Even early in his jazz career, Brian Landrus is redefining the role of lower reed sonority with an open mind, uncommon versatility, compositional imagination and technical prowess. The traditional approach has been for mostly baritone saxophone players (with assorted bass sax players like Scott Robinson and bassoon players like Michael …
JD Walter is one of those jazz singers who seems to be recognized more within the jazz performance community than among the jazz listening public. That status deserves to be changed. While attempts to describe Walter’s singing style compare it to others singers’, in the end, Walter is unique with …
Fortunately for us, Patricia Barber has recorded again, now for the first time on the Concord label after being without a recording contract. Producer Nick Phillips’s pursuit of signing Barber succeeded, and she thus receives the promotion and distribution she deserves as she continues to gain recognition as one of …
Recently, I thought I would reacquaint myself with the music of Paul Desmond, and I started playing for my pleasure some of his albums with Gerry Mulligan, Ron Carter, Jim Hall, and of course Connie Kay and Gene Wright. Not just Desmond’s cool and sweetness of tone, but also his …
Even though Dave Liebman has earned a deserved reputation as an original jazz voice—to the extent of winning major awards, including the first of his generation to win the NEA Jazz Masters Award—he remembers his first experiences with music. However, earning a living and living up to performance commitments got …
What more comfortable venue exists for a jazz musician than his or her home? Yet how often does a recording happen there? Some musicians like Chick Corea or Tony Monaco have recording studios in their own homes, but most others are less fortunate. Imagine being a fly on the wall …
A virtual orchestral duo, Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway brought their consummate musicianship, the cumulative result of approximately one hundred years of combined experience, to raise funds for disabled children in 2012 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Why describe the concert as “orchestral,” besides the fact that Daniels …
There are numerous labors of love involving jazz recordings because of participants’ passionate devotion to the music. The Magic of 2 is one of those. Isn’t it interesting how just a few moments of magic remain unforgettable even decades later? Todd Barkan, who heard many of those bright moments at …
Christian Howes is, and has always been, not just a jazz violinist, but also a jazz innovator who searches for inventive means of expression as he expands the potential for his instrument. Because that’s the nature of his intellect and his personality, Howes would be exploring new musical pathways even …
Sherri Roberts too has decided that she wants to present her voice accompanied solely by piano. Not only does this opportunity provide her with the freedom to delve into the songs she favors as deeply and at such lengths as she desires. It also allows her bravely to present herself …
By Bill Donaldson Several traits about Jackie Ryan are true. She always works with top-shelf jazz musicians, no matter where she records. She has wide-ranging musical intelligence and curiosity, and thus her choices for her albums remain unpredictable and delectable. She has mastered voice control so that she can extend …
