Eric Jacobson blazes. In person, the naturally powerful Milwaukee trumpeter has long conveyed the impression: "I'm gonna cut anybody here, and all comers." That's fueled some willfully dynamic solos. With trumpet poised, his muscular angularity recalls an Italian Futurist sculpture. So, Discover comes as a surprise, perhaps as a self-discovery, trading competitiveness for musical and artistic maturity.
The tune "Discover" arose from the... read more
It's become something of a truism to say the pandemic produced some incredible art. Here's a question, though: Can that flowering of creativity—originally sparked when we were all cooped inside—sustain itself now that we're all free to roam the wide world again? The latest Meridian Odyssey record, Earthshine, suggests maybe it can.
The quintet—saxophonist Santosh Sharma, guitarist Martin Budde, pianist Dylan Hayes, bassist Ben Feldman,... read more
A schooled musician, graduating from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Scott Burns spent a good portion of his early career in the Cincinnati/Dayton, Ohio area, learning his craft. In 1998, he moved to Chicago, a natural and ideal location for some of the best jazz artists in the world, who can be found in Chicago dating back to nearly the beginning of the jazz age.
Scott has done what all the best artists in jazz... read more
Alto and soprano saxophonist Mark Taylor and labelmates RadioAction recorded this 8- track session in Brooklyn in January 2002. Opening with Monk's "Bye Ya," they serve notice that they are as entrenched in a modern style as they are reverential of the masters. Following a strong opening statement by Taylor, pianist Whitney Ashe delivers a muscular solo augmented by the powerful rhythm team of drummer Matt Jorgensen and bassist Gary Wang.... read more
Rich toned trumpeter Jared Hall mixes his own tunes with that of bop master composer Tadd Dameron with his team of Vincent Herring/as, John Hansen/p, Michael Glynn/b and Matt Jorgensen/dr. It's a good call to delve into the underrated Dameron songbook, with two takes of "If You Could See Me Now" featuring sublime conversations between Hall and Hansen. A Latinized "Mating Call" has Herring searing over the pulsations, and a read of the cinema... read more
This one, more than most sets that come this way, reveals itself in successive layers. Melody didn't initially assert itself to these ears. It was there, in dreamy post bop permutations, but it was the harmonies that grabbed me from the start. Drummer Steve Korn and company explore unusual and engaging harmonic frameworks, and I spent a couple of spins of the disc absorbing those and wishing for a deeper grounding in the technicalities of music,... read more
As we play out our lives in real time we trace the unfolding trajectory of the musical artists we gladly follow, so that each new album for example is not set in stone but plays upon the possibilities made available to the musical artist at any given point. In the case of bassist-bandleader Michael Bisio the new one is rather unexpected and in no way a kind of safe haven but rather a new set of risks entailed in a duet recording with... read more
What you've got here are some smart things Generations X jazz musicians have been doing in record studios lately - some of the cream of Generation X in the Sam Yahel Trio's "Truth and Beauty".
The liner notes on "Truth and Beauty" (thank you, John Keats) are by generational valedictorian and pianist Brad Mehldau, who tells us he and Yahel were New York Jazz arrivals together from 1988 to 1990. He admits that while "flexibility is a hallmark... read more
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Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect