Photo from Jos Knaepen/ amsterdamjazzagency.com by S. Victor Aaron When I first started the Stacks series last year, I had two formatting rules about it: each artist was to be allotted one paragraph each and there must be at least six albums examined. I’m bending both rules this time, as only five new releases will get a look, and the [...]
Photo by Steve J. Sherman by S. Victor Aaron When reviewing Vijay Iyer’s sublime piano-only disc Solo last year, I tossed out my personal maxim that “when a great, small combo jazz pianist makes a solo record, it usually doesn’t signal that pianist’s arrival, it means he’s solidifying his legacy.” Well, Alone at the Vanguard is Fred Hersch’s fourth solo piano [...]
From Pablo Embon’s MySpace page by Nick DeRiso Experimental, yet very approachable, Argentina-born Pablo Embon’s Second Chances is an ear-friendly blend of the best elements of straight-ahead jazz, classical, fusion and free jazz forms. That means thrilling runs on the acoustic piano, skidding throwback synthesizer, interesting polyrhythms and gutsy turns on the saxophone, often all within the confines of one [...]
by Pico What a stellar year it’s been for Posi-Tone Records. They’ve generated record after record of honest-to-goodness mainstream jazz done with taste, style, with exceptional sidemen and flawless production. After reviewing zero releases prior to 2010, we’ve now given our impressions on a dozen releases, eleven of them 2010 releases. However, Posi-Tone isn’t done yet, and recently there came [...]
by Nick DeRiso Even a passing fan can purchase with some confidence the touchstone jazz recordings of the last century. But what next? How to explore deeper into the legacy? SomethingElse! is here to help, with an ongoing guide to what we like to call “if/then” jazz listening … IF YOU LIKE … Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint and the [...]
by Pico Like many of the greatest American musicians, Miles Davis has had a comeback—he’s had four or five of them, actually—but only one where he came back from not playing at all. It was also his least successful one in the short run. The 1975-1981 retirement was a period where Miles watched a lot of TV, and just not [...]
by Nick DeRiso Marc Copland has this welcoming, inward voice — cerebral but somehow completely accessible, in the way of the most enchanting records by Bill Evans from years back. But as quiet as he can be, it seems that Copland never stops playing. “Alone” is actually the prolific pianist’s third album of 2009 — following the finale of his [...]
by Pico As one of the seminal jazz-rock bands of the seventies, Weather Report has been plenty celebrated and covered. And yet, most of the recognition covers the 1976-1982 period in which the groundbreaking bassist Jaco Pastorious was in the band. Truth is, WR was a great band for the five-plus years it existed before his arrival, and it’s been [...]
by Pico The term “Milwaukee’s Best” probably doesn’t have the positive connotation that it should, thanks to that being the name of Miller Beer’s economy brand. But when it comes to musicians, there’s plenty from this fine Wisconsin city to be proud of, from Woody Herman and Al Jarreau to Daryl Stuermer and Hubert Sumlin. And that’s not even including [...]
by Pico So what do these three albums getting the spotlight on this Quickies have in common? For one, they all fall on the jazz side of things (no surprise there). For another, these are all April releases. Oops, it’s already May, isn’t it? It’s still not too late to be the first kid on your block to own one [...]
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