In his latest review, Ron Netsky explains why bassist Omer Avital and his quintet Qantar’s “New York Paradox” is his pick for top jazz album of 2020 so far.
Ron Netsky
Posted inNews & Opinion
Portrait of a slave trader
Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, the businessman who made his fortune in grain, nails, rope, and banking in the South before moving to Upstate New York, also made money buying and selling slaves.
Posted inMusic
Utility player
Eastman School professor Gary Versace’s roles on multiple instruments, in concert halls and on records, span the globe and several genres.
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Album review: ‘Flyover Country’
Far from a standard jazz outing, saxophonist Amanda Gardier’s second album, “Flyover Country,” is full of inventive improvisation.
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Album review: ‘Impressions in Blue and Red’
On jazz guitarist Alex Goodman’s new album, “Impressions in Blue and Red,” he draws a bold parallel between color and music across two discs.
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Album review: ‘Three’
“Three,” Gilfema’s first album since 2008, is world-jazz music at its best.
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Album review: ‘Chamber Jazz’
On “Chamber Jazz,” Eastman School of Music professor Charles Pillow filters elements of great French Impressionist composers like Ravel and Debussy through a jazz sensibility.
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Album review: ‘The Melodic Line’
Reverso ‘The Melodic Line’ Out Note Records ryankeberle.com/reverso If I describe a trombone-centered album as the most dream-like record I’ve heard in years, you might imagine being jarred awake by a herd of elephants. But this trombone, expertly played by Ryan Keberle on Reverso’s “The Melodic Line,” explores the gorgeous, French horn-like side of the […]
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Album review: ‘Joy’
Benjamin Boone with The Ghana Jazz Collective ‘Joy’ Origin Records benjaminboone.net When saxophonist Benjamin Boone—a professor at California State University, Fresno—traveled to Ghana to study as a Fulbright Scholar, he never expected to record an album. But one night at an Accra bar he encountered The Ghana Jazz Collective, a group of musicians as fluent […]
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JAZZ | Simone Baron & Arco Belo [ POSTPONED ]
[ THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN POSTPONED ] Inventive pianist and accordionist Simone Baron leads Arco Belo. A band that employs strings and other non-traditional jazz instruments, Arco Belo also combines eastern and western influences along with folk, classical, and ethnic strains. Compositions on the group’s debut album, “The Space Between Disguises,” seamlessly flow from the […]
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JAZZ | Twin Talk
Bassist, singer, and composer Katie Ernst was bending ears even before graduating from the Eastman School of Music. Now a major player in the Chicago music scene, the triple-threat musician has joined with tenor sax player Dustin Laurenzi and drummer Andrew Green (drums) to form the trio Twin Talk. Whether tackling a standard or performing […]
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Album review: ‘Iridescence’
Matthew Snow ‘Iridescence’ Self-released facebook.com/m.snowmusic Bassists are often thought of as supporting players in jazz ensembles. And on bassist Matthew Snow’s debut album, “Iridescence,” Snow takes only one brief solo. He’s a superb musician, but the album primarily serves as a showcase for Snow’s formidable skills as a composer and arranger. While his compositions recall […]
