Masabumi Kikuchi: Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus, the solo piano CD from Japanese-born pianist m: Masabumi Kikuchi, may be the starkest, loneliest music in the world. Masabumi Kikuchi (1939-2015) was a versatile, if ultimately idiosyncratic artist. Early in his career he worked with a panoply of mainstream music makers, ev... [ read more ]

Ron Stabinsky: Free for One

Pianist m: Ron Stabinsky has been a stylistic chameleon with m: Mostly Other People Do The Killing. He provided a note-perfect recreation of legendary pianist m: Bill Evans on Blue (Hot Cup, 2014), and eclectic solos on Mauch Chunk (Hot Cup, 2015)--performances pep... [ read more ]

Stu Brown: Twisted Toons Vol. 2 (The Music of Carl Stalling, Scott Bradley and more...)

Cue the opening titles and the all-too familiar theme of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"; a blast of which at just 23 seconds is enough to place the listener in the mood for the ensuing fifty five minutes of mayhem-inspired melodies. This is Stu Brown's second paean to the great cartoon score compos... [ read more ]

John Coltrane: Interstellar Space

As the '60s dawned it would seem that John Coltrane was determined to permanently turn his back on being an accessible artist. Often considered as one of his most influential works, Interstellar Space is certainly not for everyone. Fans of My Favorite Things and Blue Train may struggle with its seem... [ read more ]

Dave King Trucking Company: Surrounded by the Night

Celebrated drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple) bonds fellow Minnesota jazz musicians with like-minded New York artists on the Trucking Company's third release. His drums are constructed with bamboo and other woodgrain materials, which is a novel engineering process by the Milwaukee-based o... [ read more ]

Rez Abbasi and Junction: Behind the Vibration

With a unique touch and distinct abilities, guitarist Rez Abbasi has produced some captivating recordings that have combined modern jazz and Pakistani/American in forward thinking projects like 2015's Intents and Purposes (Enja) with his Acoustic Quartet which put a fresh spin on popular 1970s jazz... [ read more ]

The Blind Boys of Alabama: The Blind Boys of Alabama: Spirit Of The Century and Higher Ground

The experience of spiritual jubilation has taken m: The Blind Boys of Alabama far and wide from their southern roots. For over seventy years they have maintained their unwavering commitment to only sing in praise and service of the Lord, and they have succeeded on that. They take their r... [ read more ]

Eduardo Elia: Solo

Argentinian pianist m: Eduardo Elia, based now in his homeland, attended Berkelee College of Music in Boston. He has a handful of CD releases as a leader, and beyond that, information on the artist is hard to find. His internet profile is sketchy. So the review is all about the music, an... [ read more ]

Katie Bull: All Hot Bodies Radiate

A raucous concoction, Katie Bull's All Hot Bodies Radiate bursts with energy, its verbal and musical contortions devoted to a deceptively cacophonous mix of levity, seriousness, playfulness, and avant abstractions. Artfully balanced, Bull merges spoken-word delivery and singing to deliver her poem-l... [ read more ]

Rob Mazurek/Emmett Kelly: Alien Flower Sutra

It's nothing new for Rob Mazurek to travel the road less taken. What's surprising is that he continues to locate so many alternate routes of expression; his creative compass pointing in directions rarely seen by others. Alien Flower Sutra , a (mostly) duo outing with Emmett Kelly, explores yet anoth... [ read more ]

Fire! Orchestra: Two Scandinavian Jazz Orchestras

It can be notoriously difficult to keep large-scale improvising ensembles in check and prevent their music from spiralling into incoherence. At their best, when the balance between order and chaos is just right, they make thrilling listening and attract fans in abundance, just as jazz big bands once... [ read more ]

Ali Farka Toure: Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder: Talking Timbuktu

These days the genre of desert blues boasts one of the most vibrant music movements around the world. The bands and musicians that are part of this genre come from an area that is spread across Western Africa that stretches from Mali to Libya gathering people of various ethnic groups. Artists such a... [ read more ]

Arnold Ludvig Sextet: Iceland

Situated in the North Atlantic, roughly equidistant from Scotland, Norway, and Iceland, the Faeroe Islands are one of the last places one would expect to find a thriving international jazz scene populated with world-class improvisers and a record label dedicated to documenting all of the action. Tut... [ read more ]

David Gibson: Inner Agent

The idea of creating a safe space to allow for disregarding safety may be paradoxical in nature, but it makes perfect sense when contextualized or couched in jazz terms. There can be no resolution of faith in one's surroundings and colleagues without taking the trust fall, there can be no reward wit... [ read more ]

Greg Osby: Saxophone a€oeGriota€

The griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician, a repository of oral tradition who is often seen as a societal leader. Saxophonist Greg Osby recently was excited to meet some griots on his travels. While he is originally from jny: St. Louis, he himself is...

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Special Kay!

WOW! No, it is definitely not advisable to open a review with an unequivocal superlative (for one thing, it sort of gives the game away, doesn't it?). But on Special Kay!, its ninth impressive album in twenty-four years, DIVA--the gold standard among all-female big bands since its inception--really... [ read more ]

Simon Nabatov/Mark Dresser/Dominik Mahnig: Equal Poise

Russian born pianist Simon Nabatov has been composing since early childhood. His career has placed his residences in Italy, New York (where he studied at Juilliard), and Germany, where he finally settled. He has worked or recorded with m: Barre Phillips, m: Ray Anderson, {{m... [ read more ]

Peter Bernstein: Let Loose

When it comes to guitarists of his generation, m: Peter Bernstein stands head and shoulders above the crowd. His tone and melodic approach are so recognizable as to be detected in a just a few bars. Since 1989, he has been the go-to guitarist in New York City and has literally graced hund... [ read more ]

Jasmine Power: Jasmine Power: Stories and Rhymes EP

There's something wonderful about watching a major talent emerge blinking into the harsh spotlight of the public gaze for the first time. Of course, some find the experience so traumatic that they are never heard of again, others are unlucky finding themselves in the clutches of the unprincipled sha... [ read more ]

Cuong Vu Trio With Pat Metheny: Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny

When trumpeter/composer m: Cuong Vu became a member of the Pat Metheny Group--he contributed to Speaking Of Now (Warner Bros., 2002) and The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005)--it came as a bit of a shock to anyone familiar with his work in the downtown New York City scene. While {{m: Pat Metheny... [ read more ]

Will Vinson: Perfectly Out Of Place

Perfectly Out Of Place--the sixth album from saxophonist Will Vinson--is a marvel of compositional design, textural beauty, and musicality. It's both in keeping with his previous work and several steps beyond and above. While Vinson is essentially sticking with his favored quintet format on this one... [ read more ]

Henry Kaiser: Three from Henry Kaiser on Balance Point Acoustics

The Balance Point Acoustics label was set up by double bassist m: Damon Smith in 2001 to document his own music. In the years since, the label has issued a steady stream of recordings, most featuring Smith. Significantly, the first of the label's releases not to include the bassist was th... [ read more ]

Martin Perret's L'Anderer: Don't Try You Are

The moody and mystical Don't Try You Are is a concept album--"the musical investigation of the murder of a mysterious man in an indefinite country just after a war." The music--written by drummer Perret--is high on atmosphere and mystery, often dark and sometimes unsettling. It's not an album to enc... [ read more ]

Take Five with Chuck Redd

About Chuck Redd Chuck Redd is an internationally well-known performer on both drums and vibraphone. He began his career when he joined the m: Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21. He also became a member of the Great Guitars (m: Barney Kessel, Byrd, and m: Herb Ellis...

Entourage: Things Are Looking Up

Even with interest in the genre waning, most decent-sized cities are home to one or more local jazz groups, which vary in size, membership, temperament and ability. Entourage, formed in 2007, is an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based quintet led by vocalist Emerson Susan Corley whose core group has been e... [ read more ]

Antonio Adolfo: Tropical Infinito

Brazilian pianist/composer, arranger and longtime educator Antonio Adolfo, has more than twenty-five albums as a leader delivering the best of bossa nova and samba-styled grooves and employing a variety of rhythm sections in accomplishing this. Tropical Infinito is a musical homage of sorts from the... [ read more ]

Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions / Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny The Unity Sessions e: Nonesuch Records 2016 What's in a name? First there was the Unity Band in 2012; after several years of collaborations, solo work and small ensembles, the ever-restless m: Pat Metheny decided it was time for a steady quartet of his own again. Th... [ read more ]

Bobby Avey: Inhuman Wilderness

The failings and callousness of mankind have long served as muse and model for artists, but rarely have such negative stimuli yielded such powerful, probing, and positively mesmerizing work as what can be heard on Inhuman Wilderness. This fifth album from pianist Bobby Avey provides extraordinarily... [ read more ]

Take Five with Boris Savoldelli

About Boris Savoldelli: Boris is a vocal performer with a brilliant personality. He's always been in love with his "vocal instrument" and its extraordinary possibilities. He loves to find different original ways of singing, due to his eclectic background, from classical studies to jazz singing (than...

Carol Saboya: Carolina

Classic samba from enchanting Brazilian vocalist m: Carol Saboya and a first-rate band. It's a family affair, with her father, pianist/composer m: Antonio Adolfo in charge of piano and arrangements. He is working with his regular band, so the arrangements fit like a glove. The... [ read more ]

Take Five with Michael Joseph Harris

About Michael Joseph Harris Michael Joseph Harris began playing guitar at age 12. At 16 he won accolades as a jazz guitarist with the Downbeat Magazine award-winning Chantilly High Jazz Band. He studied with guitarist Rick Whitehead during high school and Jack Petersen at North Texas State Universit...

C.B.G: Les IndignA(C)s

The acronym "CBG" is the proxy for the Celano/Baggiani Group. The improvisational group is based in the Netherlands and has been active for more than ten years. Guitarist Guillermo Celano and drummer Marcos Baggiani have been the mainstays in a rotation that has experienced a number of personnel cha... [ read more ]

Taylor's Universe: Across the Universe

Back in the day, record companies would occasionally issue "Greatest Hits" compilation albums. Usually cheaply packaged (no gatefold, no credits, no liner notes, etc.), these collections were a convenient way to have all of an artist's big hits (plus some filler) in one convenient location. Record c... [ read more ]