Bill Easley: Diversitonic (Sunnyside)
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)”
Reviews
Oded Tzur: Here Be Dragons (ECM)
Manfred Eicher of ECM is known for discovering pianists, but he finds saxophonists too. In 2017 it was Maciej Obara from Poland, with Unloved, followed … Read More “Oded Tzur: Here Be Dragons (ECM)”
Michael Eaton: Dialogical (Destiny)
“Serious play” may be a cliché by now, but it exemplifies the spirit that dances through this set. Apropos to the title, the emphasis is … Read More “Michael Eaton: Dialogical (Destiny)”
Logan Strosahl Spec Ops: Sure (Sunnyside)
Saxophonist Logan Strosahl has been nothing if not prolific since releasing his debut, Up Go We, on Sunnyside in 2015. That was a septet recording, … Read More “Logan Strosahl Spec Ops: Sure (Sunnyside)”
Jim Snidero: Waves of Calm (Savant)
Waves of Calm could not be more different from Jim Snidero’s previous two releases, and that’s deliberate. In 2016, he delivered MD66, a tribute to … Read More “Jim Snidero: Waves of Calm (Savant)”
Noah Preminger: Preminger Plays Preminger (Newvelle)
Prolific tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger is also a film buff-cum-history-twisting trickster. Turning his keen lens on the work of director and namesake Otto Preminger, Noah … Read More “Noah Preminger: Preminger Plays Preminger (Newvelle)”
Jacques Schwarz-Bart: Hazzan (Enja/Yellowbird)
The world’s religions have long provided jazz musicians with melodies to explore, and while Judaism has never been as pervasive an influence as Christian gospel … Read More “Jacques Schwarz-Bart: Hazzan (Enja/Yellowbird)”
Joe Lovano: Trio Tapestry (ECM)
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)”
Anna Webber: Clockwise (Pi)
Flutist and saxophonist Anna Webber has a penchant for the elastic and mangled. On 2014’s Simple and 2016’s Binary, both released via Chris Speed’s Skirl Records, she … Read More “Anna Webber: Clockwise (Pi)”
Johnny Griffith Quintet: The Lion, Camel & Child (GB)
Long ago, Friedrich Nietzsche laid out the evolution of the human spirit with a useful metaphor: the concept of three metamorphoses, in which the camel, … Read More “Johnny Griffith Quintet: The Lion, Camel & Child (GB)”