In a perfect world, critics would always hear a band live, playing music from their new record, right before sitting down with the record to … Read More “Stephan Crump’s Rosetta Trio: Outliers (Papillon Sounds)”
When guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli last paid tribute to his primary musical inspiration with 1999’s P.S. Mr. Cole, he was in his late thirties, and Nat … Read More “John Pizzarelli Trio: For Centennial Reasons: 100 Year Salute to Nat King Cole (Ghostlight)”
The belching, blues-rock mongrel that is the Hedvig Mollestad Trio could emanate only from the Scandinavian music scene and only in this particular time, when … Read More “Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Smells Funny (Rune Grammafon)”
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)”
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 Kelly Green Trio opens its debut album, Volume One, with an almost 10-minute rendition of the Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer chestnut “I’m Old-Fashioned” that establishes … Read More “Kelly Green Trio: Volume One (KG Music)”
We don’t necessarily need a reminder about pianist Steve Kuhn’s eminence in the trio domain; his work in that realm has been well-documented and greatly … Read More “Steve Kuhn Trio: To and From the Heart (Sunnyside)”
For his 11th release, drummer/composer Bill Stewart joins tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III and bassist Larry Grenadier on the ironically titled Band Menu. The literal … Read More “Bill Stewart: Band Menu (self-released)”
Baritone saxophonist and bass clarinetist Josh Sinton—a steady presence in Brooklyn’s avant-garde jazz scene since the early 1990s—caused a bit of a ripple recently when … Read More “Josh Sinton’s Predicate Trio: making bones, taking draughts, bearing unstable millstones pridefully, idiotically, prosaically (Iluso)”
All music has a presence, but there’s a certain level of respect saved for pieces that prove their value by surrounding, engulfing, and perhaps even … Read More “Harriet Tubman: The Terror End of Beauty (Sunnyside)”
