Michael Ullman
The music comes out of an extended personal crisis; the compositions found here are a testament to a musician regaining his voice.
The advantage to listening to the recorded Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite is that on disc pianist Jason Yeager writes beautifully for septet: the textures he evokes in his arrangements are curiously varied and invariably moving.
Vince Guaraldi isn’t the heaviest of jazz pianists: he played at a time when McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans were omnipresent. But his tunes, his gently humanist approach to music, meant that he reached listeners that others couldn’t or didn’t.
Given Keith Jarrett’s current disability, this new ECM recording is an unexpected gift to his fans.
The sound of both musicians is indelible: trumpeter Enrico Rava is warm and rounded; pianist Fred Hersch, often icy, is fetching and detailed.
Four! is one of Hampton Hawes’ most satisfying sessions, for the variety of the repertoire and the quality of the performances.
Trombonist Steve Davis says he never strays very far from the blues, and he proves it with this fine album.
Play or Die brilliantly showcases what Miles Davis heard in Tony Williams’ playing: variety of sound within a restricted framework.
Even without the new takes, this Rhino reissue would be welcome: Mingus Three is to my mind one of the great trio albums.
Live in Paris: The Radio France Recordings 1983-1984 is an example of solid, appealing late Chet Baker, doing what he did best with standards and the occasional original.
Recent Comments