Soukast/Benjamin Taubkin: Sounds Of Life

Electronic threads, street party drums, lively piano runs, meditative moments, metallic zest, and rhythmic seasonings all come to the surface when pianist Benjamin Taubkin and Soukast--the duo of Simone Sou and Guilherme Kastrup, two percussionists who artfully mix sampling into their work--set sail...

Marta Sanchez Quintet: Partenika

A marriage of moody yet calming piano seesaws, cymbal swells, and arco bass serves as the entry portal into pianist Marta Sanchez's Partenika. The feelings that come over the mind and body while taking in those overlaid ingredients during the opening of "Opening" must be like what Dorothy felt when...

John Engels: Looking Back, Moving Forward

Drummer John Engels has the energy of two forty-year olds, which is pretty impressive, since he will soon be turning 80. He will celebrate this auspicious occasion with the Vogel Vrij (Free as a Bird) tour, a series of concerts at diverse venues throughout jny: the Netherlands (with saxophonists...

Harris Eisenstadt: Golden State II

Drummer Harris Eisenstadt's Golden State--the avant-chamber group that he formed while he was in residence at the California Institute of the Arts in 2012--is a meeting of minds and instincts. In its initial form, with bassoonist m: Sara Schoenbeck, bassist m: Michael Moore, a...

Oded Lev-Ari: Threading

There's more to music than often meets the eye. While educated jazz fans often laud and focus on the artists whose names adorn the cover of albums and the sidemen that support and converse with them, far fewer people applaud the work of figures like Oded Lev-Ari--those men of many hats who work out...

Sarah Riedel: Living Up To Expectations

The world of jazz is no stranger to the sound of the Swedish language. m: Alice Babs and m: Monica Zetterlund--and more recently, m: Rigmor Gustafsson--are just a few of the names of jazz vocalists hailing from this cold northern country that have reached the ears...

David Berkman: Old Friends And New Friends

Pianist David Berkman has come full circle with Old Friends And New Friends. He's back on Palmetto records, the label that released his first four records as a leader between 1998 and 2004; Matt Balitsaris, who helped shape and capture the sound on those albums, is back at the helm, serving as engin...

Nilson Matta: EastSideRioDrive

Many a bassist is renowned or applauded for the way they serve as ballast in a band, but what of the bassists who go the other way, providing lift instead of weight? There are precious few of them out there, but Nilson Matta is one one of them. Matta, whether working with the collectively-operated...

Frank Sinatra: Ultimate Sinatra: A Very Good Compilation

On December 12, 1915, Francis Albert Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. This single birth in this sleepy borough was the first tremor in a musical earthquake that changed the cultural landscape all around the world, forever. On April 21, 2015, in celebration of Frank Sinatra's centennial year...

Grover Washington, Jr.: Grover Washington, Jr.: Winelight (Hybrid SACD 5.1 Multichannel)

When Grover Washington, Jr. passed away in 1999 the jazz world lost one of its most successful and talented creators, and in his wake a slew of saxophonists have stepped up to fill the void. None have. jny: Philadelphia jazz deejay Bob Perkins said, of Washington, a native of the City of Brother...

The Jiggs Whigham International Trio: Live At Nighttown: 'Not So Standards'

A jazz trio performing songs like "Autumn Leaves" and "Days Of Wine And Roses" isn't exactly out of the ordinary, but this trio performing those songs is something else. Live At Nighttown: 'Not So Standards' finds Jiggs Whigham, an American trombone giant who expatriated to Germany long ago, back at...

VEIN feat. Dave Liebman: VEIN featuring Dave Liebman - Jazz Talks

This collection documents the first studio recording of Swiss trio m: VEIN with American saxophonist m: Dave Liebman over a single afternoon in Basel. VEIN had approached Liebman, perhaps best known for his Saxophone Summit recordings with m: Joe Lovano and {{m: Rav...

Roberta Piket: Emanation

Pianist m: Roberta Piket sat down at her instrument alone on Solo (Thirteenth Note Records, 2012). It was her first recording in the format, after and marvelous series of trio and quartet sets. An artist known for her "inside/outside" abilities and a cerebral yet emotive approach to pian...

Cassandra Wilson: Cassandra Wilson: Coming Forth by Day

Cassandra Wilson is the most important jazz vocalist of the past thirty years. There. I said it. I meant it. It is out in the open (not that this was any secret). After an impressive jazz debut with Point of View (JMT, 1985), Wilson would release seven more well-received, if not underrated, recordin...

JosA(C) James: Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday

There are many reasons why singer m: Billie Holiday is so admired--her captivating beauty, crafted phrasing, and the singular way she imbued emotion through each note. Yet the jazz legend known as "Lady Day" not only sung the blues, she lived it. In a storied life filled with heartaches...

Thana Alexa: Singer And Instrument

Music started tugging at the sleeve at the age of three for Thana Alexa, a New York based singer who began making music there as a violinist, moved to Croatia where she discovered jazz, and returned as a singer poised to sweep into a successful career. It started with the piano--kind of. Her tinkeri...

Sarah Moule: Songs From The Floating World

Class will out, as they say. It's certainly true on this album--class bursts out of Songs From The Floating World. From Sarah Moule's sophisticated, cool, vocals and the stylish playing of the cream of British jazzers, through to m: Simon Wallace's music and arrangements and Fran Landesm...

Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey's fourth release as a leader, the intriguingly mystical Alloy, is a stimulating study of contrasts. The four, long Sorey originals are simultaneously expansive and intimate, somber yet with moments of subtle vibrance and stately yet brimming with spon...

Dave Stryker: Messin' with Mister T

On this tribute to his former employer m: Stanley Turrentine, guitarist/bandleader Dave Stryker recruits his trio with Hammond B-3 organist m: Jared Gold and drummer m: McClenty Hunter, augmented here by guest percussionist m: Mayra Casales. Messin' wi...

Jimi Hendrix: Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix

Several decades after his tragic and premature death, Jimi Hendrix looms even more larger and deeper than ever. An intrepid risk taker and untamed musical force that he was, this pre-eminent guitarist of the 20th century achieved his position by treating his guitar rather differently than the others...

Casey Golden Trio: Outliers

In the past twenty years the jazz piano trio has branched out from the standards format into e.s.t..--influenced, virtuosity-leaning trios and song-based units like the m: Neil Cowley Trio and m: GoGo Penguin. Of course, that's not the full piano trio picture, but it's refres...

Take Five With John Raymond

Meet John Raymond: John Raymond has been making a name for himself as one of the most promising, up-and-coming jazz musicians in New York. Originally from jny: Minneapolis, MN, John performs regularly with musicians such as m: Billy Hart, m: Orrin Evans, {{m: Linda Oh = 195...

Josh Deutsch/Nico Soffiato: Reverse Angle

Trumpeter Josh Deutsch and guitarist m: Nico Soffiato have been working together since 2006, deepening their rapport and forming strong musical bonds in the ensuing years. Five years after they first connected, these men delivered Time Gels (Self Produced, 2011)--a duo debut which found...

Roberta Donnay and The Prohibition Mob Band: Bathtub Gin

Roberta Donnay is a Jazz Age preservationist, guardian of Depression-era sounds, and extender of traditions, but her music isn't covered with cobwebs or dated in any way. On Bathtub Gin, this singer-composer puts a new coat of paint on the songs of the '20s and '30s, contributes originals sympatheti...

Tom Tallitsch: All Together Now

All Together Now--the sixth overall effort from tenor saxophonist m: Tom Tallitsch, and his third for the Posi-tone imprint--is a well-balanced musical affair built around a surefooted and wholly capable sextet. Tallitsch works with a rhythm section and two other horns here, creating smar...

Harry Allen And Friends: For George, Cole And Duke

There is no greater paragon of tenor saxophonist taste than m: Harry Allen. While the fickle winds of prevailing styles continue to blow this or that way, Allen stands tall like the mighty oak, unswayed by fad fashions and firmly rooted to the music of the Great American Songbook. On this...

Warren Vache Quintet: Warren Vache Quintet Remembers Benny Carter

There's lots of life to this recording. Veteran trumpeter m: Warren Vache knows a thing or two about an old friend, mentor m: Benny Carter. With The Warren Vache Quintet Remembers Benny Carter we take a step back in time even as we venture forth into the present. A present tha...

Roberta Piket: Emanation (Solo: Volume 2)

In the liner notes for this stimulating album, pianist m: Richie Beirach, Roberta Piket's friend and once-upon-a-time teacher, refers to the art of solo piano playing as "the Mount Everest of challenges for a jazz pianist." Ain't that the truth. When put in other situations, from episodes...

Doug Webb: Doug Webb: Triple Play

As tempting as it is to simply consign a blowing session label to Triple Play, a three tenor saxophone plus rhythm date led by m: Doug Webb, there's ample evidence that something more disciplined and structured is afoot. For one thing, eight of the disc's eleven tracks are under six minu...

Paolo Angeli: S'A

S'A is the sound of a master musician. The master in question is Paolo Angeli, a virtuoso player of the prepared Sardinian guitar (an instrument he has developed over the past 20 years). Angeli has worked with musicians from many genres--including jazz players such as m: Pat Metheny, {{m...

John Petrucelli Quintet: The Way

The debut release from saxophonist John Petrucelli packs a mean punch. For his first outing, this Pittsburgh-based tenor man put together a lengthy, two-disc program that showcase his writing and, of greater note, his chops. In some ways, this can be seen as a musical shock and awe campaign. Petruce...

Verneri Pohjola: Bullhorn

Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola has earned his stripes in collaborations with Quintessence, the Ilmiliekki Quartet, UMO--the country's leading big-band--and Black Motor, with whom he recorded the sizzling Rubidium (TUM Records, 2013). It's as a leader, however, with Aurora (ACT Music, 2009)--voted...

Chris Smith: At The Intersection Of Scholarship, Performance and Pedagogy

In the introduction to his book Jazz Matters (University Of California Press, 2010), David Ake writes about bringing "together the practical side of making jazz, the pedagogical side of teaching it, and the academic side of writing about it." (p. 12) "Nothing but good," Ake adds, "can come if we inc...

Sarah Elizabeth Charles: Inner Dialogue

Trying to categorize or label vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles is a futile pursuit. Is she a hypnotic modern jazz vocalist? Is she a neo-soul experimentalist with jazz and R&B inflections oozing from her vocal cords? Is she an incredible talent, bewitching and beguiling with her every vocal gesture...

Michel Camilo: From Dominica to Spain and Back Again

This interview was first published at All About Jazz in July 2000. After performing more than 40 concerts together, longtime friends Michel Camilo and Tomatito recorded Spain, an album that fuses their respective backgrounds of Latin Jazz and flamenco. Spain was released in the country of its title...

Omar Sosa Quarteto AfroCubano: ilA(C)

"The word ilA(C), from the LucumA- tradition of Cuba, means home, earth." That single sentence, which gets the ball rolling for Omar Sosa's self-penned liner notes, says all that needs to be said about this return-to-roots project. Or does it? IlA(C) finds Sosa looking back to CamagA1/4ey, Cuba. He popula...