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Entries from October 2012

Manu Katche: Manu Katche

Since joining ECM for Neighbourhood (2005), Manu KatchA(C) has carved out a very specific niche for himself at a label whose purview continues to broaden–with this French-Ivorian drummer, perhaps surprisingly so. Contemporary? Yes, KatchA(C) has fashioned a nearly four-decade career as a superb groove-meister, whether in the rock world with artists Sting or Peter Gabriel, or with more decidedly jazz-centric artists like saxophonist m: Jan Garbarek , on Dresden (ECM, 2009), or keyboardist m: Herbie Hancock , on his (admittedly more pop-oriented) The Imagine Project (Herbie Hancock Music, 2010). But with his now four ECM recordings defined by accessible grooves and singable melodies, they’re still absolutely players’ recordings, and certainly nowhere near “smooth jazz” sphere to which some folks attribute them…

Date: Oct 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

The Royal Air Force Squadronaires And Todd Gordon: Helping The Heroes

Helping The Heroes, from singer Todd Gordon and the Royal Air Force Squadronaires, has the authentic, swinging, sound of a great big band. The guest singers showcase the range of vocal talent on the UK scene, and the album has its heart fairly and squarely in the right place, too, having been recorded in support of Help For Heroes, a charity which provides support for wounded UK Armed Services personnel and their families…

Date: Oct 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Markus Burger / Joe LaBarbera / Bob Magnusson: Accidental Tourists: The L.A. Sessions

Sometimes a definite connect exists between cover art and the music. German-born pianist Markus Burger’s Accidental Tourists: The L.A. Sessions features a glossy cover photo full of reflections and right angle geometry, a sleek car with rounded contours. The music on this trio offering has a well-crafted geometry of its own, and a bright sheen brought out by Burger’s clean, crisp touch and engagingly cerebral melodic sense, along with an exquisite feel for deep harmonies…

Date: Oct 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Alishaa€(TM)s Quartet: Along for the Ride

Alisha Pattillo’s tenor saxophone case sports an impressive variety of destination stickers, real and metaphorical, where the young artist has visited in her life. Anglo-Australian, Patillo was raised in Singapore and proceeded to woodshed throughout Southeast Asia before receiving a first-rate schooling at Australia’s Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, majoring in jazz saxophone and education preparation. So, after completing her studies in 2006, where does Pattillo finally land? Well, in Houston, Texas, of course, where she has become a snug part of the “Houston Jazz Mafia” that includes multi-instrumentalist m: Henry Darragh , singers Melissa Darragh, m: Tianna Hall , m: Jacqui Sutton and m: Danielle Reich , guitarist Paul Chester and (by extension), trumpeter m: Carol Morgan

Date: Oct 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

John Butcher: Bell Trove Spools

British saxophonist John Butcher is one of the most innovative and influential saxophonists to emerge in recent decades. Butcher introduced a new conception of the saxophone–not just a horn instrument but a resonant metallic tube in which the properties of air moving through are investigated in relation to amplification devices as a microphone positioned inside the bell; using it as a device for controlling and modifying feedback; and in relation to the unique acoustic spaces in which he plays…

Date: Oct 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Tianna Hall and the Mexico City Jazz Trio: Two for the Road

Tianna Hall’s fifth recording, Two For The Road, and her first since Never Let Me Go (Blue Bamboo, 2011), continues to document the singer’s evolution within the mainstream of jazz vocals. Thoroughly trained in the vocal arts at the University of Houston, Hall has progressively refined her smart and sexy delivery with each recording.

Date: Oct 28th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Elina Duni Quartet: Matane Malit

There was a time when jazz musicians were commonly recruited to play on pop records, because their purview was so broad that they could mold themselves into any context. Elina Duni’s music may not be jazz by conventional definition, but its improvisational spirit clearly occupies the broader “jazz state of mind” to which the Albanian-born/raised and now Swiss-resident singer refers to in the press sheet to MatanA Malit, her third release as a leader, and first for ECM…

Date: Oct 28th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews