Album Review
Bobby Wellins Quartet: What Was Happening
by Chris May
In 1965 tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins made an indelible mark on jazz history with his contribution to pianist Stan Tracey's Jazz Suite Inspired By Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood (Columbia). The exquisite Starless And Bible Black" is the most frequently cited track (check the YouTube below) and is indicative of the album's overall beauty. For a while, things looked good for the Glasgow-born, London-based Wellins, but by the end of the decade health problems" closed down his career until around ...
read moreChes Smith: Laugh Ash
by Glenn Astarita
Ches Smith's Laugh Ash is not your garden-variety jazz concoction. Instead, it is a genre-defying, shape-twisting auditory escapade that does not just push the envelope--it sends it soaring into the stratosphere. It is both bewildering and bedazzling. These compositions stand as a towering testament to Smith's impressive acumen as a drummer, percussionist, and composer, a veritable Houdini of the music world who escapes the shackles of convention to chart a mesmerizing course through uncharted musical terrains.Right from the ...
read moreUlysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y: A New Beat
by Jack Bowers
The rhythms presented on award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.'s latest album are not exactly A New Beat, as they have been heard in various configurations for at least eighty years or more, but they do provide a plausible indication of the path that Art Blakey's legendary Jazz Messengers would presumably have followed had Blakey lived into the twenty-first century. Owens, who teaches at the Juilliard School in New York City, has a knack for spotting and encouraging ...
read moreMatt Anderson: Live at Leeds Jazz Festival
by Neil Duggan
To appreciate the synergy and spirit of a band it often pays to hear them play live. The quality of their playing and their abilities to interact are laid bare. Releasing their first live recording, the Matt Anderson Quartet can do so confidently having spent nearly a decade touring and recording together. Live at Leeds Jazz Festival was made at HEART in Headingly as part of the 2023 Leeds Jazz Festival. It features two tracks from the band's ...
read moreRoberto Magris: Love Is Passing Thru
by Dan McClenaghan
Italian pianist Roberto Magris started his jazz journey on his home turf, notably with a trio of albums on the Soul Note label: Check-In (2005), Il Bello del Jazz (2006) and Current Views (2009). But his profile rose substantially when he got involved with JMood Records, beginning with Kansas City Outbound (2008). He offered his masterpiece on the label in 2020 with Suite! , a sumptuous double CD showcasing an artist who adheres very much to the tradition but who ...
read moreSunny Five: Candid
by Glenn Astarita
With the ever-evolving tapestry of experimental jazz, striking the perfect balance between familiar echoes and trailblazing sounds can be a delicate act. Intakt's latest release, Sunny Five, not only navigates this tightrope with finesse but also performs a dazzling dance across it. This album serves as a vibrant reminder of the joy and spontaneity that lie at the heart of jazz. Delivered by a collection of renowned New York-based musicians, each a master in their own right, the band offers ...
read moreJulie Sassoon: Inside Colours Live
by Mike Jurkovic
Shedding warm illuminations on all our fragile, secretive, sensuous moments, is the underlying axiom behind British pianist/composer Julie Sassoon 's vulnerable and telling music. A classicist at heart who, whether she is aware of it or not, comes at her music in much the manner as Marilyn Crispell--visceral, personal, labyrinthine, yet ultimately accessible--Sassoon's sense of the improbable and the possible doesn't so much dominate the live performances that comprise Inside Colours Live as they green-light both to occur simultaneously.
read moreTerton: Outer, Inner, Secret
by Glenn Astarita
Terton's Outer, Inner, Secret is a leading-edge set that transcends the conventional boundaries of jazz, venturing into the realms of the avant- garde with unparalleled finesse. Released by the future-facing powerhouse Tzadik Records, it stands as a beacon of innovative musical exploration, pushing the boundaries of sonic experimentation. The musicians' remarkable ability to convey complex emotions through their instruments is evident throughout the album, offering an improvisational listening experience that is both introspective and expansive. Each ...
read moreChristie Dashiell: Journey In Black
by La-Faithia White
Christie Dashiell is an award-winning vocalist, composer, and educator born in Washington, DC and raised in Greenville, NC. Dashiell is a product of a musical family that influenced her to begin singing at an early age. Jazz bassist Carroll Dashiell, Jr is her father. Daughter and father are well known on the Washington DC music scene. Journey In Black consists of nine songs, seven which are original works from Dashiell, and two jazz classics that she recreates nicely. On Journey ...
read moreRoger Lin: Exploitation Suite
by Neil Duggan
With the aim of presenting a realistic view of the New York jazz scene, rather than the romanticised view often portrayed, Exploitation Suite from guitarist Roger Lin seeks to explore the scene in a candid way, taking musical inspiration from his own experiences in the city. Lin, who was born in Taiwan, moved to New York after graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He performs frequently, both in the US and Taiwan. There are nine tracks ...
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