Desmond White Presents: Glace
If it were possible to trace the path of how the mind moves upon silence the lyrical run-up to the main event might sound...
Etienne Charles: Creole Soul
“In the world that we live in today, it’s impossible not to be a creole, it’s impossible not to have a blend of ideas, a blend of traditions and a blend of sound or shape that determines who we are. There is a little bit of a creole...
Antonio Sánchez – New Life
"In fact when Mr. Sánchez plays, there is a sense, however spectral, that he is playing notes and chords that are pulsed into quantum...
Ron Aprea Sextet: Remembering Blakey – A Tribute To Art Blakey
Most, if not all, homages to a personage would have at least one aspect of the one being honored. In the case of a...
Kevin Harris Project – Museum Vol. 1
Credit must go where it is due. Kevin Harris is a pianist who is not merely satisfied by playing a set repertoire on the...
Chico Freeman & Heiri Känzig: The Arrival
It is difficult to speak of Chico Freeman in the same terms as you would another saxophonist playing today. He has a heritage that...
Steve Turre – Woody`s Delight
Few trombone players in Steve Turre’s generation have pushed the boundaries of their instrument further than he has. Born of the blue, hard bopping...
Lisa Engelken: Little Warrior
Lisa Engelken is a fearless, versatile singer as she demonstrates once again on her new release, Little Warrior. Her song selection and interpretations reveal...
Aruán Ortiz & Michael Janisch Quintet – Banned in London
God knows, of course, how hands will be used. This is why he endowed the human body with them, especially...
Avishai Cohen Trio: From Darkness
Like Duende that came a few years before it, nothing illustrates the mastery of bassist Avishai Cohen better than From Darkness...
Joe Lovano & the Brussels Jazz Orchestra: Wild Beauty
It is just like tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano to make a beautiful recording, but also one which is also quite full of surprises. This...
Alexis Cuadrado – A Lorca Soundscape
The mighty task of transposing the great Federico García Lorca from the landscape of poetry to the soundscape of music—despite the inherent musicality of his work—is a daunting one.
Still, the New Work of the Brilliant John Funkhouser
This disciplined and wonderful pianist and bass player brings us another tremendous recording project. This is an eight-piece album where Mr. Funkhouser...
Ian Dogole – Outside the Box
Ian Dogole whose name is pronounced like this: “Eye-in Dough-gul” is one of the most fascinating percussion colorist and musician to come out of...
Kenny Garrett – Seeds from the Underground
Beware the wild swing of saxophonist Kenny Garrett. It is splendidly hypnotic and is the kind that seizes the wandering soul guiding it into...
The Debut Album of Mitch Shiner and the BloomingTones Big Band: Fly!
As soon as I played the first track on Mr. Shiner and the BloomingTones Big Band ´s debut album, I was astonished by the...
Jacques Schwarz-Bart: Jazz Racine Haïti
This album by the composer and tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart Jazz Racine Haïti is significant for several factual reasons and the core aspects...
The Miami Jazz Project: The Miami Jazz Project
Dave Liebman can convey the often hidden virility of music no matter what wind instrument he is playing. His ability to make this possible...
Thana Alexa: Ode To Heroes
There is something enchanting about the vocalastic melismas of this album that open it up to a wider circle of listeners that simply want...
Jeff Ballard Trio: Time’s Tales
Jeff Ballard has spent the equivalent of a month of Sundays casting his shadow along with bassist Larry Grenadier’s in the Brad Mehldau Trio....