Philip Booth is a longtime arts journalist and bass player based in Florida. Formerly the pop music critic for the Tampa Tribune, he has contributed to many national publications, recently including the Washington Post, Jazziz, and Relix. His byline also has appeared in DownBeat, Bass Player, Billboard, Variety, Spin, Rolling Stone, and several academic journals. The debut CD from his band, Acme Jazz Garage, gained airplay on about 35 radio stations across the US.
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Per its title, Relaxin’ with Nick captures Nicholas Payton fully laidback, on music culled from a weekend of performances at NYC’s Smoke earlier this year. … Read More “Nicholas Payton: Relaxin’ with Nick (Smoke Sessions)”
The long-running Suncoast Jazz Festival, its 29th edition slated for this November on Clearwater Beach in Clearwater, Fla., might best be defined by the kind … Read More “The Scene: Brigadoon by the Beach”
Having first collaborated for a 2006 performance of Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite, organist/keyboardist Wil Blades and drummer Scott Amendola stepped out as a recording … Read More “Amendola vs. Blades: Everybody Wins (Royal Potato Family)”
“Like a Rastafarian in Jamaica, he was different,” Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander says of Thelonious Monk, whom he first heard in person at New York … Read More “Monty Alexander: Wareika Hill (RastaMonk Vibrations) (MACD)”
Is there a ride cymbal more integral to solid groove-making on more jazz recordings and performances than the one(s) played by drummer Jimmy Cobb, the … Read More “Jimmy Cobb: This I Dig of You (Smoke Sessions)”
As a first-call L.A. saxophonist, Bob Sheppard has famously toured with Steely Dan, played with loads of notable jazzers and marquee-name pop stars, and has … Read More “Bob Sheppard: The Fine Line (Challenge)”
Only 16 when he started playing trio gigs with the likes of Larry Willis and Eddie Gomez, drummer Al Foster has spent six decades as … Read More “Al Foster: Inspirations & Dedications (Smoke Sessions)”
Five musicians, 40 instruments, 19 interrelated compositions, five consecutive days in a Queens home studio, 66 minutes of music: By the numbers alone, Gerry Gibbs’ … Read More “Gerry Gibbs & Thrasher People: Our People (Whaling City Sound)”
One way to define a music festival: the sum of its memorable moments. There were plenty of those moments to savor during the first four … Read More “Live Review: 2019 Montreal Jazz Festival, Weekend 1”
For Remy Le Boeuf’s debut as a leader, after four well-received recordings with identical twin brother Pascal, the alto saxophonist fronts a tight-knit ensemble for … Read More “Remy Le Boeuf: Light as a Word (Le Boeuf)”
Arriving on the jazz scene in the mid-’60s while simultaneously practicing and teaching psychiatry, pianist Denny Zeitlin has consistently conducted his musical career on multiple … Read More “Denny Zeitlin: Solo Piano: Remembering Miles (Sunnyside)”
Launched in 2014, celebrated guitarist Lage Lund’s quartet with pianist Sullivan Fortner, drummer Tyshawn Sorey, and bassist Matt Brewer has since played occasional engagements in … Read More “Lage Lund: Terrible Animals (Criss Cross)”
Snarky Puppy’s modus operandi, while drawing from its players’ roots in jazz harmony and improvisation, has always been about musical sprawl, from the oversized personnel … Read More “Snarky Puppy: Immigrance (GroundUp)”
When the story of this era’s jazz masters is told, West Coast tenor man and bandleader Ernie Watts ought to be prominently featured. Watts, perhaps … Read More “Ernie Watts Quartet: Home Light (Flying Dolphin)”
Saxophonist Marcus Strickland comes by his genre-mashing approach to jazz honestly. Born to a father who did some drumming in R&B and jazz bands, and … Read More “Marcus Strickland Twi-Life: People of the Sun (Blue Note/Revive)”
Another Sgt. Pepper’s tribute? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yada, yada, yada. That might be a listener’s first response to yet another take on the iconic Beatles … Read More “Various Artists: A Day in the Life: Impressions of Pepper (Impulse!)”
It’s no accident that Joe Zawinul’s sound is writ large throughout portions of Arc Trio: Keyboardist Scott Kinsey, best known for his work with fusion … Read More “Jimmy Haslip/Scott Kinsey/Gergö Borlai: Arc Trio (Blue Canoe)”
Brazilian big-band music is relatively rare, at least in comparison with its Afro-Cuban and—obviously—swing kin. With Encontros – Orquestra Atlantica, pianist and composer Antonio Adolfo … Read More “Antonio Adolfo: Encontros – Orquestra Atlantica (AAM)”
On the provocative Omnisphere, recorded live in 2015, Medeski Martin & Wood venture into contemporary classical music, with the help of 20-piece chamber orchestra Alarm … Read More “Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound: Omnisphere (Indirecto)”
The message from the latest version of the Stanley Clarke Band might be summed up in the chorus of this album’s closer, “To Be Alive”: … Read More “Stanley Clarke Band: The Message (Mack Avenue)”
How best to celebrate the multiculturalism that has long nourished the heart and soul of America? Dave Anderson, a New York-based, Minnesota-born saxophonist looking to … Read More “Dave Anderson: Melting Pot (Label 1)”
Anyone who follows Hendrik Meurkens on social media is familiar with the New York-based, German-born multi-instrumentalist’s sense of humor, which tends to lean in the … Read More “Hendrik Meurkens/Bill Cunliffe: Cabin in the Sky (Height Advantage)/ Roger Davidson Quartet featuring Hendrik Meurkens: Music from the Heart (Soundbrush)”
Fred Hersch had me at the Monk bookends. The pianist draws from one of his favorite composers—a staple of his repertoire—to start and close Live … Read More “Fred Hersch Trio: Live in Europe (Palmetto)”
If you build it, the muse will come. That was the operating principle behind trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s latest album as a leader: He brought his … Read More “Jeremy Pelt: Noir en Rouge: Live in Paris (HighNote) + Jim Snidero & Jeremy Pelt: Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley (Savant)”
Nearly two decades after slipping out of the golden handcuffs of the Tonight Show band, Detroit-born Robert Hurst has released what feels like one of … Read More “Robert Hurst: Black Current Jam (Dot Time)”
When it comes to straight-ahead jazz, the upright bass largely remains the low-hertz instrument of choice. Historically, many bass guitarists possessing expertise in walking and … Read More “John Patitucci & Jeff Berlin: The Electric Bass in Acoustic Jazz”
Spiritual Impressions finds journeyman pianist James Weidman wading through the deep waters, alternately troubled and joyful, of African-American spirituals. He imbues these gems with driving … Read More “James Weidman: Spiritual Impressions (Inner Circle)”
It’s a tradition at least as old as bebop: Attach a new melody and/or a revised arrangement to chord changes from a familiar tune. Jason … Read More “Jason Marsalis and the 21st Century Trad Band: Melody Reimagined: book 1 (Basin Street)”
Eric Reed, a commanding presence on the jazz scene since at least 1990, when he was hired to the piano post in Wynton Marsalis’ band, … Read More “Eric Reed: A Light in Darkness (WJ3)”
Touring Europe in recent years, Boston-based saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi joined a trio led by Danish pianist Carl Winther, with bassist Johnny Aman and drummer Anders … Read More “Jerry Bergonzi: Dog Star (Savant)”
