Alex Harding’s The Calling reminds me of a time not so long ago when jazz maintained fairly consistent values-before “straightahead” and “free” became irreconcilably separate, … Read More “Alex Harding & Blutopia: The Calling”
Matt Renzi is a mellow-toned, progressively inclined tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. His trio with bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Russell Meissner swings lightly but determinedly … Read More “Matt Renzi: The Cave”
Producer Luke Kaven is issuing as much of the late Frank Hewitt’s work as he can, culling albums from the many hours of live recordings … Read More “The Frank Hewitt Quartet: Four Hundred Saturdays: Live at Smalls”
Compiling a representative CD/DVD sampler from the umpteen marathon sets that make up the Vision Festival, New York City’s annual free-jazz bash, must be a … Read More “Various Artists: Vision Vol. 3”
The fact that my personal tastes run to such esoteric extremes sometimes causes me to forget that weirdness is not an absolute. There are degrees … Read More “Nils Wogram and Simon Nabatov: The Move”
Try to imagine an over-the-air commercial radio station broadcasting a Cecil Taylor concert. You can’t? Neither can I. But that sort of thing used to … Read More “John Coltrane: One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note”
This CD combines the talents of Vancouver-based drummer Dylan van der Schyff and trumpeter Brad Turner, American saxophonist (and resident of the Netherlands) Michael Moore, … Read More “Dylan Van Der Schyff: The Definition of a Toy”
Any meeting between tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake is worth hearing; Back Together Again, their recent duo album on Thrill Jockey, was … Read More “Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, William Parker: Blue Winter”
This is a solid if ever so slightly disappointing album by a quartet of top-of-the-line New York-based free jazzers: Mark Whitecage, saxes and clarinet; Roy … Read More “The Nu Band: Live”
On Jumping the Creek, Charles Lloyd continues to refine his approach to the saxophone-smoothing some rough edges, perhaps, but he still hasn’t lost the intensity … Read More “Charles Lloyd: Jumping the Creek”
Fred Anderson is one of the more steadfastly jazz-based original members of Chicago’s seminal AACM. His music tends to be not nearly so conceptually inclined … Read More “Fred Anderson/Hamid Drake: Back Together Again”
Who knows what the future holds for the Art Ensemble? Losing Lester Bowie was bad enough. The death of bassist Malachi Favors in 2004 silenced … Read More “Art Ensemble of Chicago: Sirius Calling”
Tenor saxophonist David Murray has done so much in so many contexts as a composer and bandleader, it’s easy to forget that the essence of … Read More “Kahil El’Zabar/David Murray: We Is: Live at the Bop Shop”
Reedist Ken Vandermark has a big bull’s eye on his back, but I don’t want to be perceived as taking shots. He’s too talented, especially … Read More “Paal Nilssen-Love/Ken Vandermark: Dual Pleasure”
Reedist Ken Vandermark is officially the leader on only one of these four albums, but his presence is strongly felt on all. Elements of Style … Read More “The Vandermark 5: Elements of Style… Excersises in Surprise”
Introducing this latest batch of essays (named after and culled largely from his late, lamented Village Voice column), Gary Giddins cops to being too emotional: … Read More “Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of its Second Century by Gary Giddins”
The “Mean Ameen” in the title is the New Horizons’ late trumpeter Ameen Muhammad-who, if the vibrant and ebullient music contained herein is any indication, … Read More “Ernest Dawkins New Horizons Ensemble: Mean Ameen”
If life was fair, major record companies would be lining up to sign Sam Rivers and grant agencies would shower him with riches. Ah, but … Read More “Sam Rivers/Adam Rudolph/Harris Eisenstadt: Vista”
Roscoe Mitchell is feeling intimations of mortality. And who can blame him, after losing two of his most important collaborators, Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors, … Read More “Roscoe Mitchell: Solo 3”
Evan Parker’s latest electro-acoustic effort has him moving even farther away from free jazz and ever closer to a noisy classical-ambient hybrid. In addition to … Read More “Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: Memory/Vision”
If this record had ended after the first track, I would have felt comfortable calling it the schmaltziest so-called jazz recording yet to hit the … Read More “David Sanchez: Coral”
I’m pretty sure Steve Lacy has never made a bad album, and even if he did occasionally make a clinker it would certainly be obliterated … Read More “Steve Lacy Trio: The Holy la”
The rhythmic impetus has been known to suffer in drummerless ensembles. Suffice it to say, that’s not a problem with this band. The British soprano … Read More “Tim Garland Storms/Nocturnes Trio: Rising Tide”
Pianist Laurent Coq’s Like a Tree in the City features the willfully lyrical tenor saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh, the rarest of rare birds: a young tenor … Read More “Laurent Coq Quartet: Like a Tree in the City”
I’ve got a soft spot for CDs comprised of old air checks and private tapes from the ’40s and ’50s, probably owing to the fact … Read More “Allen Eager: In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee”