Lionel Loueke: Gaia (Blue Note) Review by John Stevenson With Gaia, Beninois guitarist Lionel Loueke follows up on his well-received Blue Note CDs, Karibou and Mwaliko. Accompanied by long-time bandmates Massimo Biolcati (bass) and Ferenc Nemeth (drums), Gaia is a Don Was production recorded live in the studio with an …
Stefano Bollani: arrivano gli alieni (Decca/Universal) Review by John Stevenson Stefano Bollani is a virtuoso jazz pianist and singer from Milan with a mischievous sense of humour. This eclectic program of originals, popular Italian tunes, jazz standards, folk songs and a Brazilian pop anthem, provide evidence of a truly variegated …
Rayford Griffin: Reflections of Brownie (RazorEdge) Review by John Stevenson Ace drummer and Clifford Brown’s nephew, Rayford Griffin, imaginatively updates a brace of selections associated with the legendary trumpeter. The funk and smooth jazz inflected arrangements are abundantly tasteful and chock full of infectious grooves. ‘Daahoud’ comes in on the …
Samuel Torres Group: Forced Displacement (Zoho) Review by John Stevenson With unprecedented levels of forced migration and internal displacement due to natural disasters and civil wars around the world, the Columbian master percussionist’s CD comes as a welcome and timely musical commentary. Commissioned by the Chamber Music America in 2012, …
Aaron Diehl: Space Time Continuum (Mack Avenue) Review by John Stevenson Like his contemporaries, Gerald Clayton and Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Diehl represents a younger generation of jazz pianists whose playing style shows a healthy respect for tradition. With Diehl, Ellingtonian elegance is twinned with the compositional clarity and economy of …
By John Stevenson The double bassist Coleridge Goode, who has died aged 100, distinguished himself on the British jazz scene for more than 60 years, playing with some of the most innovative musicians of the postwar period. Thanks to his finesse and sophistication, not to mention his technical gifts and …
Ellen Johnson: Form and Formless (Vocal Visions) Review by John Stevenson Vocalist Ellen Johnson is accompanied by guitarists Larry Koonse and John Stowell and trumpeter Nolan Shaheed on ten tunes associated with jazz giants John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. The tunes are very carefully selected and …
Bob Brookmeyer Quartet: The Blues Hot and Cold + 7 X Wilder (Phoenix) Review by John Stevenson Long considered one of the first to champion the valve trombone in jazz, Bob Brookmeyer distinguished himself in jazz groups in the ‘cool school’ alongside Stan Getz, Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan. This …
‘Brooklyn Dreaming’ Is Bell’s 9th Album Renditions of Classics By Monk, Mingus and Earle Hagen Quartet Includes Pianist Tamir Hendelman, Bassist Katie Thiroux & Drummer Matt Witek San Diego, CA: On January 15, 2016, virtuoso flutist, and world-renown composer, Lori Bell will release Brooklyn Dreaming, an homage to her familial roots with an …
Sonny Clark: The Art of the Trio (Phono) Review by John Stevenson This 2-CD set will be a boon for fans of a gentleman who barely managed to etch his place in the pantheon of hard-bop pianists. Dying in 1963 at 31, Clark was without doubt the quintessential jazz pianist’s …
“Blessings describes how I feel about the great music that came before,” says Hart. While he is mindful of the jazz tradition, he knows no confines. “Great music also comes from Stax and Motown, Jeff Beck, Queen, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson.” “Blessings” and “standards” do not stand …
History has produced its share of great artists and great people – John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was both. As a performer, he left behind an incredible record of innovation and inspiration; as a composer, a broad repository of musical masterpieces; and as a man, a legion of friends, colleagues, and …
