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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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)”
On paper, Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop looks like nothing so much as Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers—a drummer-led sextet fronted by three horns. But where Blakey’s leadership … Read More “Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop: Abundance (Anzic)”
If the last word of this title gives you pause, please note the parentheses. Although Don Byron and Aruán Ortiz are not above dancing out … Read More “Don Byron/Aruán Ortiz: Random Dances and (A)tonalities (Intakt)”
On most of the 30-odd albums Ivo Perelman has released over the last three years, the saxophonist has articulated his free-form vision through mostly conventional … Read More “Ivo Perelman/Rudi Mahall: Kindred Spirits / Ivo Perelman/Jason Stein: Spiritual Prayers (Leo)”
Don’t be misled by the billing. Although Randy Brecker’s trumpet is featured throughout this album with Finland’s UMO Jazz Orchestra, the creative force behind the … Read More “Randy Brecker & Mats Holmquist: Together (MAMA)”
Each of these two duet albums features tenor saxophonist Mark Turner working with someone with whom he normally plays in a quartet. In the case … Read More “Mark Turner & Ethan Iverson: Temporary Kings (ECM)/Mikkel Ploug & Mark Turner: Faroe (Sunnyside)”
Because the dewdrop is both beautiful and fleeting, it has been used in Buddhist teaching as a metaphor for the impermanence of existence. In the … Read More “Aaron Shragge & Ben Monder: This World of Dew (Human Resource)”
Despite its title, Gilad Hekselman’s Ask for Chaos has a tuneful gentleness that may tempt some to presume the music is all surface and not listen … Read More “Gilad Hekselman: Ask for Chaos (Hexophonic Music/Motéma)”
There are a number of pianists blessed with such technique that they could play pretty much anything. Where Geoffrey Keezer has them beat is that … Read More “Geoffrey Keezer Trio: On My Way to You (MarKeez)”
It’s easy to play standards, but damned difficult to play them well. The problem is one of familiarity: How does one take a tune that’s … Read More “Ronnie Cuber: Ronnie’s Trio (SteepleChase)”
How ironic that concert performance, once the definition of musical ephemerality, has become the richest vein to mine for vintage jazz gold. Working with producer … Read More “Dexter Gordon Quartet: Tokyo 1975 (Elemental), Woody Shaw: Tokyo ’81 (Elemental)”
