Reviews

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 of Belgrade, Serbia. Many jazz people are probably surprised to learn that Belgrade has a festival. In the 1990s, Serbia and the Balkans dominated the cable news channels during the … Read More

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Live Review: 2019 Belgrade Jazz Festival (VIDEO)

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Steve Coleman and Five Elements: Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets) (Pi)

According to many who witnessed them in action, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong were so locked into one another on the bandstand that they could devise complex, spontaneous improvisations in perfect unison—so in synch that listeners couldn’t believe they hadn’t been written in advance. (Armstrong himself later confirmed that they had, indeed, been created extemporaneously.) … Read More

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Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse: Morphogenesis (Pi)

Steve Coleman’s music has long been animated by a bobbing and weaving, thrusting and parrying dynamism. On Morphogenesis, the first recording by his drummerless Natal Eclipse octet, the brilliant, game-changing conceptualist makes the connection to boxing explicit in his liner notes and song titles like “Dancing and Jabbing” and “Shoulder Roll.” What allows this album … Read More

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Steve Coleman: Synovial Joints

Here’s a radical notion: The music of Steve Coleman is frequently fun to hear. As Coleman gathers prestigious grants like so many pelts-a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a MacArthur “genius” fellowship in 2014 alone-and unfurls the ambitious Synovial Joints, featuring no fewer than 21 musicians on high alert, it may … Read More

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