Entries from November 2017
Ahmad Jamal: Marseille
Four years between studio albums is a long gap by Ahmad Jamal’s standards. Not that the 87-year-old pianist has been idle since the widely acclaimed Saturday Morning (Jazz Village, 2013). He’s released two live albums in that time–Live at The Olympia (Jazz Village, 2014) featuring {{m: Yusef Lateef..
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·King Cardinal: Great Lakes
It’s going to take more than one album to restore some legitimacy to the glib categorization of ‘Americana,” but with Great Lakes, King Cardinal at least paves the way for that movement. And does so without succumbing to self-conscious gestures of authenticity either.Which isn’t to say it’s wholly o…
Date: No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews
·Say Bok Gwai: Trio / Chinese Jesus
If you ever wondered what an angst-ridden, scaled back version of Sonic Youth would sound like if the musicians were overdosing on energy drinks, then the core duo of Say Bok Gwai may represent that notion rather mightily, and then some. Based in San Francisco, the unit is billed as a Chinese Americ… [ read more ]
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·Grayson Capps: Scarlett Roses
It makes perfect sense for Grayson Capps’ Scarlett Roses to conclude with a cut called “Moving On” (and for a lyric sheet to be included). The music on this album sounds like it comes from a place just beyond the world as most of us know it. Like the appropriately designated title song, the material…
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·Chris McDonald: A Big (Band) Swinging Christmas!
A Big (Band) Swinging Christmas! is at least the tenth holiday album recorded by the peerless arranger m: Chris McDonald ‘s impressive Jazz Orchestra–but the first one whose title has been amplified by an exclamation mark. Could it be that this one is extra-special? That’s hard to say, a… [ read more ]
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·The NJE: Afloat
When a jazz act takes on m: Jimi Hendrix , you know they do not lack for confidence. Are they experienced? They certainly are, for The NJE (Near Jazz Experience) is led by saxophonist m: Terry Edwards , whose many credits include Keziah Jones, m: Tom Waits and P J H..
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·Kristo Rodzevski: Bitter Almonds
On his sophomore release, titled Bitter Almonds, singer and songwriter Krste Rodzevski shows his full embrace of the ethereal and the noisy, of the melodic and the dissonant, and delivers a moody but kaleidoscopic release. In many ways, “Bitter Almonds” feels like an extension or a branch of the hyp… [ read more ]
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