The smallish Friend Recital Hall was an ideal setting for pianist Laszlo Gardony to impose his engaging personality, as well as his musical versatility and power.
Jazz Album Review: Jussi Reijonen’s “Three Seconds/ Kolme Toista” — “One Hell of a Journey”
The music comes out of an extended personal crisis; the compositions found here are a testament to a musician regaining his voice.
Jazz Album Review: Pianist Jason Yeager’s “Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite” — So It Goes
The advantage to listening to the recorded Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite is that on disc pianist Jason Yeager writes beautifully for septet: the textures he evokes in his arrangements are curiously varied and invariably moving.
Jazz Album Review: The Vince Guaraldi Trio — “Peanuts” and Beyond
Vince Guaraldi isn’t the heaviest of jazz pianists: he played at a time when McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans were omnipresent. But his tunes, his gently humanist approach to music, meant that he reached listeners that others couldn’t or didn’t.
Jazz Album Review: Keith Jarrett’s “Bordeaux Concert” — A Varied Masterpiece
Given Keith Jarrett’s current disability, this new ECM recording is an unexpected gift to his fans.
Jazz Album Review: Enrico Rava and Fred Hersch’s Winning “The Song Is You” — Suffused With Tact and Grace
The sound of both musicians is indelible: trumpeter Enrico Rava is warm and rounded; pianist Fred Hersch, often icy, is fetching and detailed.
Jazz Album Review: “Hampton Hawes Four!” — Evidence of a Remarkable Talent
Four! is one of Hampton Hawes’ most satisfying sessions, for the variety of the repertoire and the quality of the performances.
Jazz Album Review: Steve Davis’s “Bluesthetic” — Swinging Oh-So Comfortably
Trombonist Steve Davis says he never strays very far from the blues, and he proves it with this fine album.
Jazz Album Review: Drummer Tony Williams’s “Play or Die” — Electrifying Eclecticism
Play or Die brilliantly showcases what Miles Davis heard in Tony Williams’ playing: variety of sound within a restricted framework.
Jazz Album Review: “Charles Mingus Trio” — One Kind of Masterpiece
Even without the new takes, this Rhino reissue would be welcome: Mingus Three is to my mind one of the great trio albums.