Thomas Conrad has a BA from the University of Utah and an MA from the University of Iowa (where he attended the Writers Workshop). He taught English at Central State University in Ohio, then left the academic world for the private sector. His affiliation with publications such as JazzTimes, Stereophile, The New York City Jazz Record and DownBeat has enabled him to sustain active involvement in two of his passions: music and writing.
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The previous recording in Andy LaVerne’s large SteepleChase discography (Faith, 2017) featured trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, bassist Mike Richmond, and drummer Jason Tiemann. This new album … Read More “Andy LaVerne: Shangri-La (SteepleChase)”
Logically, the appearance of an album focused on George Gershwin tunes should surprise no one. But in our current jazz culture, which prioritizes original composition, … Read More “Peter Beets: Our Love Is Here to Stay: Gershwin Reimagined (MBJ)”
The liner notes to this two-CD set do not explain how the meeting came about or why it took 16 years to release its results. … Read More “Mark Turner/Gary Foster: Mark Turner Meets Gary Foster (Capri)”
Linda May Han Oh is the current buzz on bass, employed by people like Pat Metheny and Joe Lovano. Her own fifth album is her … Read More “Linda May Han Oh: Aventurine (Biophilia)”
The Mark Dresser Seven has now made two excellent records. The first was Sedimental You, in 2016, also on Clean Feed. A septet is a … Read More “Mark Dresser Seven: Ain’t Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You (Clean Feed)”
Eric Alexander is a master of hard-bop tenor saxophone whose work has been well documented on over 40 records as a leader. Leap of Faith … Read More “Eric Alexander: Leap of Faith (Giant Step Arts)”
A new Dutch label, Jazztribes, has hit with a splash. Its inaugural release is no ordinary tribute album; the CD comes inside a beautiful 66-page … Read More “Joris Teepe: In the Spirit of Rashied Ali (Jazztribes)”
The Berlin connections here are various. The rhythm section (pianist Ludwig Hornung, bassist Tom Berkmann, drummer Mathias Ruppnig) lives there. The leader, tenor saxophonist Tobias … Read More “Tobias Meinhart: Berlin People (Sunnyside)”
In a perfect world, critics would always hear a band live, playing music from their new record, right before sitting down with the record to … Read More “Stephan Crump’s Rosetta Trio: Outliers (Papillon Sounds)”
The SWR Jazzhaus label is sitting on a huge stash of unreleased live jazz recordings made for radio and television broadcast in Germany, going back … Read More “Michel Petrucciani Trio: One Night in Karlsruhe (SWR Jazzhaus)”
The mission statement of the RareNoise label is “to detect and amplify contemporary trends in progressive music.” Since 2008 it has been prolific in the … Read More “Jamie Saft/Steve Swallow/Bobby Previte: You Don’t Know The Life (RareNoise)”
It is too soon to declare Wadada Leo Smith the Picasso of jazz. Picasso sustained his creative powers and his prolific productivity into his nineties. … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith: Rosa Parks: Pure Love (TUM)”
Paolo Fresu has the air of a prince. Given to scarves, he dresses with casual cool and speaks English with a disarming Italian accent. Playing … Read More “Paolo Fresu’s Princely Appeal”
Around Again is an album of Carla Bley music, performed by two Finns and an American. Given Bley’s towering stature as a composer, it is … Read More “Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul: Around Again (TUM)”
In the second decade of the new millennium, Zev Feldman has become the most important producer in the field of archival jazz recordings. He made … Read More “Cannonball Adderley: Swingin’ in Seattle (Reel to Real) / Etta Jones: A Soulful Sunday (Reel to Real)”
Joe Lovano’s first album as a leader on ECM introduces a new trio. Marilyn Crispell is a pianist from the jazz avant-garde. Her background is … Read More “Joe Lovano: Trio Tapestry (ECM)”
Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of jazz fans: those who love the vibes and those who don’t. Those of us in the first category … Read More “Behn Gillece: Parallel Universe (Posi-Tone)”
The fact that John Moulder is one of the most capable mainstream guitarists in jazz is a fairly well-kept secret outside of Chicago, where he … Read More “John Moulder: Decade: Memoirs (Origin)”
For 13 years Jeff Ballard has been a member of a preeminent jazz ensemble, the Brad Mehldau Trio. When you hear him live, with Mehldau … Read More “Jeff Ballard: Fairgrounds (Edition)”
If you keep up with current developments in jazz, you’ve heard the five players in this collective ensemble in their roles as sidemen in cutting-edge … Read More “Walter Smith III/Matthew Stevens/Joel Ross/Harish Raghavan/Marcus Gilmore: In Common (Whirlwind)”
Helsinki in December looks ominous when your plane touches down. At noon, the world is dim in the fog. Black sky descends to the ground. … Read More “Live Review: We Jazz Festival in Helsinki, Finland”
The Intakt label of Switzerland has become an important repository for a genre that might be called “refined free jazz.” It is a productive niche … Read More “Ken Vandermark/Nate Wooley/Sylvie Courvoisier/Tom Rainey: Noise of Our Time (Intakt)”
As this review is written, sad news of the death of Tomasz Stanko is still fresh. The Marcin Wasilewski Trio, with bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and … Read More “Marcin Wasilewski Trio: Live (ECM)”
The Art Ensemble of Chicago in full cry, especially on a 50th-anniversary tour, is a powerful way to kick off a jazz festival. That said, … Read More “Live Review: 2018 JazzMi Jazz Festival”
The press release for this album references “the guitar community.” At first it sounds odd. There is no “saxophone community” or “trumpet community.” Yet who … Read More “Jonathan Kreisberg and Nelson Veras: Kreisberg Meets Veras (New for Now)”
Rudy Royston is a first-call drummer whose first two recordings as a leader (303 and Rise of Orion, also on Greenleaf) were strong examples of a … Read More “Rudy Royston: Flatbed Buggy (Greenleaf)”
This archival project is a sublime curiosity. Sublime because the two-CD package is so beautiful. Curious because Jack Sels, a long-dead Belgian tenor saxophonist, is … Read More “Jack Sels: Minor Works (SDBAN)”
Samba jazz and bossa nova are two parallel streams of Brazilian music. Both emerged around 1960. Samba jazz hits harder. The Brazilian musicians who invented … Read More “Duduka da Fonseca Trio: Plays Dom Salvador (Sunnyside)”
Just as the U.S. jazz community is finally figuring out that some of the best piano players are Italians (Stefano Bollani, Stefano Battaglia, Enrico Pieranunzi, … Read More “Simone Graziano: Snailspace (Auand)”
There are now more important European jazz pianists than ever before. Like many, Michael Wollny of Germany was conservatory-trained and converted to jazz before he … Read More “Michael Wollny Trio Live: Wartburg (ACT)”
