Steve Elman
He knew what he wanted to do, he did it, and he took millions along for the ride.
Read MoreThe five compositions and one de facto suite played at the NEC Winds and Winds Ensemble performance spoke with six different voices and carried six different messages.
Read MoreIn nearly 78 minutes of intensely concentrated playing, Jane Ira Bloom’s album offers some of the greatest ballad performances I have ever heard.
Read MoreBrian Carpenter and the Ghost Train Orchestra are not about re-creating either hot jazz from the ’20s or novelty works from the ’30s and ’40s. They’re interested in capturing the spirit that they perceive to be inside these almost-forgotten pieces and using that spirit to make original new music.
Read MorePeter Pullman deplores (without bathos) the wreckage of Bud Powell’s life and mourns (without tears) the consequent loss of so much masterful music. And his story of Powell’s life is even grimmer than the one we have previously been told.
Read MoreThe Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation program is one of the best things we have in New England music, and if you’ve lived for any length of time in the Boston area without attending one of its concerts, you’ve missed an important experience.
Read MoreDave Holland’s Prism tells stories, several of which are very effective. Scofield’s, like his earlier Überjam releases, extends the jam-band esthetic into jazz without completely giving in to it. And neither of them would be as they are without the great looming shadow of Miles Davis.
Read MoreRamsey’s book on Bud Powell is both a provocative read and a disappointing one. Anyone thinking this will be an illuminating portrait of a jazz master is likely to suffer a serious case of buyer’s remorse.
Read MoreThe members of the Collective seem to have an understanding that their job is to make music that reflects a group identity as well as their individual personalities.
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Fuse Music Commentary Series: Jazz and the Piano Concerto — Setting the Margins
This post is the first of 17 in an ambitious series examining the traditions and realities of classical piano concertos influenced by jazz.
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