A Bessie Smith Christmas
If you’re at all like me, a healthy serving of jazz helps you through the holidays. I love Christmas, but assorted right hooks and uppercuts … Read More “A Bessie Smith Christmas”
Colin Fleming
Colin Fleming writes fiction and nonfiction on myriad topics—art, film, music, sports, literature—for a wide range of publications. He also talks regularly on the radio for the likes of NPR and Downtown with Rich Kimball. His most recent book, Buried on the Beaches: Cape Stories for Hooked Hearts and Driftwood Souls (Tailwinds), was published in 2019, with an entry in Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series on Sam Cooke’s Live at the Harlem Square Club to follow in 2020. Find him on the web at colinfleminglit.com (where you’ll also find his unique online journal, the Many Moments More blog) and on Twitter @colinfleminglit. He lives in Boston and has contributed to JazzTimes since 2006.
Colin Fleming on social media
JazzTimes 10: Songs for a Jazzier Halloween
Jazz certainly loves its autumn leaves, going by its taste in standards. And its plaintive, twilight horns can sound like so many gusts of wind, … Read More “JazzTimes 10: Songs for a Jazzier Halloween”
Stan Getz: Getz at the Gate (Verve)
Any newly discovered vintage Stan Getz live tape has to shoulder some formidable competition—especially if you believe that the finest recordings he ever cut were … Read More “Stan Getz: Getz at the Gate (Verve)”
When Billie Holiday Came to Boston
Boston’s Kenmore Square is the conflux of streets that have long seemed to come together for one central purpose: to sweep passersby in the direction … Read More “When Billie Holiday Came to Boston”
The Perfect Fourth of July Jazz Record
As the Fourth of July comes around each year, I wonder how many people out there in the Republic are upping the quantity of Louis … Read More “The Perfect Fourth of July Jazz Record”
JazzTimes 10: Jazz on Film
When it comes to symbiosis, jazz and cinema aren’t exactly the clownfish and the sea anemone. Cinema asks us to travel with our eyes, to … Read More “JazzTimes 10: Jazz on Film”
Concert Review: Pat Metheny Solo at Rockport Music
There is an inherent risk with a solo jazz guitar concert that rather than experiencing a tour of a verdant garden, with life flowing in … Read More “Concert Review: Pat Metheny Solo at Rockport Music”
Doris Day: Her Jazziest Moment
There are certain singers we might consider ’tweeners, occupying some liminal space between jazz and pop. Judy Garland is one of these, though I’ve always … Read More “Doris Day: Her Jazziest Moment”
Anthony Braxton: GTM (Syntax) 2017 (New Braxton House)
Certain recording projects are so vast in their conceptual scope that attempting to process their remit can feel like being a test pilot in a … Read More “Anthony Braxton: GTM (Syntax) 2017 (New Braxton House)”
Cole at 100: Not That Nat But This One
Little wonder that Nat King Cole is revered as one of the towering crooners of the recorded-sound era; he sang as if his lungs were … Read More “Cole at 100: Not That Nat But This One”
The Greatest Jazz Christmas Performance of All Time
Charles Dickens, that prose poet of Christmas, believed that the end of the year—the holiday portion—not only was made for the best celebrations but also … Read More “The Greatest Jazz Christmas Performance of All Time”
Live Review: “Vanguard: The Music of Ran Blake” in Boston
There came an aha moment at the NEC Jazz Orchestra’s Dec. 6 concert in Jordan Hall that doubled as a reminder of why it was … Read More “Live Review: “Vanguard: The Music of Ran Blake” in Boston”
Marquis Hill: Modern Flows Vol. 2 (Black Unlimited Music Group)
There are some albums you really have to strap in for, lest you get whiplash for all of the various genre components that come whizzing … Read More “Marquis Hill: Modern Flows Vol. 2 (Black Unlimited Music Group)”
Various Artists: The Savory Collection 1935-1940 (Mosaic)
Certain collections of music are so rich and deep that it feels like a listener could almost swim in them. This six-disc, 108-track set feels … Read More “Various Artists: The Savory Collection 1935-1940 (Mosaic)”
Arturo Sandoval: Ultimate Duets (Universal Latino)
Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval has always loved the bebop métier, tossing his aesthetic headlong in the directions of the masters Parker and Gillespie, but now … Read More “Arturo Sandoval: Ultimate Duets (Universal Latino)”
Monk Higgins: Extra Soul Perception (Real Gone/Dusty Groove)
A funky little wash of strings, a curlicue pattern of zesty tenor sax soul-jazz from neglected would-be legend Monk Higgins, and this postbop LP immediately … Read More “Monk Higgins: Extra Soul Perception (Real Gone/Dusty Groove)”
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes (Eagle Rock)
Is it possible to be a fan of jazz and not be a fan of Blue Note Records? At once a kind of steward station, … Read More “Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes (Eagle Rock) “
Brad Mehldau: After Bach (Nonesuch)
To play the music of Johann Sebastian Bach well, a knack for sonic alchemy is required. One must be able to make swirling waves of … Read More “Brad Mehldau: After Bach (Nonesuch)”
Miles Davis & John Coltrane: The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 (Columbia/Legacy)
Jazz is a music of ensembles working toward a shared common goal through improvisatory avenues, but it is most special when focused on partnerships. Bird … Read More “Miles Davis & John Coltrane: The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 (Columbia/Legacy)”
Albert Ayler Quartet: Copenhagen Live 1964 (HatHut)
It takes all of two bars on the opening “Spirits,” from this Sept. 3, 1964 gig, for the Albert Ayler Quartet to establish technical mastery. … Read More “Albert Ayler Quartet: Copenhagen Live 1964 (HatHut)”
The Maiden Voyage of Fred Hersch
If you have a passing knowledge of how the publishing industry works, you are likely to cock a cynical eyebrow when pondering if a memoir … Read More “The Maiden Voyage of Fred Hersch”
Various Artists: The Savory Collection Vol. 3—Honeysuckle Rose: Fats Waller and Friends (The National Jazz Museum in Harlem/Apple Music)
There’s something delightfully rough-hewn and earthy about this third entry in the Savory Collection from the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, available exclusively on Apple … Read More “Various Artists: The Savory Collection Vol. 3—Honeysuckle Rose: Fats Waller and Friends (The National Jazz Museum in Harlem/Apple Music)”
Review of Two Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions! Albums
Art Pepper: Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions! Volume 3: Lee Konitz (Omnivore) Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions! Volume 4: Bill Watrous (Omnivore) These … Read More “Review of Two Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions! Albums”
Regina Carter: Ella: Accentuate the Positive (OKeh)
From the rolling, Appalachia-tinged fanfare that opens “Accentuate the Positive,” it’s apparent that we’re not in standard Ella-tribute territory. Regina Carter’s violin has a quality … Read More “Regina Carter: Ella: Accentuate the Positive (OKeh)”
Jaco Pastorius: Truth, Liberty & Soul: Live in NYC (Resonance)
It’s curious that we don’t more directly associate electric jazz bass playing with Latin rhythms, given that the greatest practitioner on the instrument featured them … Read More “Jaco Pastorius: Truth, Liberty & Soul: Live in NYC (Resonance)”
John Abercrombie Quartet: Up and Coming (ECM)
A slowly ingratiating album, this set from guitarist John Abercrombie’s quartet wends its way deep into you in the manner of an especially ruminative Bill … Read More “John Abercrombie Quartet: Up and Coming (ECM)”
Craig Taborn: Daylight Ghosts (ECM)
The challenge in making a hybrid acoustic/electronic album sound like a genuine blend rests in large part with ensemble play, from which solos emerge—tendrils as … Read More “Craig Taborn: Daylight Ghosts (ECM)”
Erroll Garner: Ready Take One
Languishing on acetate for nearly 50 years, this previously unreleased cache of Erroll Garner recordings is a sort of Concert by the Studio, if you … Read More “Erroll Garner: Ready Take One”
John Coltrane: The Atlantic Years—In Mono
Let’s assume there’s zero chance you’re considering the purchase of a set like this one-six monaural Coltrane albums, sans extras-unless you already own the records … Read More “John Coltrane: The Atlantic Years—In Mono”
James P. Johnson: Classic James P. Johnson Sessions (1921-1943)
Jazz piano masters tend to slot easily into categories. There are seemingly beyond-the-bounds-of-possibility virtuosos (Art Tatum), blues melders (Wynton Kelly) and genre purveyors (Meade Lux … Read More “James P. Johnson: Classic James P. Johnson Sessions (1921-1943)”