New live recording by the great guitarist John McLaughlin pursue his long-standing Indo-jazz intrigue with his revised incarnation of Shakti on The Believer. McLaughlin finds … Read More “John McLaughlin Shakti: The Believer”
Guitarist Fred Frith is not anybody’s father’s guitar hero, but a player and thinker with his own particular range of interests and ideas. He’s not … Read More “Mark Dresser/Fred Frith/Ikue Mori: Later”
New live recording by the great guitarist John McLaughlin packs an artful wallop in a post-fusion direction on The Heart of Things album. Listening to … Read More “John McLaughlin: The Heart of Things”
There are enough hyphens in any proper description of George Lewis, the trombonist-composer-software designer-improvisation diehard-pedagogue-intermediaman, etc., that a definitive Lewis album begs for pluralism. That’s … Read More “George Lewis: Endless Shout”
Bill Frisell’s illustrious, elastic recording career began with his too little praised In Line (ECM), a mostly solo (sometimes using multi-tracked layers), mostly acoustic and … Read More “Bill Frisell: Ghost Town”
It’s no secret, at this stage of jazz evolution, that the line separating swing and Latin rhythms is a thin, malleable one. With a little … Read More “Hendrik Meurkens and New York Samba Jazz All-Stars: In a Sentimental Mood”
Long the sideman of choice, pianist Kenny Barron has quietly built up a respectable discography as a leader in recent years. He could have settled … Read More “Kenny Barron: Spirit Song”
The Brazilian-American pianist has been considering her roots on recent albums, drawing through lines from Brazil to jazz and back. The concept album basis takes … Read More “Eliane Elias: Everything I Love”
Part of the modest flood of Wynton Marsalis product under the rubric of the “Swinging into the 21st Century” series, Reeltime is an intriguing curio … Read More “Wynton Marsalis: Reeltime”
John Abercrombie is, by this juncture, ECM’s house guitarist, whose association with the label goes back a quarter century. And it’s a quietly remarkable discography … Read More “John Abercrombie: Open Land”
Critical mass has been gaining on Dave Douglas of late, in the form of awards, laurels, and even his first domestic major label deal, so … Read More “Dave Douglas: Jazz Artist of the Year”
Young Anthony Wilson has been growing up in public for the last few years, first as a guitarist in his father Gerald Wilson’s orchestra and … Read More “Anthony Wilson: Adult Themes”
If tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson has played his part in the neo-mainstream jazz wave, as an alumnus of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, he’s also had … Read More “Javon Jackson: Pleasant Valley”
Thelonious Monk, with his playfulness and profundity, clenched voicings and wily spirit, would seem a likely source of inspiration and tribute for the ranks of … Read More “Andy Summers: Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk”
Andy Summers goes unplugged for a fine, fluid duet recording with a gifted Brazilian friend, Victor Biglione on Strings of Desire. Together, they create a … Read More “Andy Summers/Victor Biglione: Strings of Desire”
Roughly 15 years ago, just as the jazz ethos was changing the guard and deeming electric instruments marginal or verboten, the decidedly plugged-in guitarist Scott … Read More “Scott Henderson & Tribal Tech: Notes from the Underground”
Reports of the death of freedom in jazz have been greatly exaggerated. Free jazz isn’t dead. It’s only living under assumed new names, existing in … Read More “Dewey Redman/Cecil Taylor/Elvin Jones: Momentum Space”
Male jazz vocalists are still a rare breed these days, giving Kurt Elling an edge in terms of visibility, and he deserves it, as heard … Read More “Kurt Elling: This Time It’s Love”
One of the most heartening sounds heard around the jazz piano world in the last few years was that of Chick Corea unplugging. Not to … Read More “Chick Corea and Origin: A Week at the Bluenote”
After finishing All Sides Now for Blue Note in 1997, the concept album of pairings with musicians of various compatability, Pat Martino headed off to … Read More “Pat Martino: Firedance”
Guitarist Jim Hall, who has quietly revolutionized jazz guitar playing since the ’50s, continues with his remarkable run of ’90s projects on Telarc. Last year, … Read More “Jim Hall: By Arrangement”
One could viably look at the recordings of renascent guitar hero Pat Martino’s recordings of the last few years and pose the musical question: will … Read More “Pat Martino and Joyous Lake: Stone Blue”
Last year, Los Angeles-based guitarist Anthony Wilson impressed with his debut on the MAMA label, not so much as a new addition to the overcrowded … Read More “Anthony Wilson: Goat Hill Junket”
There’s a new/old beat on the street and in the shopping malls, and it has a kinship to jazz. But, make no mistake, it’s not … Read More “Squirrel Nut Zippers: Time Bomb”
Let us now praise those souls who have long languished in relative neglect, sitting stage left in the sax section, providing honk factor in soul-oriented … Read More “Mulligan View: The Baritone Saxophone Band”
They may be just across the 101 freeway from each other, within spitting distance, but there’s a world of difference between the Universal Amphitheater and … Read More “Andy Summers: Calling Out the Jazz Police”
The distinctive cover of the latest project from the Pat Metheny Group finds a mosaic-like assortment of tiny images, which computer users instantly register as … Read More “Pat Metheny and Group: Imaginary Day”
As Hollywood figures go, Clint Eastwood deserves credit for musical integrity in the face of the kind of generic musical values which have made American … Read More “Eastwood After Hours: Live At Carnegie Hall”
The weatherman is putting out a wake-up call to Southern California this winter. Forecast: geothermal voodoo courtesy of the freak-ish condition known as El Niño, … Read More “Horace Silver: Feeling Healing”
On the face of it, the world of jazz and classical Indian music might be viewed as fairly strange bedfellows. One is a 20th century … Read More “Badal Roy, Trilok Gurtu, Zakir Hussain: Out of India”
