Jazz
Pianist Noah Haidu’s impeccably performed and recorded “Standards II” is a winner.
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This is a blemished set that I, a Johnny Griffin enthusiast, am glad to have.
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Moppa Elliott is an important jazz composer and a dynamic leader. When he brings a group to our area (which happens only rarely), do not miss the gig. When he issues a new recording, pay attention.
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Moppa Elliott makes eminently approachable music at a very high standard, with great ingenuity and sophistication. He has proven himself to be one of the most inventive and creative composers for small jazz ensemble since Charles Mingus.
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Guitarist Julian Lage wants his music to have a certain paradoxical lightness: to be “reckless and durable” at the same time.
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“Big George” is polished, tonally elegant, and beautifully recorded
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Here’s a trio of organ trios from a new generation of players indebted, but not chained, to the classic jazz format and style that has been dominant since Jimmy Smith in the ’60s.
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The dynamics of this splendid trio album, “a response to the division and turmoil in our world,” are gracefully balanced.
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Throughout this superb live album, percussionist Gustavo Cortiñas allows his fellow band members an enormous amount of space, and that is welcome because of their high level of musicianship.
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Book Review: “3 Shades of Blue” — Transcendent Art, Despite Personal Demons
“3 Shades of Blue” is at its most compelling seen as an extended essay about drugs, creativity, the jazz life, and the mysterious nature of musical genius.
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