Saxophonist David Liebman will never forget January 13, 1973. That was the night he played for the first time with Miles Davis at New York’s Fillmore East. Then he took a taxi across town to join Elvin Jones’ for his second set at the Village Vanguard. Liebman was 26. “It was the heaviest night of […]
Ron Netsky
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CD REVIEW:Grant Geissman “Bop! Bang! Boom!”
Grant Geissman is having a great time making music and one listen to his new album, “Bop! Bang! Boom!,” is enough to prove that the fun is infectious. Actually, it starts even before you listen. All of the album’s artwork is by the great illustrator Miles Thompson who has perfected (or maybe invented) the “cool, […]
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CD REVIEW: Charles Mingus “The Complete Columbia & RCA Albums Collection”
Charles Mingus occupies a special place in the pantheon of true jazz visionaries. A brilliant composer capable of orchestral majesty, he never strayed far from the vernacular musical vocabulary at the root of jazz. No matter how tight the horns are, the rawness of the African American experience always comes through. The full spectrum of […]
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CD REVIEW: Brooklyn Jazz Underground “A Portrait of Brooklyn”
It’s no secret that some of the most vital artists in the contemporary jazz world can be found residing in Brooklyn. That’s why “A Portrait of Brooklyn” is an appropriate title for an excellent new album from Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records. The CD is full of great tracks showcasing the diverse writing and playing styles […]
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CD REVIEW: Manuel Valera “New Cuban Express”
There is a particularly transcendent moment at the beginning of “Upward,” the third track on Manuel Valera’s excellent new album. An urgent Latin beat is established when suddenly a swirl of notes come spiraling up out of nowhere with a wondrous sound, as if to say: Fasten your seat belts, this album is now taking […]
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Passing it down
Rich Thompson will never forget the time when trumpeter Clark Terry’s quintet visited his high school in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It was his first taste of world-class jazz and he absorbed all he could from the veteran players. “I was blown away,” says Thompson. Two decades later, he was drumming with the Count Basie Orchestra, a […]
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Passing it down
Rich Thompson will never forget the time when trumpeter Clark Terry’s quintet visited his high school in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It was his first taste of world-class jazz and he absorbed all he could from the veteran players. “I was blown away,” says Thompson. Two decades later, he was drumming with the Count Basie Orchestra, a […]
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Dispatches from the Jazz Blog, pt. 2
Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers put on a simply amazing show full of humor and instrumental dexterity. And both the laughs and musical prowess helped to give the sold-out Kodak Hall crowd at the band’s matinee on Wednesday, June 27, a crash course in bluegrass. Purists may balk — and I’m inclined to […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 9: Raul Midon, Joanne Brackeen, Arun Ghosh
While tapping guitar chords with his left hand and keeping up a steady beat on the bongos with his right, Raul Midon turned to the Kilbourn Hall audience Saturday and said, “I want you to notice there are no looping machines up here.” He didn’t need any. He picked, strummed, and slapped percussively on his […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 8: Roy Haynes, Jean-Michel Pilc, Orlando LeFleming, Ryan Truesdell
I guess there’s something positive about being in your 80s and having someone call you immature. I’m sorry, but that was my impression of legendary jazz drummer Roy Haynes at Kilbourn Hall Friday night. He joked around, tap danced twice, and seemed to be seriously trying to pick up a woman in the audience. Even […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 7: Daryl Hall & Keb’ Mo’, Bjorn Thoroddsen
The stage was set up in an unusual way for Daryl Hall and Keb’ Mo‘s appearance Thursday night at Kodak Hall. Surrounding the back and side walls of the stage was a faux-wood recreation of the music room where Hall hosts “Live From Daryl’s House.” The webcast features a wide variety of musicians who come […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 6: Eliane Elias, Kneebody, Osian Roberts, Steve Fishwick
Eliane Elias wowed the crowd at Kilbourn Hall Wednesday night in a show filled with sambas and bossa novas from her native Brazil. For decades Elias has been known as a formidable pianist; in recent years her singing has become an equally important part of her music. She sang songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim and […]
