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.
Thomas Conrad on social media
When you think of the great autumn jazz festivals of Europe, cities like London, Berlin, and perhaps Milan come to mind. You don’t necessarily think … Read More “Live Review: 2019 Belgrade Jazz Festival (VIDEO)”
If you are American and you know the name Barney Wilen, it is probably from two recordings of film music. When he was 20, in … Read More “Barney Wilen Quartet: Live in Tokyo ’91 (Elemental)”
How’s this for a jazz bio: For almost 60 years Franco Ambrosetti has been an active, respected trumpet player on the European scene. For 30 … Read More “Franco Ambrosetti Quintet: Long Waves (Unit)”
The most competitive instrument in jazz is piano. It is not easy for new jazz pianists to get on the radar in the United States. … Read More “Giovanni Guidi: ‘There for the Rest of Your Life’”
In the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll, Avishai Cohen did not make the top 20 on his instrument. Yet very few living trumpet players have made … Read More “Avishai Cohen/Yonathan Avishai: Playing the Room (ECM)”
Our brave new digital world has laid waste to the market for physical music media, but a few niche categories are still viable. One is … Read More “John Coltrane: Blue World (Impulse!)”
The first time you hear Paul Jost’s new album Simple Life you think, “Who is this guy?” He sings with quirky phrasing. He sometimes talks and often … Read More “Paul Jost Sings His Life“
When you have made many trips to Perugia, Italy for the Umbria Jazz Festival, you never get a sense of which years are bigger than … Read More “Live Review: 46th Umbria Jazz Festival”
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)”
