Spiro: Making Music that is Dispassionate and Emotional

The Bristol four piece ensemble Spiro makes music that straddles and bridges a multiplicity of genres. With each consecutive album it redefines what it means to be a strings ensemble. It constantly breaks every boundary imaginable, but above all it's aim is to make gorgeously joyous music. It's musi...

Take Five with Wataru Uchida

About Wataru Uchida Wataru Uchida studied saxophone technique and jazz composition with m: Chico Freeman, and has led jazz projects in jny: New York City since 2003. In May 2010, Wataru performed at the Museum of the City of New York, leading his quintet with Japanese jazz performers...

Joe Magnarelli: Three On Two

The majority of trumpeter Joe Magnarelli's leader dates have been no-nonsense, straight ahead quintet outings, so on the surface, it might appear that he's settled into something of a rut. But appearances can be deceiving. Only those who haven't heard Magnarelli's albums would think such a thing. Fo...

The Don Braden Organix Quartet: Luminosity

Saxophonist Don Braden is all about positivity and sharing the joys of jazz. His ebullient music speaks to his intelligence yet he never falls prey to the jazz-as-intellectual-exercise trap that seems to snare younger musicians and a good amount of his peers. Over the course of his previous albums...

Indigo Kid II: Fist Full Of Notes

The self-titled debut album of guitarist Dan Messore's UK-based quartet was credited to Indigo Kid. Album number two, Fist Full Of Notes, is credited to Indigo Kid II--a nod, presumably, to the personnel changes that have occurred between releases.For this second album, Messore is joined once again...

Charlie Hunter Trio featuring Bobby Previte and Curtis Fowlkes: Let The Bells Ring On

7-string guitar master, m: Charlie Hunter shares the spotlight with longtime colleagues, trombonist m: Curtis Fowlkes and drummer m: Bobby Previte, who are recognized for their pivotal work within New York City's progressive jazz circuit and beyond. Let The Bells R...

Waxwing: A Bowl Of Sixty Taxidermists

The second album from this Vancouver-based trio--originally going by Wilson/Lee/Bentley, now known as Waxwing--is a study in contrasts. Idiosyncratic miniatures sit shoulder to shoulder with statements of serenity, eerie constructs and macabre scenarios are quickly replaced with comforting sounds, a...

The Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra: Joyful Noise

Veteran bassist, arranger/composer Chuck Israels has had the good fortune of performing and recording with some of the best jazz musicians on the planet including legends and icons from m: Billie Holiday, m: Benny Goodman, m: Coleman Hawkins to {{m: John Coltrane = 5...

William Schimmel: Theater of the Accordion

Long-time instructor at Julliard and all-around guru of the accordion, Dr. William Schimmel is a musical force of nature. Not a household name? Go to YouTube and type in "Scent of a Woman Tango" and watch the clip. Schimmel is sitting on the right of the band. That is who he is. He plays the accordi...

Debby Moore: My Kind Of Blues

For the record hounds (you know who you are) out there that seek and scavenge the garage sales and flea markets for old albums, there is such a thing as redemption. After scoring My Kind Of Blues by singer m: Debby Moore at a flea market for one dollar, further research revealed a mysteri...

Vladan: Ornaments

Eastern Europe and, particularly the Balkans, have been fertile ground in the evolution of jazz, with an excellent recent example of Markelian Kapedani's Balkan Bop. Another pianist emerging from that same fecund spot is Vladan. Vladan is Vladan Mijabovic, a Serbian pianist and composer intent on tr...

Lena Hovanesian: irwinorange

In assigning colors to a musician's "sound," does alto saxophonist Lena Hovanesian blow orange? Maybe. On her debut CD, irwinorange, the title taken from the 2014 Franklin Evans' painting of the same name, Hovanesian's alto has a citrus-y tang, as she explores, sonically, her love of abstract art an...

John Fedchock New York Big Band: Like It Is

Trombonist John Fedchock may be a seasoned veteran, but he's not set in his ways as a player, arranger, or composer. While some big band leaders of his ilk either try to recreate the past or completely abandon it, attempting to reboot themselves by genuflecting at the altar of modernism, he isn't on...

Matthew Shipp and Mat Walerian Duo/The Uppercut: Live At Okuden

While pianist m: Matthew Shipp has recorded a slew of head to heads with saxophonists, his duo -The Uppercut -with Polish reedman m: Mat Walerian is different. Reason being that on Live at Okuden the pair tackles a program of Walerian's compositions as well as four of the more...

Alex Conde: Descarga for Monk

Spanish pianist-composer m: Alex Conde (currently residing in the Bay Area) unites his love of flamenco and the music of m: Thelonious Monk with these creative arrangements. Conde is a working flamenco musician, having spent the last four years with renowned U.S. flamenco comp...

Stevie Holland: Life Goes On

Vocalist Stevie Holland has blazed quite a path for herself. She is fifteen years into a career that has produced seven recordings, the most recent being the present impressionistic Life Goes On. While always refined, Holland takes her refinement to a gilded level that is almost a vapor, an essence...

Mario Pavone: Blue Dialect

Gone are the days where a jazz trio maintains a three month residency, playing nightly in a club. Nor are there world traveling units that refine their skills nightly on the road, working and reworking material. There will be no more piano trios led by the likes of m: Thelonious Monk and...

Rich Halley 4: Creating Structure

The totally improvised Creating Structure is saxophonist Rich Halley's fifth release with his regular working quartet in as many years. With this exquisite album Halley achieves a new level of musical excellence as he perfects his signature sound of raw sophistication and his unique, simultaneously...

Mark Winkler: Jazz and Other Four Letter Words

Singer and lyricist Mark Winkler has been a common West Coast sight for many years. He has released seven releases, his previous one being the very well-received duet recording with {Manhattan Transfer}}'s soprano m: Cheryl Bentyne, West Coast Cool (Summit Records, 2013). That recording w...

Chimaira: There Is No Alternative

Eminent audio engineer Walter Quintus wields his magic on this pristinely recorded effort. The wide dynamic range of this LP offers the listener amazing detail and clarity, where you can feel every pluck of a bass string and gentle cymbal hit. From a musical stance, this superior European quartet co...

Better than TV: Late

Better than TV, huh? A few years ago that assertion--from a young quintet based in Cambridge, UK--would have been quite a boast. Today, not so much. Still, congrats to the band for coming up with the name. It's memorable and a tad quirky, which is good, because on this evidence the band, with a stro...

Adam Pieronczyk Quartet: A-Trane Nights

When the subject of "Polish Jazz" comes up, the most likely name to get mentioned might be m: Krzysztof Komeda, the pioneering pianist who wrote the soundtrack music for several of Roman Polanski's films, most notably Rosemary's Baby (1968). Move up to current times and you'll find anothe...

Mary May: This Is What You Are

When Mary May heard m: Sarah Vaughan sing "If I Loved You" it blew her away. "She sang in a way I had never heard anyone sing before." Then came m: Anita O'Day, m: Nancy Wilson and Marion Montgomery. They all made May yearn to follow in their footsteps. But Scots b...

Julian Schneemann: Roundabout

Pianist, composer and arranger m: Julian Schneemann must be given credit for his extreme ambition in the creation of his wonderful debut recording, Roundabout. Not only does he mix French horn and bassoon with the more "normal" jazz instruments to get a sound one does not often hear, he...

NSU Jazz'Tet: Out Front

The NSU Jazz'Tet is comprised of seven students (and one faculty member, director / saxophonist Tommy Poole) from the Jazz Studies program at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK. Together they present an assortment of small-group jazz that is scrupulously modern yet firmly grounded in the...

Brian Charette: Alphabet City

Clearly producer Marc Free loves the jazz organ. His roster on the Posi-Tone label includes two of the best up and coming talents, m: Jared Gold and m: Brian Charette. Of his three albums for the label, Alphabet City may be Charette's best effort yet. While the previous Good...

Dennis Angel: On Track

New York flugelhornist and composer Dennis Angel presents a collection of funk, Latin-tinged and contemporary jazz sounds in a musical package of smooth-styled jazz featuring pianist of note m: Kenny Barron on the light and savvy On Track. A lawyer by profession with a New York City subur...

Sam Taylor: My Future Just Passed

One spin of saxophonist m: Sam Taylor's debut CD, My Future Just Passed, and it's not hard to tell where he's coming from, influence-wise. He's a traditionalist with a muscular sound, and you hear m: Coleman Hawkins, m: Ben Webster, and bringing things forward in ti...

A Bu Trio: 88 Tones of Black and White

China is rarely thought of as a geographic source of jazz from the perspective of westerners, partly due to a less than robust presence of the genre and partly because the country remains closed off in many respects. In the past ten years or so, only a handful of "jazz" recordings have come out of t...

Deep Tone Project: Flow

Flow might just be the perfect record for late-night, candle light-and-wine listening with that special someone. As the music comes out of the speakers, it floats and softly envelops the room in deep violet, making time stop for the duration. If the group can be said have a leader, electric bassist...

Terell Stafford: Brotherlee Love: Celebrating Lee Morgan

Over the past several decades, trumpeter m: Terell Stafford has built a solid reputation based on the fact that he is a thoroughly accomplished musician who has been heard in the bands of m: Bobby Watson, m: Matt Wilson, The Clayton Brothers, and Dana Hall. Althoug...

Brad Allen Williams: Lamar

Brad Allen Williams is another in a seemingly endless stream of splendid guitarists dating back to the earliest days of jazz, set apart from the herd on Lamar primarily by choice of instrumentation, material and manner of recording. Williams' trio, whose other members are organist {{m: Pat Bianchi...

Michael Dees: The Dream I Dreamed

In describing his perspective of the state of certain vocal efforts existing today, a wag, respected for his pungent commentary, once said: "There's no substitute for crass." Yet, there are singers who dwell in more refined melodic places--environs of elegance and refinement--"musical champagne," if...

Kinetic: World of Wonder

Keyboardist and composer of all the music on Kinetic's debut album, Joe Sheehan, spent six months studying traditional music and dance in Ghana, West Africa and that country's musical influences are evident here, enhanced particularly by PJ Roduta's percussive contributions.Opening with the energeti...

Bugge Wesseltoft: Bugge Wesseltoft: Bugge and Friends

Back in the late 1990s m: Bugge Wesseltoft was best known as a leading light in the jazz house scene that sought to integrate jazz into the electronic music of the day. His primary outlet at the time was his New Conception of Jazz project that culminated in the wonderful 2001 collection...

Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble: Crisis

On his third album with the Two Rivers ensemble, Crisis trumpeter and composer Amir ElSaffar continues to explore the Arabic Maqam modal system. He uses this melodic type in a context with strong American influences and particularly jazz sensibilities. The result is not merely a superficial, kitschy...

Walt Weiskopf: Open Road

"Premonition" was the perfect opening tune on Walt Weiskopf's Open Road album, because it sets the tone. It even matches the album cover...we're going somewhere fast, barely able to quite focus in due to the speed. But it's exciting! Bassist m: Mike Karn drives the band until 1:45 when h...

Steve Smith: Drummer For All Seasons

Drummer Steve Smith has traced the history of jazz drumming--pretty much most of American music drumming--in his storied career that has seen him drive big bands, small jazz combos, and fiery fusion groups, including tenures with m: Jean Luc Ponty and the rock band Journey. Though someti...

Matthew Stevens: Woodwork

Guitarist Matthew Stevens has already made a name for himself through his work with artists like trumpeter m: Christian Scott, saxophonist m: Walter Smith III, drummer m: Terri Lyne Carrington, and bassist-vocalist m: Esperanza Spalding. But he shouldn't...

Julian Lage: World's Fair

Guitarist Julian Lage's chameleon-like abilities have covered many styles from jazz in ensembles with vibraphonist m: Gary Burton and drummer m: Eric Harland to avant-free expressions with guitarist m: Nels Cline in Room (Mack Avenue, 2014) and folksy bluegrass with...

Mindi Abair: Game Changer

You know a dream is like a river, Ever changing as it flows. And a dreamer's just a vessel, That must follow where it goes. --"The River," vocals by Garth Brooks, lyrics by Victoria Lynn Shaw You know what it's like to wake up in the middle of the night with a vivid dream? And you know that if you d...

Mette Rasmussen/Chris Corsano: All The Ghosts At Once

Today's hypothesis states that all free jazz improvisation demands the musicians maintain the music's vigor like a juggler, to all appearances, keeping all the balls in the air at once. Proof of this theory is the opening piece "Train Track" from alto saxophonist Mette Rasmussen and drummer {{m: Chr...

Bob Mintzer: Seeing the bigger picture

"To be a great musician one must zoom out and be a part of the big picture when playing in an ensemble. The primary focus is on the greater whole. Only by doing this does a significant band sound emerge. If people of the world could only grasp this way of looking at things, we would be much better o...

Dhruv: Voyage

It's been a few years since Berklee-trained guitarist/composer Dhruv Ghanekar last crossed AAJ's radar. That was at the Borneo Jazz Festival 2011, where his quartet powered through a jazz-fusion set of the highest order. For his second recording as leader the Mumbai guitarist--who has performed with...

Nick Finzer: The Chase

The trombone's gone through a few good times and a few bad times as a front-line jazz instrument. Thankfully, for all lovers of this particular horn, these times are good times. Nick Finzer is one of the players responsible, a trombonist and writer with flair and variety. The Chase, his second album...

Amir ElSaffar: Crisis

Chicago area native, Amir ElSaffar has been working inside and outside the typical context of jazz since his Two Rivers Ensemble debut, Two Rivers (PI Recordings, 2007). The trumpeter and composer (and master santour player) has built a unique musical architecture based his study of the microtonal t...

Tianna Hall: Hit Me with a Hot Note

With Texas Troubadour m: Jacqui Sutton splitting her time between Texas and parts West and taking on roll of Houston Jazz Mafia consigliere and Aussie reeds-mistress capo regime m: Alisha Pattillo staking out the Gulf, vocalist m: Tianna Hall remains as the undisp...

George Freeman/Chico Freeman: All In The Family

There are few things more quintessentially "Chicago" in jazz than the Freeman family. Tenor titan m: Von Freeman ruled the roost in The Windy City decade after decade until his death in 2012; his brother, George Freeman, played with everybody from saxophonist m: Charlie Parker...

Brian Landrus Trio: The Deep Below

With his sixth release as a leader The Deep Below, low reedman Brian Landrus continues to explore the bottom octaves of woodwind registers with his characteristic elegance and captivating charm. What sets this album apart from its predecessors is the sparseness of its setting. Backed only by bass an...

Roberto Magris: Enigmatix

Since launching his professional career in the late 70s, Italian Pianist and maestro Roberto Magris, has become an international recording artist documenting over 26 albums, performs throughout Europe and in the United States regularly and has garnished a reputation as a world-class musician by anyo...