Three recordings that testify to the chameleonic power of the (usually) avant-garde pianist Matthew Shipp.
Jazz Album Review: Keith Jarrett’s “Budapest Concert” — Crystalline Endgame
My guess is that Keith Jarrett probably wasn’t satisfied with this performance. I wouldn’t change a note, a gesture, or a shading.
Book Review: “Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong” — The King of All Kings
He may be extreme as a polemicist, but Ricky Riccardi shines when he sticks to jazz’s history.
Jazz Album Review: “Monk: Palo Alto” — An Unlikely but Welcome Discovery
This 1969 concert by the Thelonious Monk Quartet was produced by a high school student and recorded by his school’s janitor. It presents this particular group at its optimistic best.
Jazz Album Reviews: Mesmerized By Vinyl — Newvelle, Louis Armstrong, and Stan Getz
Playing vinyl involves holding something in your hand, putting a needle down and, at least on my high end system, listening to sound quality that can mesmerize.
Jazz Album Review: Ken Field’s “Iridescence” — Some Enchanted Strangers
Iridescence is a masterful set, with none of the tentative feeling …he bipped when he should have bopped …that sometimes afflicts free jazz outings.
Jazz Album Review: Quinsin Nachoff’s “Pivotal Arc” — Rhythmic Vitality Galore
This is demanding contemporary music that succeeds at the trick of pulling you in — and makes you glad to be there.
Jazz Album Review: Dave Pietro’s “Hypersphere” — Complexity, Made Clear
Dave Pietro is a fine, distinctive composer, an agile, precise saxophonist, and a band leader to be trusted.
Album Review: Deerhoof and Wadada Leo Smith — Electrical Soul Music
That this assemblage works so well is a tribute to the big ears and hearts — and collective intelligence — of all the players here.
Jazz EP Review: Esperanza Spalding and Fred Hersch: Live at the Village Vanguard — A Divine Duo
Yes, purchasing this EP will help out a good cause, but the musical value of this fabulous duo’s performance is priceless.