Bill Shoemaker

Wadada Leo Smith: Kabell Years: 1971-1979

Bill Shoemaker

Affixing the AACM label to any musician is a somewhat dicey proposition, but particularly in the case of Wadada Leo Smith. Like Lester Bowie, the … Read More

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Cameron Brown and the Hear and Now: Here and How!

Bill Shoemaker

Talk about overdue: For 40 years, Cameron Brown has worked with a ridiculously long list of heavyweights, but he has only now released an album … Read More

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Miles Davis: Birdland 1951

Bill Shoemaker

Comprised of material from three dates and featuring two contrasting groups, Birdland 1951 finds Miles Davis in particularly good form. The trumpeter was on the … Read More

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Alexander von Schlippenbach: Global Unity

Bill Shoemaker

While he’s not all that well known in the U.S., Alexander von Schlippenbach is one of Europe’s favorite avant-garde musicians. The German pianist mixes free and contemporary classical elements to form an energetic hybrid of American and European music-which befits the man who formed the Globe Unity Orchestra. Bill Shoemaker fills us in.

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Fred Hersch Trio: Trio Plus Two

Bill Shoemaker

There is life after the major labels, liberation even. Perhaps no one has benefited more from severance from a blue-chip imprint in recent years than … Read More

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Jimmy Lyons: The Box Set

Bill Shoemaker

Jimmy Lyons is one of the most intriguing musicians to emerge in the 1960s, as the alto saxophonist provided one of the strongest links between … Read More

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Herbie Hancock/Michael Brecker/Roy Hargrove: Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall

Bill Shoemaker

Few album titles are as draped in jazz history as Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall. “Directions In Music” was a phrase stamped on … Read More

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Uri Caine: Bedrock

Bill Shoemaker

Lacking the stunning conceptual audacity of watershed recordings like Urlicht/Primal Light and The Goldberg Variations, Uri Caine’s Bedrock, Solitaire and Rio are relatively casual albums. … Read More

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Bill Barron: Compilation

Bill Shoemaker

Bill Barron was an important, largely overlooked transitional figure of the late ’50s and early ’60s, a tenor saxophonist and composer who consolidated advanced jazz-harmonic … Read More

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John Butcher/Derek Bailey/Rhodri Davies: Vortices and Angels

Bill Shoemaker

As producer Martin Davidson points out in his notes to Vortices and Angels, guitarist Derek Bailey (born 1930), saxophonist John Butcher (1954) and harpist Rhodri … Read More

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Company: Company in Marseille

Bill Shoemaker

Company in Marseille features the same U.K. contingent guitarist Derek Bailey assembled last April in New York: harpist Rhodri Davies, cellist Mark Wastell, bassist Simon … Read More

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Andrew Cyrille/Mark Dresser/Marty Ehrlich: C/D/E

Bill Shoemaker

Saxophonist Marty Ehrlich, bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Andrew Cyrille first joined forces for a New York festival date in 1996. They’d intended to perform … Read More

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The Contemporary Jazz Quartet: Action Action: The Original Debut Recordings 1964 & 1967

Bill Shoemaker

John Tchicai was not the only Dane pursuing the “New Thing” in the early ’60s. Trumpeter Hugh Steinmetz, alto saxophonist Franz Beckerlee and bassist Steffen … Read More

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Tom Harrell: Paradise

Bill Shoemaker

Though there have been several vital strains of music since the ’50s that have been lumped together under the rubric chamber jazz, the term is … Read More

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Cindy Blackman: Someday

Bill Shoemaker

You know when players are stepping up as leaders when they use the tradition as a means, not the end-all. Cindy Blackman does just that … Read More

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Bill Frisell: Blues Dream

Bill Shoemaker

Blues Dream is another winsome album by Bill Frisell. On this Walker Arts Center-commissioned program, the composer-guitarist amalgamates elements and players from past projects to … Read More

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Talking Pictures/Jorrit Dijkstra: Humming

Bill Shoemaker

Talking Pictures is the premier small ensemble of the vibrant Vancouver creative music scene. As documented on two strong albums on the much missed Red … Read More

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Kevin Norton: In Context/Out of Context

Bill Shoemaker

On In Context/Out of Context, Norton deftly balances the loose-limbed blowing imperatives of a trio session and his considerable compositional skills with a flexible album-length … Read More

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Donald Robinson Trio: Straight Lines Skewed

Bill Shoemaker

Robinson and bassist Lisle Ellis’ ability to create a well-grounded propulsion from the barest textures, rhythms, and phrases is very much in evidence in their … Read More

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Chucho Valdes: Solo – Live in New York

Bill Shoemaker

Most jazz-related discussions about Cuban music rightly and effusively celebrate its African component. Cuban music would be impoverished without it. Yet it is a mistake … Read More

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Dave Douglas: A Thousand Evenings

Bill Shoemaker

Dave Douglas’ second major label release is a bold stroke on a few significant counts. A Thousand Evenings, his second outing with Charms of the … Read More

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Sun Ra: Lanquidity

Bill Shoemaker

Lanquidity proves that timing is everything. If this surprisingly accessible album had been released in the booming early ’70s market by Impulse! instead of by … Read More

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Sun Ra: Greatest Hits: Easy Listening for Intergalactic Travel

Bill Shoemaker

Greatest Hits: Easy Listening for Intergalactic Travel performs the much-needed service of providing a one-disc summary of Ra’s musical odyssey. The first half of the … Read More

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Brad Mehldau with Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy: Places

Bill Shoemaker

Brad Mehldau’s debt to Keith Jarrett has never been so plain as it is on Places. This collection of solo and trio pieces, named for … Read More

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Steve Cohn: Bridge Over the X-Stream

Bill Shoemaker

Steve Cohn is a thoughtful composer and pianist who first surfaced in the early ’80s. His recordings never lack for well-formed ideas and vigorous exchanges … Read More

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Sun Ra: When Angels Speak of Love

Bill Shoemaker

Recorded in ’63 and released in ’66, When Angels Speak of Love has several of the elements that would give Ra and the Arkestra their … Read More

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Sun Ra: Pathways to Unknown Worlds and Friendly Love

Bill Shoemaker

Pathways to Unknown Worlds (one of two discs released by Impulse! that had not been previously issued by Saturn), and the two lost sessions, Cymbals … Read More

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Sun Ra: The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: Cymbals and Crystal Spears

Bill Shoemaker

The decidedly bluesy Cymbals was one of the best bets of the entire lot. Like Pathways, this program employed a greatly reduced Arkestra. Though stalwarts … Read More

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Jim Black: Opening the Filters

Bill Shoemaker

It was a week that is like an increasing number of weeks out of the year for drummer Jim Black. It began in France, performing … Read More

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Rob Brown Quartet: Jumping Off the Page

Bill Shoemaker

Rob Brown is one of the hardest hitting alto players currently on the scene. His slashing, bluesy lines keep the spirit of Jimmy Lyons alive … Read More

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Wadada Leo Smith: Kabell Years: 1971-1979

Cameron Brown and the Hear and Now: Here and How!

Miles Davis: Birdland 1951

Alexander von Schlippenbach: Global Unity

Fred Hersch Trio: Trio Plus Two

Jimmy Lyons: The Box Set

Herbie Hancock/Michael Brecker/Roy Hargrove: Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall

Uri Caine: Bedrock

Bill Barron: Compilation

John Butcher/Derek Bailey/Rhodri Davies: Vortices and Angels

Company: Company in Marseille

Andrew Cyrille/Mark Dresser/Marty Ehrlich: C/D/E

The Contemporary Jazz Quartet: Action Action: The Original Debut Recordings 1964 & 1967

Tom Harrell: Paradise

Cindy Blackman: Someday

Bill Frisell: Blues Dream

Talking Pictures/Jorrit Dijkstra: Humming

Kevin Norton: In Context/Out of Context

Donald Robinson Trio: Straight Lines Skewed

Chucho Valdes: Solo – Live in New York

Dave Douglas: A Thousand Evenings

Sun Ra: Lanquidity

Sun Ra: Greatest Hits: Easy Listening for Intergalactic Travel

Brad Mehldau with Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy: Places

Steve Cohn: Bridge Over the X-Stream

Sun Ra: When Angels Speak of Love

Sun Ra: Pathways to Unknown Worlds and Friendly Love

Sun Ra: The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: Cymbals and Crystal Spears

Jim Black: Opening the Filters

Rob Brown Quartet: Jumping Off the Page

Year in Review: The Top 40 New Jazz Releases of 2020 (10-1)

The Day Louis Armstrong Lost His Color: A Short Story

The Changing Nature of Protest in Jazz

10 Best Jazz Albums of the 1970s: Critics’ Picks