J.D. Considine has been writing about jazz and other forms of music since 1977. His work has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Musician, Spin, Vibe, Blender, Revolver, and Guitar World. He was music critic at the Baltimore Sun for 13 years, and jazz critic at the Globe and Mail for nine. He has lived in Toronto since 2001.
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When a drummer composes something called “Free Time,” many jazz listeners will leap to the conclusion that it’s unmetered chaos, the sort of sonic hurly-burly … Read More “Mareike Wiening: Metropolis Paradise (Greenleaf)”
Leo Sherman has the qualities many bandleaders look for in a bass player. He’s technically adept; he keeps solid time; he can be depended on … Read More “Leo Sherman: Tonewheel (Outside In)”
Musicians are also usually music fans, with favorite songs and private enthusiasms that don’t always obviously connect to the music they make. Much of what’s … Read More “Florian Hoefner Trio: First Spring (Alma)”
Although traditional folk songs have been a favorite source for classical composers from Brahms to Bartók, they don’t have a corresponding place in the jazz … Read More “Eri Yamamoto Trio & Choral Chameleon: Goshu Ondo Suite (AUM Fidelity)”
To say that Randy Weston was underappreciated is not the same as saying he wasn’t appreciated; instead, it’s to acknowledge that the honors he received, … Read More “T.K. Blue: The Rhythms Continue (JAJA)”
Although jazz guitar players have been amplified since the days of Charlie Christian, for the most part they’ve been fairly cautious about how they used … Read More “Olli Hirvonen: Displace (Ropeadope)”
If you look inside the CD package of Ragmala, the Go: Organic Orchestra’s collaboration with Brooklyn Raga Massive, you’ll find a Carnatic music proverb: “Shruthir … Read More “Adam Rudolph: The Matrix Reloaded”
Two years ago, tabla master Zakir Hussain assembled a sextet he called Crosscurrents, which brought together Indian and Western musicians to explore the jazz content … Read More “Dave Holland/Zakir Hussain/Chris Potter: Good Hope (Edition)”
Strings are the connectors on bassist Ben Wolfe’s Fatherhood. Not heartstrings, mind, but violins, viola, and cello. Wolfe’s father Dan was a violinist, and the … Read More “Ben Wolfe: Fatherhood (Resident Arts)”
In a strange way, the best thing about Diego Rivera’s third album, Connections, is the extent to which we don’t hear him. Not that there’s … Read More “Diego Rivera: Connections (Posi-Tone)”
“Intuit,” the title tune from Australian expat Jonathon Crompton’s debut, opens auspiciously, with Crompton’s alto squeaking the shreds of a melody between squealing harmonics, as … Read More “Jonathon Crompton: Intuit (New Lab)”
On his third album, drummer Curtis Nowosad celebrates his move from Winnipeg, Manitoba to New York, N.Y. by updating his sound. Where his first two … Read More “Curtis Nowosad: Curtis Nowosad (Sessionheads United)”
As album concepts go, guitarist Eric Hofbauer’s Five Agents project is pretty solid. Taking inspiration from Wu Xing, an ancient Daoist precept that sees the … Read More “Eric Hofbauer: Book of Water (Creative Nation)”
If Lisa Maxwell’s name means nothing to you, perhaps Lew Soloff’s might. The veteran trumpeter had long championed Maxwell’s work as an arranger, and urged … Read More “Lisa Maxwell Big Band: Shiny! (Uncle Marvin Music)”
Terraza is a bit of an anomaly, a writers’ band that doesn’t bear the name of either of its chief composers. Instead, the group takes … Read More “Terraza Big Band: One Day Wonder (Outside In)”
Is it really protest music if the dominant emotion within the songs is hope? That’s one of the questions raised by the sometimes reflective, sometimes … Read More “Ryan Keberle & Catharsis: The Hope I Hold (Greenleaf)”
The hard thing about Yoko Miwa is that she makes it sound so easy. It isn’t just that the Boston-based pianist, a longtime instructor at … Read More “Yoko Miwa Trio: Keep Talkin’ (Ocean Blue Tear)”
Rajna Swaminathan is a virtuoso on the mrudangam, the two-headed, tuned hand drum essential to Carnatic music, and in a surprisingly brief time has made … Read More “Rajna Swaminathan: Of Agency and Abstraction (Biophilia)”
In 2002, the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition focused on saxophonists. There were 15 musicians, and the bar was set high enough that a player … Read More “Seamus Blake Is Playing Between Many Worlds”
When you get right down to it, there are few things as essential to jazz as a solid groove. Virtuosity is nice, sure, and it’s … Read More “Dave Zinno Unisphere: Stories Told (Whaling City Sound)”
Thanks in large part to the popularity of the Dirty Dozen, the brass-band sound has become as formulaic as it is popular. It’s almost a … Read More “Le Rex: Escape of the Fire Ants (Cuneiform)”
Because major cities in Canada are much farther apart than they are in the States, local jazz scenes there tend to be more isolated than … Read More “Jim Brenan 11 (Featuring Chris Andrew): 50/50 (Death Defying)”
Say the words “gospel jazz,” and what comes to mind is likely something along the lines of Nat Adderley’s “Sermonette”: bluesy, down-home, and uplifting. But … Read More “Jordan Pettay: First Fruit (Outside In)”
When Gregor Huebner launched his El Violin Latino project, it seemed innocently transnational, an opportunity for the German-born violinist to show his appreciation for (and … Read More “Gregor Huebner: El Violin Latino Vol. 3: Los Soñadores (Zoho)”
That David Torn is the most electric of jazz guitarists is made clear in the opening minutes of “Eye Meddle,” the first of three 20-minute-plus … Read More “David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun of Goldfinger (ECM)”
Let’s be honest: A solo piano recording of what is described as Ornette Coleman’s “most beautiful melodies and ballads” will likely seem, to some jazz … Read More “Joachim Kühn: Melodic Ornette Coleman (ACT)”
At 75, Gary Burton—a jazz giant since his teens—is one of the few musicians for whom a five-disc career retrospective seems too tiny. This is, … Read More “Gary Burton: Take Another Look: A Career Retrospective (Mack Avenue)”
There was a time when “fusion” meant wailing synths and distorted electric guitar, a loud, showy sound that traded the bounce of swing for the … Read More “Allison Au Quartet: Wander Wonder (Independent)”
The truly bright idea on keyboardist Greg Murphy’s Bright Idea was to bring in drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts. It isn’t just that Watts is a … Read More “Greg Murphy Trio: Bright Idea (Whaling City Sound)”
For most of his career, Canadian-born, British-based Kenny Wheeler was known chiefly as a trumpeter and bandleader. His was hardly the typical jazz trajectory—how many … Read More “Hard Rubber Orchestra featuring Norma Winstone: Kenny Wheeler: Suite for Hard Rubber Orchestra (Justin Time/Nettwerk) / Ingrid Jensen & Steve Treseler: Invisible Sounds: For Kenny Wheeler (Whirlwind)”
