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
It was the warmest October on record in Seattle. Usually, when the Earshot Jazz Festival comes to town, it provides an escape from the autumn … Read More “The Earshot Jazz Festival Owns Seattle’s Early Autumn”
The extraordinary late creative flowering of Wadada Leo Smith carries on. He turned 80 on December 18, 2021, but the outpouring of new albums, including … Read More “Qasim Naqvi/Wadada Leo Smith/Andrew Cyrille: Two Centuries (Red Hook)”
Out to Dinner is less a band than a repertory company and a concept. Over four releases to date, the personnel has varied somewhat, but … Read More “Out to Dinner: Food Is Medicine (Posi-Tone)”
Posi-Tone, a reliable source for high-quality 21st century postbop, has assembled a repertory company of players who keep reappearing on its releases. Trombonist Michael Dease … Read More “Michael Dease: Best Next Thing (Posi-Tone)”
Dan Kinzelman was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. After he graduated from the University of Miami in 2004, he went to Italy and stayed. … Read More “Ghost Horse: Il Bene Comune (Hora)”
The jazz art form depends on continuous renewal. In the new millennium, the European scene has been a major source of creativity and innovation in … Read More “Manel Fortià: Despertar (Segell Microscopi)”
Jimmy Katz leads many lives. He is the preeminent currently active jazz photographer, and has shot more than 200 magazine covers and over 600 recording … Read More ““Live from Summit Rock” Central Park Concert Series Captured on Disc”
Improvised music like jazz requires creative listening. Avant-garde jazz requires the most creative listening of all. The music of Whit Dickey’s quartet (Dickey, drums; Rob … Read More “Whit Dickey Quartet: Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space (TAO Forms)”
Jazz aficionados are more in need of the new than most music fans. For all of you out there with a lust for the aurally … Read More “OK:KO: Liesu (We Jazz)”
Tord Gustavsen’s career has been unusual. His first two albums on the ECM label, Changes (2003) and The Ground (2005), sold over 200,000 copies between … Read More “Tord Gustavsen Trio: Opening (ECM)”
Jean-Michel Pilc made this recording on June 26, 2021, at a jazz club in Montreal. It was the first time his trio with bassist Rémi-Jean … Read More “Jean-Michel Pilc: Alive: Live at Dièse Onze, Montreal (Justin Time)”
The concise liner note for this album begins, “Diversitonic is not meant to be rocket science.… It is simply a statement by a 76-year-old woodwind … Read More “Bill Easley: Diversitonic (Sunnyside)”
The jazz coming out of Finland these days is distinctive and adventurous. Yet there is not a living Finnish jazz musician who is truly famous … Read More “Ilmiliekki Quartet: Ilmiliekki Quartet (We Jazz)”
There are, very roughly speaking, two soprano saxophone schools. The John Coltrane school contains a shriek, perfect for waking the dead. The Sidney Bechet school … Read More “Emile Parisien: Louise (ACT)”
Today there are more important jazz musicians who come from outside the United States than ever before. Some stay home and strengthen their local scenes. … Read More “Misha Tsiganov Takes the Hard Way”
The great literary critic Harold Bloom once wrote, “True criticism recognizes itself as a mode of memoir.” Case in point: Ugly Beauty. Phil Freeman’s collection … Read More “Phil Freeman: Ugly Beauty: Jazz in the 21st Century (zer0)”
It’s not easy for a young German drummer to get noticed on the American jazz scene. That Mareike Wiening’s debut album Metropolis Paradise was so … Read More “Mareike Wiening: Future Memories (Greenleaf)”
If you’ve lost track of Kirk Lightsey, you are not alone. He was part of the scene back in the day. He played with everybody: … Read More “Kirk Lightsey: I Will Never Stop Loving You (Jojo)”
Architecture of Storms is Remy Le Boeuf’s second large-ensemble album. The first, Assembly of Shadows, received two Grammy nominations in 2019. It would not be … Read More “Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows: Architecture of Storms (Soundspore)”
Today, even though the worldwide jazz art form is vibrant, too many musicians record before they have something significant to say. Irene Jalenti is not … Read More “Irene Jalenti: Dawn (Antidote)”
John Gilbreath, executive director of Earshot Jazz, walked to the microphone on opening night to introduce the first concert of the 33rd Earshot Jazz Festival. … Read More “The 33rd Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle”
Matthew Stevens keeps high-class company. His list of employers includes Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, and Linda May Han Oh. He also makes strong records … Read More “Matthew Stevens: Pittsburgh (Whirlwind)”
The pain of Frank Kimbrough’s sudden death on December 30, 2020 still feels fresh. His posthumous album Ancestors, recorded in June of 2017, is both … Read More “Frank Kimbrough: Ancestors (Sunnyside)”
Nowadays global jazz culture is obsessed with original composition. Mark Masters bucks this trend. He’s a skilled arranger but also a curator, always searching out … Read More “The Mark Masters Ensemble: Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster (Capri)”
This two-CD set comes from the archives of the Left Bank Jazz Society. From the mid-1960s into the 1980s, this organization presented Sunday concerts at … Read More “Roy Brooks: Understanding (Reel to Real)”
Europe has many pianists who were classical players before they were jazz musicians. In their music, two sensibilities often coexist. One serves received ideas. One … Read More “Dahveed Behroozi: Echos (Sunnyside)”
Saxophonist Marius Neset is yet another jazz musician who is widely respected in Europe but barely on the radar in the United States. At 36, … Read More “Marius Neset: A New Dawn (ACT)”
Like so many musicians from Israel who have emigrated to the United States in recent years, Yaniv Taubenhouse sounds schooled. He is sophisticated in his … Read More “Yaniv Taubenhouse: Roads (Moments in Trio Volume Three) (Fresh Sound New Talent)”
The case of Benito Gonzalez raises interesting questions about the distinction between influence and imitation in jazz. Gonzalez (now of Brooklyn, originally of Venezuela) has … Read More “Benito Gonzalez: Sing to the World (Rainy Days)”
The jazz scene of Finland has its own character (edgy yet friendly) and energy (intense). The We Jazz label is one of its nerve centers. … Read More “Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen: Live Recordings 2019-2020 (We Jazz)”
