To my ears, the pieces in Entendre are fascinating, if not particularly funky.
Jazz Album Review: “Garden of Expression” — Virtuosic Meditations
It’s easy to single out each of these musicians, but listeners will hear the three as nearly one, which is surely what this trinity intended.
Jazz Album Review: “El Arte del Bolero” — Passionate Homage to the Era of the Bolero
So Miguel Zenón, who on saxophone has the facility of a bebopper, which he uses discreetly, is here a singer as well as an instrumentalist.
Jazz Album Reviews: Ellis Marsalis and Monty Alexander — Lovers of Vinyl Rejoice
This set proves Monty Alexander a more varied pianist than one might have thought. The Ellis Marsalis album is a final gift from one of America’s treasures.
Jazz Album Reviews: Matthew Shipp — A Splendidly Many-Sided Pianist
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.