Andrew Lindemann Malone

Uri Caine’s take on the music of Mozart comes to the United States just a little too late to join the celebrations of the 250th … Read More “Uri Caine Ensemble: Plays Mozart”

On Melao, his first album as a leader, drummer Francisco Mela uses his sticks and his pen to craft spacious, lucid tracks with songful melodies … Read More “Francisco Mela : Melao”

More than perhaps any other 20th-century musician, Frank Zappa celebrated both the visceral and the cerebral, obscuring and enhancing his memorable melodies with mercurial, complex … Read More “Ed Palermo Big Band : Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance”

You never know what you’ll dig up when you reach your hand into the Jazzhole, but for the past few years the ‘holes had a … Read More “Jazzhole: Poet’s Walk”

The five-horn frontline of Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet, led by the one-named Skerik on tenor sax, can make gripping chaos from contrary motion or craft … Read More “Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet: Husky”

Marc Cary says his Focus trio seeks “a collaboration of three cultures.” On the trio’s debut, pianist and composer Cary draws on his Native American … Read More “Marc Cary Trio: Focus”

You don’t really have to know anything about Modest Mussorgsky (one of the innovative, earthy Russian nationalist composers of the late 19th century) or “Pictures … Read More “Charles Pillow: Pictures at an Exhibition”

Violinist Sam Bardfeld tries his hand at writing and narration as well as bandleading and composition on Periodic Trespasses (The Saul Cycle), crafting a tongue-in-cheek … Read More “Sam Bardfeld: Periodic Trespasses (The Saul Cycle)”

Before this review delves into the overarching aesthetic issues with which we critics so like to concern ourselves, I should note that the Seattle Repertory … Read More “Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra: Sacred Music of Duke Ellington”

Tom Abbs first conceived The Animated Adventures of Knox cinematically. He translated the story (a description of emotional evolution) into musical structures, interpreted the musical … Read More “Tom Abbs and Frequency Response: The Animated Adventures of Knox”

Though he had previously played acoustic guitar, when a friend presented him with a 1930s National Duolian steel-bodied model, Richard Leo Johnson took an immediate … Read More “Richard Leo Johnson: The Legend of Vernon McAlister”

Dave Eggar has played cello or piano with a dizzying array of artists, including Alice Cooper, Ornette Coleman, John Denver, Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo Ma and … Read More “Dave Eggar: Left of Blue”

A gentle, insistent swing and insouciant, charming lyricism make Chris Murphy’s On a Blue Afternoon a leisurely yet absorbing way to spend an hour. The … Read More “Chris Murphy: On a Blue Afternoon”

The San Francisco Chamber-Jazz Quartet differs from other jazz groups that invoke the word “chamber” as a descriptor, in that pop music from around the … Read More “The San Francisco ChamberJazz Quartet: SFCJQ”

In the land of Bedrock, groove is always king, but any specific groove’s hold on power is short-lived. Uri Caine (keyboards), Zach Danzinger (drums and … Read More “Bedrock: Shelf-Life”

George Colligan seems to have all the ingredients for a funky good time on his Mad Science trio’s new disc Realization: his trusty Hammond B3 … Read More “George Colligan’s Mad Science: Realization”

Common Ground is led by Zach Brock and Tom Wright, both violinists who use amplifiers so that they can be better heard over their excellent … Read More “Common Ground: High Voltage”

Paquito D’Rivera’s stated goal for his Jazz Chamber Trio is to “unify in one single concept the delicate intimacy of chamber music, the spontaneity of … Read More “Paquito D’Rivera: The Jazz Chamber Trio”

The Fred Lonberg-Holm trio is composed of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Jason Roebke on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums. This combination poses some problems, … Read More “Fred Lonberg-Holm Trio: Other Valentines”

In the liner notes for his first solo album in eight years, pianist Keith Jarrett admits that many of his listeners “will be momentarily (at … Read More “Keith Jarrett: Radiance”

There is great music, and then there is good music that is great at accomplishing a specific task. The latter can be found on Dance … Read More “Meshell Ndegeocello: Dance of the Infidel”

Three recent jazz-violin releases, taken together, prove that jazz doesn’t care what instrument you play as long as you play it well. Zach Brock and … Read More “Zach Brock and the Coffee Achievers: Chemistry”

In a successful marriage, the two partners must strike a balance between having no interests whatsoever in common and meddling in each other’s business all … Read More “Robin Holcomb/Wayne Horvitz: Solos”

McCoy Tyner’s piano makes some ugly noises on Counterpoints (Milestone). Don’t blame Tyner; it’s the piano that has a severe case of the out-of-tunes, possibly … Read More “McCoy Tyner: Counterpoints”

By all rights, Jazz Jamaica All Stars’ Massive should break through to the fabled mainstream and sell a million copies-to hipsters looking for something a … Read More “Jazz Jamaica All Stars: Massive”

Rachel Z’s new album, Everlasting, will dismay every jazz purist who hears it. Looking at the track listing, you might think that the cause of … Read More “Rachel Z: Everlasting”

Whether you’ll like Spooky Actions’ Music of Webern depends greatly on whether you like Webern, so let’s start there. Even before he converted to the … Read More “Spooky Actions: Music of Webern”

Downtown music, so named because many of its practitioners ply their trade in the lower part of Manhattan, has been busting the barriers between genres … Read More “Matthew Shipp: Blues Series Continuum: Sorcerer Sessions”