Mike Shanley has been a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh and gladly welcomes any visitors to the city, most likely with a cup of coffee in one hand. Over the years, he has written for several alternative weekly papers and played bass guitar in several indie rock bands. He currently writes for the bi-weekly paper Pittsburgh Current and maintains a blog at shanleyonmusic.blogspot.com.
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Though she has a longstanding relationship with the Brooklyn Jazz Underground Ensemble and its imprint, Danish bassist Anne Mette Iversen has resided in Berlin since … Read More “Anne Mette Iversen: Invincible Nimbus (Brooklyn Jazz Underground)”
Steve Haines’ goal with his latest release was to wrap an orchestra around vocalist Becca Stevens and soprano saxophonist Chad Eby “like a warm blanket.” … Read More “Steve Haines and the Third Floor Orchestra: Steve Haines and the Third Floor Orchestra (Justin Time)”
When guitarist Jon Lundbom recalls what has fired his imagination, he frequently talks about music that “blew my mind.” Three specific examples have inspired the … Read More “Bouncy and Free Coexist in Jon Lundbom’s Big Five Chord”
An album devoted to the music of John Coltrane, by nature, comes with high expectations. A simple homage to the tenor saxophonist doesn’t necessarily add … Read More “Teodross Avery: After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane (Tompkins Square)”
Trombonist Nick Grinder has only released one prior album, Ten Minutes (2014), but the Bay Area native has logged plenty of time in Broadway and … Read More “Nick Grinder: Farallon (Outside In)”
Six minutes into “The Comeback Kid,” the third track on Hungry Ghost, the music takes a surprising turn. Typical Sisters, a trio of non-related gents, … Read More “Typical Sisters: Hungry Ghost (Outside In)”
Like many teens who came of age in the 1990s, Adam Hopkins fell under the spell of indie rock bands like Pavement, the Dismemberment Plan, … Read More “Adam Hopkins’ Passage to Indie”
When she envisioned Shamania, Danish percussionist Marilyn Mazur thought of urkraft, a term from her native language that translates roughly as “primeval power” or “primitive … Read More “Marilyn Mazur’s Shamania: Marilyn Mazur’s Shamania (RareNoise)”
Amirtha Kidambi’s name received a bit of a boost last year when she put a voice to Mary Halvorson’s lyrics on Code Girl. It was … Read More “Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones: From Untruth (Northern Spy)”
Cairo native Maurice Louca has seen his country clamp down on live music, but that hasn’t quelled the guitarist’s inquisitive nature. He discovered the music … Read More “Maurice Louca: Elephantine (Northern Spy)”
The musical bond between trumpeter Ralph Alessi and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane is arguably developing into a rapport on par with the highest echelon of trumpet/tenor … Read More “Ralph Alessi: Imaginary Friends (ECM)”
Steve Coleman’s concepts of interlocking melodies and odd time signatures can be enough of a challenge for a musician. Trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson has not only … Read More “Jonathan Finlayson: 3 Times Round (Pi)”
In retrospect it’s easy to hear the evolution from Miles Davis’ mid-’60s albums to In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and On the Corner. Still, … Read More “Charles Pillow Large Ensemble: Electric Miles (MAMA)”
The keyboard skills of Erik Deutsch have landed him in wide-ranging settings, including but not limited to adventurous jazz (Steven Bernstein, Nels Cline) and jam … Read More “Erik Deutsch: Falling Flowers (LoHi)”
John Coltrane often chose his song titles arbitrarily. It’s likely that the four original tracks on Interstellar Space aren’t meant to evoke Mars, Jupiter, Venus and … Read More “Matt Lavelle & Reggie Sylvester: Retrograde (ESP-Disk’)”
Before a live performance, the Necks never discuss anything about the music they will create spontaneously. In fact, all three of them begin the set … Read More “The Necks: Body (Northern Spy)”
When Jon Irabagon last convened his quartet with Luis Perdomo (piano), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), and Rudy Royston (drums), the music of the excellent Behind the … Read More “Jon Irabagon Quartet with Tim Hagans: Dr. Quixotic’s Traveling Exotics (Irabbagast)”
When a band takes a break during a tour and heads into the recording studio, the results can document the best qualities of a well-oiled … Read More “Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days: El Maquech (Biophilia)”
ESP-Disk’ epitomized the underground culture of the 1960s by introducing the world to the free jazz of Albert Ayler and Sonny Simmons, to name only … Read More “Matthew Shipp: Zero (ESP-Disk’)/Matthew Shipp Quartet: Sonic Fiction (ESP-Disk’)”
Few jazz musicians have inspired obsessive devotion like Charlie Parker. The masters, alternate takes and airchecks, not to mention Dean Benedetti’s raw but fascinating live … Read More “Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House)”
Tenor saxophonist Jeff Lederer has made connections on previous albums between the music of Albert Ayler and other seemingly divergent genres. In 2015 his Brooklyn … Read More “Shakers n’ Bakers: Heart Love (Little i)”
Free improvisation requires musicians to make numerous quick decisions, such as knowing when to bring the music to a collective halt rather than letting it … Read More “Borderlands Trio – Stephan Crump/Kris Davis/Eric McPherson: Asteroidea (Intakt)”
Eddie Daniels left his tenor sax in the case during the 1980s and devoted more time to his clarinet. The move paid off, and he … Read More “Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway: Just Friends (Resonance)”
Twenty years ago, cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor began playing under the moniker Chicago Underground Collective. Players came and went, and the name … Read More “Chicago/London Underground: A Night Walking Through Mirrors (Cuneiform)”
Jason Kao Hwang isn’t the only violinist using his instrument in a context that relies equally on free improvisation and composition. But Sing House amply … Read More “Jason Kao Hwang: Sing House (Euonymus)”
Cecil Taylor’s occasionally raucous large ensembles might not evoke a confluence of diverse musics flowing into a bigger concept. But trumpeter Amir ElSaffar cites his … Read More “Amir ElSaffar Rivers of Sound: Not Two (New Amsterdam)”
When Diego Barber began studying guitar, he focused on classical music. Jazz has only showed up on his radar in the past decade, taking over … Read More “Diego Barber: One Minute Later (Sunnyside)”
JOSEPH BOWIE & OLIVER LAKE Live at ‘A Space’ 1976 (Sackville/Delmark) OLIVER LAKE FEATURING FLUX QUARTET Right Up On (Passin’ Thru) In his years between … Read More “Review: Two Albums From Oliver Lake”
Pianist Dan Tepfer led an earlier trio through Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” on 2009’s Oxygen, so a version of Beyoncé’s mega-hit “Single Ladies” shouldn’t come … Read More “Dan Tepfer Trio: Eleven Cages (Sunnyside)”
“I always describe myself as a frustrated bebop guitar player. That’s kind of where my heart is. One day I’ll make a bebop record, I … Read More “Before & After: Jeff Parker”
