Despite the sobriety of its title, Holly Hofmann’s 12th album is anything but clinical or cynical. Rather, it’s Hofmann’s celebration of the alto flute, a … Read More “Holly Hofmann: Low Life: The Alto Flute Project”
Hammond organ master Brian Charette leads a spirited, driving trio on Square One, his relatively straight-ahead and winning debut on the American label Posi-Tone. The … Read More “Brian Charette: Square One”
We Are One is state-of-the-art fusion, suggesting the ’80s never ended. A recording of style, sonics, intermittent tenderness and virtuosity, it’s a smooth, if at … Read More “The Omar Hakim Experience: We Are One”
The 16 tracks on this leisurely CD span the rowdy, the regal and the ruminative. They star Ernest Ranglin, who might be called the father … Read More “Ernest Ranglin & Avila: Bless Up”
This is a band bent on creating a communal experience, and does it ever. Sparked by the impossibly fast, genre-scrambling piano of Warren Byrd and … Read More “The Afro-Semitic Experience: Jazz Souls on Fire”
Pianist Ted Rosenthal doesn’t pair “winter” with “wonderland,” preferring the latter, single word to resonate on its own. You don’t have to wait for Christmas … Read More “Ted Rosenthal Trio: Wonderland”
This perfectly titled album is a mash-up of time and tempo, jazz and pop, rhythm and blues, modern tunes and warhorses. Sparked by Jon Batiste’s … Read More “Jon Batiste and Stay Human: Social Music”
Shamie Royston is a vigorous, versatile pianist whose approach spans the roil of “The Beast Within,” the placidity of “Healing Hymn” and the childlike, winning … Read More “Shamie Royston: Portraits”
Pianist Pablo Ziegler plunges into a kinetic musical cityscape evoking the downtown of his native Buenos Aires at the start of this ebullient disc, recorded … Read More “Pablo Ziegler & Metropole Orkest: Amsterdam Meets New Tango”
Picture a band on a street corner in the very Nordic north. It’s winter. To keep warm, they spool out blowsy melodies of grave gait … Read More “Verneri Pohjola & Black Motor: Rubidium”
Barry Altschul’s first album as a leader in more than 25 years is a mischievous affair showcasing his irreverent drums, the magisterially sassy tenor saxophone … Read More “Barry Altschul: The 3Dom Factor”
This double-CD, packing 23 tracks per disc, is loaded with music as far from corporate as can be. A sequel to the acclaimed roots rarities … Read More “Various Artists: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of”
Dynamics are critical to Czech-American guitarist Rudy Linka’s latest album, which is dominated by sneaky originals, a sharply tailored cover of Monk’s “Bye-Ya” (titled “Bay-Ya” … Read More “Rudy Linka: Re:connect”
On Todd Marcus’ second album, the bass clarinetist switches between a quartet showcasing his drive and one stressing his more thoughtful side. The tracks featuring … Read More “Todd Marcus: Inheritance”
If Charlie Haden’s Quartet West is jazz-noir, Bronze Nemesis is pulp-jazz. Scott Robinson’s protean and flexible group delivers 12 tracks celebrating proto-superhero Doc Savage, a … Read More “Scott Robinson Doctette: Bronze Nemesis”
Drumless as ever and ever more eclectic, the Hot Club of Detroit chooses freshness over predictability on its fourth album. Sparked by the slight yet … Read More “Hot Club of Detroit: Junction”
São Paulo native Felipe Salles blends the visceral and the cerebral on his fascinating fifth album, infusing classical modernist strains with the buoyant rhythms of … Read More “Felipe Salles: Departure”
Adam Glasser’s playful yet plaintive style makes him one of the harmonica’s new masters. As debonair as Toots Thielemans, as soulful as Stevie Wonder and … Read More “Adam Glasser: Mzansi”
Longtime James Brown horn foil Maceo Parker reanimates soul and funk tropes in this beautifully produced, rocking collection of tunes from the ’60s and ’70s. … Read More “Maceo Parker: Soul Classics”
Live, this deeply continental and assured sextet is a jam band with the precision of a Swiss watch. Like a sophisticated mechanical timepiece, it’s all … Read More “Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin : Live”
Denny Zeitlin’s sequel to 2010’s Labyrinth finds the Bay Area pianist in solo mode again, this time exploring standards and rejuvenating originals, foremost among the … Read More “Denny Zeitlin: Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano”
At 73, the South African icon is unstoppable
No doubt “Howie,” the detached boomer of this ironic album’s title track, drives the cool vintage Jaguar on its cover. The stylish song correlates to … Read More “Wayne Krantz: Howie 61”
Recorded on one hard-swinging late-September evening at Newark’s Piccadilly Club, the two-disc Hank Mobley set showcases the talented tenor saxophonist evolving into a major force, … Read More “Hank Mobley Quintet: Newark 1953”
A love letter to Brazil, this aural travelogue blends tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer’s compositions with tracks by Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Chico Pinheiro, … Read More “Bob Mintzer Big Band : For the Moment”
Rollins, Blanchard, Wynton and Metheny are among the highlights
Guitarist John Abercrombie, saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Joey Baron construct a mesmerizing fire in this tribute to the (mostly) ’60s jazz … Read More “John Abercrombie Quartet: Within a Song”
This slick, exciting CD is trumpeter Arturo Sandoval’s reimagining of the key work of John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, his mentor, inspiration and friend. It recasts … Read More “Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You): Arturo Sandoval”
Clarinetist Dr. Michael White’s second installment in a project designed to freshen traditional New Orleans material with newer tunes done in that same style has … Read More “Dr. Michael White: Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Part 2”
Pianist Josh Nelson seems the type who, as a boy, gazed at the stars, wondering what kind of life exists out there; his fifth album, … Read More “Josh Nelson: Discoveries”
