Michael Ullman
That’s why Wadada Leo Smith’s musical visions are so miraculous: there’s an impression of drift, yet they rarely meander.
The evening will be an invaluable opportunity to hear sounds, textures, and melodies created by a veteran composer/arranger.
A gripping autobiography and beautiful new solo CD from a master jazz pianist — Fred Hersch.
Matt Wilson’s album includes both beautifully performed musical settings and readings of Carl Sandburg poems.
John Beasley and his big band doesn’t tame Monk or make him uncharacteristically pretty.
Hudson serves up varied, fresh, and exciting free jazz that imaginatively draws on rock, funky blues, and folk music.
Pianist Ahmad Jamal rose to fame by doing something completely different.
Of course, neither saxophonist sounds precisely like Coltrane: there would be no point in trying.
This collection demonstrates that the music of Ornette Coleman is in tune with something elemental and essential in the human spirit.
Commentary: Best Jazz (and Other) Recordings of 2017
The range of recordings issued this year was remarkable, both in terms of their instrumentation and their artistic inspiration.
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