Michael Ullman
That’s why Wadada Leo Smith’s musical visions are so miraculous: there’s an impression of drift, yet they rarely meander.
Read MoreThe evening will be an invaluable opportunity to hear sounds, textures, and melodies created by a veteran composer/arranger.
Read MoreA gripping autobiography and beautiful new solo CD from a master jazz pianist — Fred Hersch.
Read MoreMatt Wilson’s album includes both beautifully performed musical settings and readings of Carl Sandburg poems.
Read MoreJohn Beasley and his big band doesn’t tame Monk or make him uncharacteristically pretty.
Read MoreHudson serves up varied, fresh, and exciting free jazz that imaginatively draws on rock, funky blues, and folk music.
Read MorePianist Ahmad Jamal rose to fame by doing something completely different.
Read MoreOf course, neither saxophonist sounds precisely like Coltrane: there would be no point in trying.
Read MoreThis collection demonstrates that the music of Ornette Coleman is in tune with something elemental and essential in the human spirit.
Read MoreSeveral of these discs, including the sublime Jim Hall-Red Mitchell collaboration, are unexpected pleasures.
Read More
Arts Commentary: Rich in Creativity — But Nothing Else