Today I saw an even-slicker-than-usual Wynton Marsalis hawking iPods, laying out lines of boppish exactitude for the conspicuous consumption of moneyed hipsters. It’s the 21st century, baby. Even in jazz, surface is all. Blood and guts are so 1979.
Oliver Lake might disagree.
Perhaps it’s a stretch to make this comparison, but the rich textures created by Amir ElSaffar’s 17-piece Rivers of Sound Orchestra recall the expansive sound … Read More “Amir ElSaffar / Rivers of Sounds: The Other Shore (Outnote)”
Since her 2017 debut A Social Call, Jazzmeia Horn—like her fellow Dallas native Erykah Badu—has plumbed the art of vocalizing in a manner suggesting a gold … Read More “Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force: Dear Love (Empress Legacy)”
Caroline Davis’ previous Sunnyside album, Heart Tonic (2018), was inspired by research the alto saxophonist conducted upon discovering that her father had a heart arrhythmia. … Read More “Caroline Davis: Portals, Volume 1: Mourning (Sunnyside)”
Although solo bass recordings are hardly common, the list is longer than you might think: Players as prestigious as Ron Carter, Miroslav Vitous, and William … Read More “Marc Johnson: Overpass (ECM)”
