Newport Jazz Festival 2022
The 2022 Newport Jazz Festival’s three days of sunshine were bracketed, more or less, by a pair of all-star ensemble jams that included Christian McBride. … Read More “Newport Jazz Festival 2022”
Bill Beuttler
Bill Beuttler is a Boston-based writer. He teaches journalism at Emerson College and is the author of the 2019 book Make It New: Reshaping Jazz in the 21st Century.
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The Big Ears Festival: Back to Live Action in Knoxville
The Big Ears Festival returned to Knoxville in a big way in late March, drawing an estimated 30,000 music enthusiasts from across the U.S. and … Read More “The Big Ears Festival: Back to Live Action in Knoxville”
Julian Lage: Live in Los Angeles
Julian Lage’s Arclight, released in April, marked an invigorating new direction for the still-young guitarist. Joined by Scott Colley on bass and Kenny Wollesen on … Read More “Julian Lage: Live in Los Angeles”
Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone: Sélébéyone
Steve Lehman has emerged over the past decade as one of music’s most dynamic and forward-looking composers, building to his Mise en Abîme winning the … Read More “Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone: Sélébéyone”
SFJAZZ Collective: Live: SFJAZZ Collective 2015 The Music of Michael Jackson and Original Compositions
The SFJAZZ Collective’s m.o. is to each year focus on the music of a featured composer. Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Horace Silver, Joe … Read More “SFJAZZ Collective: Live: SFJAZZ Collective 2015 The Music of Michael Jackson and Original Compositions”
Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg: Celestial Weather
Wadada Leo Smith and John Lindberg have performed as a duo over the years, since connecting in the ’70s in Anthony Braxton’s Creative Orchestra, but … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg: Celestial Weather”
The Unbreakable Spirit of Victor Bailey
The ailing Weather Report alum hopes to return to teaching, producing-and playing bass
Sullivan Fortner: Aria
Pianist Sullivan Fortner’s dazzling debut album is the sort of tradition-steeped modernism that so many Young Lions following Wynton Marsalis rode to stardom in the … Read More “Sullivan Fortner: Aria”
Avishai Cohen: Into the Silence
Trumpeter Avishai Cohen’s beautiful, elegiac Into the Silence is a tribute to his late father, who died in 2014. Lesser life changes of a musical … Read More “Avishai Cohen: Into the Silence”
Jason Palmer: Wondaland: Jason Palmer Plays Janelle Monae
Trumpeter Jason Palmer’s intriguing new release is the second in his planned “series of homages to singers who have produced powerful music,” which began three … Read More “Jason Palmer: Wondaland: Jason Palmer Plays Janelle Monae“
Noah Preminger: Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar
Noah Preminger is nothing if not bold. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the tenor saxophonist, who skydives and boxes for kicks, would follow the … Read More “Noah Preminger: Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar”
Tom Harrell: First Impressions: Debussy and Ravel Project
Tom Harrell is in a classical mood on his genre-blending First Impressions. This isn’t new for the brilliant trumpeter-composer. The six-part suite The Adventures of … Read More “Tom Harrell: First Impressions: Debussy and Ravel Project”
Lionel Loueke: GAIA
Gaïa, Lionel Loueke’s fourth album since signing with Blue Note Records, is jazz that’s also “world music,” in more ways than one. The new album … Read More “Lionel Loueke: GAIA”
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra: Cuba: The Conversation Continues
Talk about timing. Pianist, composer and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill was in Havana with his orchestra this past December, preparing to record this glorious two-CD continuation … Read More “Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra: Cuba: The Conversation Continues”
Amir ElSaffar: Crisis
The music on Crisis, the third album from the conceptually driven, multitalented Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar and his Two Rivers Ensemble, was commissioned for and … Read More “Amir ElSaffar: Crisis”
Luis Perdomo & Controlling Ear Unit: Twenty-Two
Luis Perdomo comes to Twenty-Two in a mood for a look back. After more than a decade as a founding member of Miguel Zenón’s longstanding … Read More “Luis Perdomo & Controlling Ear Unit: Twenty-Two”
Rockport Jazz Festival 2015
Spectacular sounds — and sights — in Mass.
Robert Glasper: Covered: The Robert Glasper Trio Recorded Live at Capitol Studios
Robert Glasper’s plunge into the world of R&B and hip-hop widened his fan base and earned him a pair of Grammy Awards, but he found … Read More “Robert Glasper: Covered: The Robert Glasper Trio Recorded Live at Capitol Studios”
Review: The 2015 Newport Jazz Festival
A wide-ranging program and warm, sunny weather at this jazz institution
George Garzone: Crescent
George Garzone is a musician’s musician, renowned as both a tenor saxophonist and an educator. But he remains relatively little known to the wider listening … Read More “George Garzone: Crescent”
Terence Blanchard: Breathless
The riotously danceable cover of Les McCann’s classic “Compared to What” that opens Terence Blanchard’s Breathless sets up the counterintuitive mix of groove-oriented partying and … Read More “Terence Blanchard: Breathless”
A Boston Jazz Weekend, Part One
Cassandra Wilson, Berklee Performance Center, 4-11-15
A Boston Jazz Weekend, Part Two
Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock, Symphony Hall, 4-12-15
Concert: The Bad Plus at Berklee Performance Center
Trio performs Ornette Coleman’s “Science Fiction” with special guests
John Zorn: The Testament of Solomon
Someone whose introduction to John Zorn came from dipping into the Masada Marathon at this past summer’s Newport Jazz Festival might be surprised by the … Read More “John Zorn: The Testament of Solomon”
Omer Avital: New Song
Omer Avital’s New Song picks up where his marvelous Suite of the East left off two years ago, with more of the rich mix of … Read More “Omer Avital: New Song”
Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash: Duologue
Duo albums featuring sax and drums aren’t unheard of, but earlier pairings-John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, Max Roach on one each with Anthony Braxton and … Read More “Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash: Duologue”
The Bad Plus: Inevitable Western
This has been a productive year for the Bad Plus. After releasing nothing as a unit in 2013, the “avant-garde populists” have brought out two … Read More “The Bad Plus: Inevitable Western”
The Bad Plus: Inevitable Western
This has been a productive year for the Bad Plus. After releasing nothing as a unit in 2013, the “avant-garde populists” have brought out two … Read More “The Bad Plus: Inevitable Western”
Review: The Newport Jazz Festival 2014
At 60, not only still going, but still growing