then, things came easily … Read More “Ben Perowsky/John Medeski/Chris Speed: Upstream (Self-released)”
Hard to believe that after all of Joey Alexander’s accolades at the tender age of 16—Grammy nominations, a Grand Prix at the Master-Jam Fest, and … Read More “Joey Alexander: Warna (Verve)”
“In accordance with the new fairness-in-broadcasting doctrine,” ran a long-ago edition of Nicole Hollander’s Sylvia comic strip, “we are giving the next five minutes of … Read More “Jo Jones: The Drums (Hudson Music)”
You glean Brian Blade’s ecstasy from his huge smiles behind the drum kit, but you need close listening to glean his genius. He exposes the … Read More “Jeff Denson/Romain Pilon/Brian Blade: Between Two Worlds (Ridgeway)”
