Michael Ullman
One doesn’t come away from a Wayne Shorter Quartet performance merely raving about individual accomplishments: the set on Sunday night never felt like just a compelling sequence of solos.
Ralph Alessi’s compositions are flexible rather than tightly organized, yet their initial statements are strong enough to dominate even the freest group improvisations that follow.
Leon Fleisher was part of an outburst of great North American pianists. Many were ill-fated, but, as this commanding box set proves, Fleisher stayed the course.
Jessie Reijonen’s eclectic and spacious approach to jazz is a deliberate attempt to investigate, not necessarily fuse, his disparate roots.
Pianist Marc Cary came to Sculler’s to play the neglected compositions of celebrated singer Abbey Lincoln.
Marian McPartland, who died on August 20 at the age of 95, was many things: a charming, gracious, and also tough-minded woman, an educator and mentor to many, an author, a business woman, and, lest we forget, a powerhouse musician.
According to Chick Corea, this recording contains first impressions of the compositions that he’ll be playing with his band on upcoming tours. It’ll be interesting to hear how these tunes and this group develops.
The late Cedar Walton was part of some of the most potent bands in the history of jazz, most famously Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
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