Peter Margasak

Clusone 3-the hyper-malleable Dutch trio of drummer Han Bennink, cellist Ernst Reijseger and reedist Michael Moore-disbanded not long after giving the March, 1998, concert that … Read More “Clusone 3: An Hour With…”

It’s not unusual for free-improvisation sessions to feature extended experiments with pure sound, but rarely is such a task approached with the sort of delightful … Read More “Axel Dörner/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Michael Zerang: Claque”

A wonderfully inclusive quartet date-recorded live in Germany in 1999-that makes no fuss over its broad range; whether tackling pianist Michael Jefry Steven’s gorgeous, richly … Read More “Fonda-Stevens Group: Live at the Bunker”

In the last few years Scott Colley has become one of New York’s most desired bassists, offering superb, expertly restrained support to combos led by … Read More “Scott Colley: The Magic Line”

Tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin’s trio, with drummer Jim Black and keyboardist/sampler Andrea Parkins, has displayed remarkable resourcefulness over the course of four scrappy, thrilling albums. … Read More “Ellery Eskelin: Ramifications”

If pianist Jason Moran served notice to the too-easily-satisfied jazz scene with his stunning 1999 debut, Soundtrack to Human Motion, then Facing Left, his remarkable … Read More “Jason Moran: Facing Left”

While it’s hard to miss the pervasive influence of John Coltrane on Berklee-educated tenorist Mark Turner, the traces of Warne Marsh in his beautiful playing … Read More “International Hashva Orchestra: All’s Well”

M.T.B. is an ad hoc quintet nominally fronted by pianist Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner and guitarist Peter Bernstein-bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Leon Parker round … Read More “MTB: Consenting Adults”

Pairing Mark Turner with swing specialist Tad Shull was an inspired idea, but on Two Tenor Ballads their interaction level is virtually nil. Their playing, … Read More “Mark Turner/Tad Shull: Two Tenor Ballads”

Saxophonist Abraham Burton’s decision to elevate his long-time drumming partner Eric McPherson to co-leader on Cause and Effect is no empty gesture; the album’s spirituality-soaked … Read More “Larry Coryell/ Tom Coster/ Steve Smith: Cause and Effect”

On his second album as a leader, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane all but erases the stylistic imprint of his former employer Steve Coleman, an instantly recognizable, … Read More “Ravi Coltrane: From the Round Box”

Seeking to capitalize on the fact that, at age 75, drummer Roy Haynes is a walking repository of modern jazz history, this new concept album … Read More “Roy Haynes Trio: Featuring Danilo Perez and John Patitucci”

Jon Raskin, a founding member of San Francisco’s ROVA Saxophone Quartet, shifts gears away from that group’s elaborately written and meticulously arranged investigations of color … Read More “Jon Raskin Quartet: The Bass and the Bird Pond”

Rarely has the phrase “sum of its parts” applied so accurately to an all-star jazz gathering as it does to Equal Interest, the trio of … Read More “Equal Interest: Equal Interest”

This New York quartet willfully and aggressively seeks to dissolve its four individual voices into one collectively improvised sound. Eschewing standard leadership roles, pre-written tunes … Read More “Test: Test”

Both the prolific recorded output of Brazilian-born saxophonist Ivo Perelman and the way his breathless, full-throated and ecstatic melodies pile up in each of his … Read More “Ivo Perelman: Brazilian Watercolour”

This quartet outing features C.T.S.Q. members Dominic Duval and Tomas Ulrich along with drummer Jay Rosen operating in a more typical free jazz vein, Perelman’s … Read More “Ivo Perelman: Sieiro”

In the album notes to Papyrus Volume 1, drummer Tony Oxley is given credit for “background sound ambience” while trumpeter Bill Dixon is responsible for … Read More “Bill Dixon with Tony Oxley: Papyrus Volume 1”

This New York-based trio’s collective spirit goes further than the joint leadership suggested by the equal billing on the album cover. Stylistically, tenor saxophonist Matt … Read More “Matt Renzi/Jimmy Weinstein/Masa Kamaguchi: Lines and Ballads”

Although the DKV Trio’s stunning musical telepathy often belies the fact, none of reedist Ken Vandermark’s regular groups play with the more all-out freedom. Flanked … Read More “DKV Trio: Live in Wels and Chicago”

Guitarist Joe Morris knows something about packing loads of information into his music, too, but as frenetic and wiry as his playing gets at times, … Read More “Joe Morris with DKV Trio: Deep Telling”

Very few jazz musicians get to be media darlings-I use the term loosely-but trumpeter Dave Douglas has certainly achieved such status in the last couple … Read More “Dave Douglas: Leap of Faith”

The music on Soul on Soul-the initial fruit of a four-album deal Douglas inked with RCA last year, its title nabbed from Duke Ellington’s description … Read More “Dave Douglas: Soul on Soul: Celebrating Mary Lou Williams”