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 “Wadada Leo Smith: Kabell Years: 1971-1979”

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

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 “Miles Davis: Birdland 1951”

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 “Fred Hersch Trio: Trio Plus Two”

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 “Jimmy Lyons: The Box Set”

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 “Uri Caine: Bedrock”

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 “Bill Barron: Compilation”

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

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 “Company: Company in Marseille”

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

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

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 “Cindy Blackman: Someday”

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 “Bill Frisell: Blues Dream”

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 “Talking Pictures/Jorrit Dijkstra: Humming”

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 “Kevin Norton: In Context/Out of Context”

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 “Donald Robinson Trio: Straight Lines Skewed”

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 “Chucho Valdes: Solo – Live in New York”

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 “Dave Douglas: A Thousand Evenings”

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 “Brad Mehldau with Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy: Places”

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 “Steve Cohn: Bridge Over the X-Stream”

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 “Rob Brown Quartet: Jumping Off the Page”