Ari Erev “Flow” Self-released arierev.com Anyone who has paid attention to the jazz scene over the past several decades knows that the great American art form has spread around the world, and not just in terms of listening. Israel has an active jazz scene as evidenced by all of the excellent players who make their […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Trade Winds: Cuba”
Matt Geraghty Project “Trade Winds: Cuba” Self-released mattgeraghty.com Bassist Matt Geraghty takes the concept of world music literally. Over his career, he has traveled to four continents, exploring the music of diverse cultures in his recordings. For his latest CD, “Trade Winds: Cuba,” he traveled to Cuba and spent 21 days recording 21 improvisations with […]
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Laura Dubin
Laura Dubin began taking piano lessons from her mom, a classical pianist, while she was growing up in Brighton. But there was another pianist in the family, her uncle, David, who visited from California. “He played a little jazz and showed me how to improvise,” says Dubin, who was 7 at the time. “He played […]
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John Abercrombie
Fusion music didn’t exist when guitarist John Abercrombie plied his craft at a Boston supper club in the late 1960’s.
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Catharsis”
Jon Greeno “Catharsis” Self-released jongreeno.bandcamp.com Rochester guitarist Jon Greeno has assembled an all-star cast for this gentle foray into peace and reflection on his new CD, “Catharsis.” Greeno lays back to let the collective star power shine before picking up the brush to paint wide swatches of tonally astute guitar. Greeno’s dexterity is slick and […]
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Playing outside the box
A little over a decade ago, Charlie Lindner was making a good living at Hasbro, the toy company in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He was applying the knowledge from his college degree in Packaging Science, making the containers for G.I. Joes and Nerf Balls more cost-efficient. Lindner studied the subject at Rochester Institute of Technology, working […]
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Gigantosaurus Rex stomps into the world
Giganotosaurus Rex was a big f***ing creature that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. It’s also the name of a three-piece band that currently roams the Rochester Earth. Gigantosaurus Rex (the band; notice the missing “o”) is angular, obtuse, and dynamic. The diamond-cutter precision this band plays with is made more amazing when you […]
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Doc Severinsen keeps busy at 88
When he was 7 years old, Carl Severinsen asked his dad for a musical instrument. His father, a violin-playing frontier dentist (hence Carl’s nickname, “Little Doc”), wanted his son to play fiddle. But Carl insisted on a trombone. Just one problem: there were no trombones in Arlington, Oregon’s small-town music store, so they settled on […]
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The Sun Ra Arkestra carries on the musician’s legacy
Back in the early 1970’s, the school I attended, Philadelphia College of Art, was in the throes of hippie days. But there was a tradition to honor, a Spring Formal at the august Philadelphia Museum of Art. A dance has to have a band, so PCA made the obvious choice: Philly’s premier avant-garde ensemble, the […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Love is a Pendulum”
Joe Locke “Love is a Pendulum” Motéma Music joelocke.com When I heard that hard-driving vibraphonist Joe Locke’s new album, “Love is a Pendulum,” was based on a poem of the same name by Barbara Sfraga, I was a bit skeptical. Then I read the poem. It’s a beautiful work, dealing with the elusiveness of love, […]
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Sean Jones
When trumpeter Sean Jones begins his residency at Penfield High School, students of all ages will encounter not only a first-call jazz musician, but also a first class educator. Jones, whose visit culminates with performances involving a variety of school ensembles in concerts on Friday and Saturday, has thought a lot about how to teach […]
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Frank reviews perCepTION
So there I was, nursing the blood of the bean from a ceramic chalice, watching the nubile cavalcade’s ebb and flow at Java’s on Gibbs Street, when what to my wondering eyes appeared but perCepTION on stage kicking out the jams in hiiiiigh gear. This outfit was tres cool with lots of exploratory spirit that […]
