As a longtime musical director for Cirque du Soleil productions, pianist Charlie Dennard has become well-versed in playing to texture, nuance, and emotion in varied … Read More “Charlie Dennard: Deep Blue (self-released)”
The title of Eric Reed’s new album has a double meaning—as in, everybody understands the blues, and everybody feels down from time to time. “Your … Read More “Eric Reed: Everybody Gets the Blues (Smoke Sessions)”
Twenty-eight-year-old pianist Dave Meder is a young man with prodigious technique and serious ambitions. In the press release accompanying this originals-heavy debut recording, he states, … Read More “Dave Meder: Passage (Outside In)”
Paris-based pianist Giovanni Mirabassi has been recording since the mid-1990s, his output including tributes to Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré, and Serge Gainsbourg, as well as … Read More “Giovanni Mirabassi Trio: Summer’s Gone (CamJazz)”
Israeli-French pianist Yonathan Avishai’s ECM debut begins with five seconds of silence. It’s exhilarating on first listen, as a whole universe of notes, phrases, melodies, … Read More “Yonathan Avishai: Joys and Solitudes (ECM)”
Oasis is a trio recording that follows a quintet set that followed a solo effort. Throughout her two-decade recording career, pianist/composer Lisa Hilton has zig-zagged … Read More “Lisa Hilton: Oasis (Ruby Slippers)”
Russ Lossing’s career is centered on writing and playing his own music, but he’s intermittently addressed our ever-growing jazz canon with the kind of insight that … Read More “Russ Lossing: Changes (SteepleChase)”
The 70-year-old Argentinean pianist and composer Carlos Franzetti delights in mixing things up. Over four-plus decades he’s recorded symphonic (most recently, 2017’s Luminosa and 2018’s … Read More “Carlos Franzetti: Ricordare (Sunnyside)”
Keyboardist Alan Pasqua, 66, rose to prominence in the mid-1970s as part of drummer Tony Williams’ Lifetime, one of several visionary ensembles led by alumni … Read More “Alan Pasqua: Soliloquy (Mouthpiece Music)”
This is serious play at its most elegant and satisfying. Cyrus Chestnut takes on fare ranging from original compositions through the works of Mozart, Ravel, … Read More “Cyrus Chestnut: Kaleidoscope (HighNote)”
