Ben Wolfe Unjust (Resident Arts)
“Unjust,” the title track from bassist Ben Wolfe’s latest project as a leader, the follow-up to his lauded Fatherhood album, hints at sonic pleasures found … Read More “Ben Wolfe Unjust (Resident Arts)”
Philip Booth
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. Sharkskin, the second album from his long-running band, Acme Jazz Garage, has aired on radio stations across the U.S.
Philip Booth on social media
The Headhunters: Speakers in the House (Ropeadope)
Herbie Hancock assembled the Headhunters in 1973, putting the fun in funk-jazz for a platinum-selling debut album that joined the piano giant with percussionist Bill … Read More “The Headhunters: Speakers in the House (Ropeadope)”
Ben Sidran: Swing State (Nardis)
Piano trios of yore were all about music that was “highly arranged to be loosely played,” as Michael Cuscuna aptly notes in the liner notes … Read More “Ben Sidran: Swing State (Nardis)”
Jack McDuff: Live at Parnell’s (Soul Bank)
Every notable jazz reissue has an intriguing backstory, right? Live at Parnell’s, documenting a week of bruising performances by late B-3 organ master Brother Jack … Read More “Jack McDuff: Live at Parnell’s (Soul Bank)”
Bass Extremes: S’Low Down (Self-released)
Bassists play together well, sometimes on the same stage. Bass Extremes, the long-running group led by four-string virtuoso Victor Wooten and six-string fretless monster Steve … Read More “Bass Extremes: S’Low Down (Self-released)”
Tom Harrell: Oak Tree (HighNote)
Would it be overpraising Tom Harrell to describe his long recording career as practically peerless? Album after album, sometimes year after year, the Midwest-bred trumpet … Read More “Tom Harrell: Oak Tree (HighNote)”
Marco Benevento: Benevento (Royal Potato Family)
Bubbling, exotic sounds à la the beer-bottle percussion bookending Herbie Hancock’s 1973 version of “Watermelon Man”; banks of tightly clustered keyboards a bit reminiscent of … Read More “Marco Benevento: Benevento (Royal Potato Family)”
Trombone Shorty: Lifted (Blue Note)
Call it the feelgood jazz-ish release of the year. Lifted, the first album from New Orleans horn man and singer Trombone Shorty in half a … Read More “Trombone Shorty: Lifted (Blue Note)”
Lynne Arriale Trio: The Lights Are Always On (Challenge)
Can instrumental music that’s uniformly relaxed and occasionally tinged with melancholy still create a sense of urgency and express joy? Those are the seemingly contradictory … Read More “Lynne Arriale Trio: The Lights Are Always On (Challenge)”
Marquis Hill: New Gospel Revisited (Edition)
Call it a successful back-to-the-future gambit: Marquis Hill, the gifted Chicago trumpeter and composer whose career has played out at an accelerando since he won … Read More “Marquis Hill: New Gospel Revisited (Edition)”
Victor Wooten Adds Concerto Composer to His Résumé
The bass guitar and the symphony orchestra may strike some as strange bedfellows. But it’s not like they’ve never met before. Every now and again, … Read More “Victor Wooten Adds Concerto Composer to His Résumé”
Simon Phillips: Protocol V (Phantom)
New album, new Protocol: For the fifth release from his long-running project, journeyman drummer Simon Phillips, who’s fueled the music of everyone from jazz pianist … Read More “Simon Phillips: Protocol V (Phantom)”
Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra Featuring Catherine Russell: Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2) (Royal Potato Family)
Steven Bernstein has shone in settings including his avant-influenced Sex Mob, the score for Kansas City, and work for a long list of jazz, rock, … Read More “Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra Featuring Catherine Russell: Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2) (Royal Potato Family)”
Louis Hayes: Crisis (Savant)
The title of the latest album from Louis Hayes is, of course, a sideways reference to the global plague that felled many of his generation … Read More “Louis Hayes: Crisis (Savant)”
Chuck Owen and His Big Band Don’t Hide Their Ambitions
For Chuck Owen, Grammy-nominated arranger, composer, and leader of the acclaimed Florida-based Jazz Surge ensemble, there was no single magic moment when he was thunderstruck … Read More “Chuck Owen and His Big Band Don’t Hide Their Ambitions”
Chick Corea Akoustic Band: LIVE (Concord Jazz)
There was an unmistakable feeling of conviviality in the air when Chick Corea reconvened his Akoustic Band in January 2018 for a concert at the … Read More “Chick Corea Akoustic Band: LIVE (Concord Jazz)”
Arturo O’Farrill / Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble: …Dreaming in Lions… (Blue Note)
Arturo O’Farrill scales down his instrumentation, although not his ambition, with the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, a dectet including his sons, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and … Read More “Arturo O’Farrill / Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble: …Dreaming in Lions… (Blue Note)”
Michael League: So Many Me (GroundUp)
So Many Me makes an inspired title for Michael League’s first solo project, in part because it’s so on the nose: He’s responsible for every … Read More “Michael League: So Many Me (GroundUp)”
Joel Frahm: The Bright Side (Anzic)
Heading a group without chordal instruments can be risky. Will the horn player or players provide the melodic leadership and improvisational verve necessary to keep … Read More “Joel Frahm: The Bright Side (Anzic)”
Alex Sipiagin: Upstream (Posi-Tone)
After nearly 20 albums as a leader, Alex Sipiagin takes what might be called a no-concept approach for his Posi-Tone debut. Backed by a sturdy … Read More “Alex Sipiagin: Upstream (Posi-Tone)”
Steven Feifke Big Band: Kinetic (Outside In)
There’s nothing like a regular residency to hone the playing of a big band and give such an ensemble—always a challenge just to keep gigging—a … Read More “Steven Feifke Big Band: Kinetic (Outside In)”
Harold Danko: Spring Garden (SteepleChase)
Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring has been an obsession for Harold Danko for more than a half-century, as the pianist relates in the liner … Read More “Harold Danko: Spring Garden (SteepleChase)”
Roni Ben-Hur: Stories (Dot Time)
There’s something refreshingly unhurried about how the program of music unfolds on Stories, the latest collection of original compositions and creative arrangements of others’ tunes … Read More “Roni Ben-Hur: Stories (Dot Time)”
Brian Bromberg Continues his Journey into the Eclectic
With 25 albums to his credit as a leader since his mid-’80s debut, Brian Bromberg is nothing if not prolific. The veteran of countless sessions … Read More “Brian Bromberg Continues his Journey into the Eclectic”
Hendrik Meurkens: Manhattan Samba (Height Advantage)
Brazilian melodies frequently are imbued with a certain yearning. Jazz harmonica master Hendrik Meurkens might call it Sehnsucht in his native German. Or maybe it’s … Read More “Hendrik Meurkens: Manhattan Samba (Height Advantage)”
John Patitucci/Vinnie Colaiuta/Bill Cunliffe: Trio (Le Coq)
Standards trios, even those featuring revered players, aren’t exactly rare. But few offer the degree of creativity and intuitive interplay demonstrated by pianist Bill Cunliffe, … Read More “John Patitucci/Vinnie Colaiuta/Bill Cunliffe: Trio (Le Coq)”
Lawrence Sieberth Creates His Own European Quartet
Performing with others, for in-the-flesh listeners in real time, requires one to think like an architect, and like a psychologist too. That, at least, is … Read More “Lawrence Sieberth Creates His Own European Quartet”
Monty Alexander: Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s (Resonance)
“His music is always very, very joyful,” Kenny Barron says about fellow piano master Monty Alexander in the notes accompanying Love You Madly, documenting a … Read More “Monty Alexander: Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s (Resonance)”
Brandi Disterheft Trio with George Coleman: Surfboard (Justin Time)
It’s probably no coincidence that Brandi Disterheft’s prowess as a bassist, on her fifth album as a leader, shines particularly bright on “The Pendulum at … Read More “Brandi Disterheft Trio with George Coleman: Surfboard (Justin Time)”
The Claire Daly Band: Rah! Rah! (Ride Symbol)
The rambunctious spirit of multi-instrumentalist and composer Rahsaan Roland Kirk is reflected in the Kirk interpretations and originals played by baritone saxophonist Claire Daly on … Read More “The Claire Daly Band: Rah! Rah! (Ride Symbol)”