Articles by Joshua Weiner
Ahmad Jamal: Live in Paris (1971)
by Joshua Weiner
The pianist Ahmad Jamal, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 92, needs no introduction. Suffice it to say that this NEA Jazz Master and Lifetime Grammy Award recipient was one of the most popular pianists, small group leaders and hit recording artists of his time. One might be forgiven for thinking everything was known about Jamal, given his extensive discography. Happily, however, Transversales Disques continues its excellent series of “Lost ORTF Recordings" with this release, recorded live ...
read moreThe Jimmy Giuffre 3: Music for People, Birds, Butterflies & Mosquitoes
by Joshua Weiner
Has any musician who is not a pianist explored the trio as a basis for musical invention as thoroughly as Jimmy Giuffre? There have been many versions of the Jimmy Giuffre 3, from the initial 1950s unit with Jim Hall on guitar and either Ralph Peña on bass or Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, through the truly remarkable band featuring Steve Swallow on bass and Paul Bley on piano (ECM's reissue of two Verve LPs on the 1961 set is ...
read moreSahib Shihab and the Danish Radio Jazz Group
by Joshua Weiner
Many jazz fans will know saxophonist and flautist Sahib Shihab primarily for his stint in the 1940s with Thelonious Monk, and his playing captured on Monk's Genius of Modern Music Blue Note sets. Keen-eyed perusers of liner notes, however, will know him as an able sideman on classic albums by John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Art Blakey, Benny Golson, Milt Jackson and others. Shihab also recorded as a leader in the 1950s and 1960s with Savoy, Debut and Argo, before moving ...
read moreThe Time Is Now!
by Joshua Weiner
The early '70s were difficult times in the United States, not least for the jazz community. The optimism of the flower-power and peace movements had given way to political radicalism, conflict and paranoia, and the excitement of the initial free jazz and jazz-fusion eras had begun to wane. John Coltrane and Albert Ayler were dead. Miles Davis was playing thick, unrelenting funk. Important record labels such as Columbia and Atlantic were largely pursuing multiplatinum rock acts rather than jazz. Some ...
read moreJohn Surman: Words Unspoken
by Joshua Weiner
Englishman John Surman has been one of jazz's most important reedmen since his debut album on the progressive Deram label in 1969. From the start, on classic albums such as John McLaughlin's Extrapolation, Surman displayed a unique voice on the baritone sax, soprano sax, and bass clarinet, sometimes adding electronics to the mix. Since his first appearance on Manfred Eicher's groundbreaking ECM label in 1976, Surman has forged an idiosyncratic path, releasing solo, duo, and quartet albums, transcultural collaborations (such ...
read moreMatt Jorgensen: Painting With Sound
by Joshua Weiner
Matt Jorgensen is a very busy man. A drummer and composer, he plays and records with a wide variety of musicians, including his own long-running quartet 451 and popular trumpeter and label-mate Thomas Marriott. Jorgensen also co-manages the Origin Records label, a thriving concern that has released over 300 discs since 1997, and that now encompasses two associated labels, OA2 and Origin Classical.He is also a family man, and it's a family connection that provided the spark for ...
read moreErik Telford: Kinetic
by Joshua Weiner
From the vibrant music scene of Austin, Texas comes Kinetic, the excellent solo recording debut of trumpeter/bandleader Erik Telford. The album features seven memorable, groove-heavy original tunes by the leader, played by a crack ensemble that contributes characterful comping and soloing galore. The band's sound lies somewhere between that of Miles Davis's bands of the early seventies and the more straightforward, four-on-the-floor jazz/funk styles of today, but with a level of musicianship, exemplified by exhilarating, lengthy solos, that sets it ...
read moreHailey Niswanger: Confeddie
by Joshua Weiner
To look at Confeddie, the new self-produced record by Hailey Niswanger with an artfully posed black-and-white photo of the doe-eyed, comely saxophonist on the cover, the thought that may come to mind is “Great, another Candy Dulfer." Never judge a CD by its cover, to paraphrase some wise man (or, more likely, wise woman) lost to the mists of time. Barely 20 years old and currently attending the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship, Niswanger and fellow students ...
read moreRale Micic: 3
by Joshua Weiner
Rale Micic has emerged over the past few years as one of the most interesting young guitarists on the New York City scene. Beginning with Bridges, a fantastic quintet date from 2003 featuring some exciting saxophone work from Bob Reynolds, and continuing on 2006's Serbia featuring the great Tom Harrell on trumpet, Micic has established a style that, while indebted to giants like Jim Hall and John Scofield, is recognizably his: a clean, rich, classic tone; clarity of line; spaciousness ...
read moreSherman Irby Quartet: Live At The Otto Club
by Joshua Weiner
Live At The Otto Club is Sherman Irby's first live album with his quartet, and it would be hard to conjure up a more joyful example of seriously swinging jazz that sounds like a great lost classic from the heyday of hard bop. Though the liner notes seem to suggest that this was a bit of a pick-up quartet, it doesn't sound like it: the group, particularly Green on drums and Menci on piano, swing as one with Irby as ...
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