Jazz

Jazz Album Reviews: Trio Discs featuring Tyshawn Sorey and Bill Evans

July 6, 2022
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Percussionist Tryshawn Sorey has released a trio disc of standards that may very well be on my 2022 Best of the Year list and a pair of “new” releases featuring the legendary pianist Bill Evans.

Jazz Album Review: Steve Davis’s “Bluesthetic” — Swinging Oh-So Comfortably

July 5, 2022
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Trombonist Steve Davis says he never strays very far from the blues, and he proves it with this fine album.

Jazz Album Review: Drummer Tony Williams’s “Play or Die” — Electrifying Eclecticism

July 2, 2022
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Play or Die brilliantly showcases what Miles Davis heard in Tony Williams’ playing: variety of sound within a restricted framework.

Concert Review: The 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — The Blessed Return of Musical Serendipity

May 29, 2022
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We’d returned to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. We’d ridden a paddle-wheeler on the Mississippi River. It was good to be back, and why we’ll go back every chance we get: to life.

Album Review: Keb’ Mo’s “Good to Be…” — Too Contented

May 27, 2022
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At his best — and there are indeed moments of that here — Keb’ Mo’ is a genre-bender who brings new listeners to blues, folk, and smooth soul music.

Jazz Album Review: Ches Smith’s “Interpret It Well” — Confident Improvisations

May 17, 2022
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I am not sure where the track titles come from, but I am guessing the problems the band had getting together under Covid must have something to do with them.

Jazz Album Review: Manel Fortià Trio’s “Despertar” — Intelligently Lyrical

May 7, 2022
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Manel Fortià’s album of his Spanish-tinged compositions is meant to wake us up to what the bassist can do.

Theater Review: “Ain’t Misbehavin’” — The Joint is Really Jumpin’

May 4, 2022
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This sizzling production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ is one of those one-of-a kind of experiences that we all long for in the theater.

Jazz Album Review: Guitarist John Scofield — A Solo Album, Finally

May 3, 2022
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Now that he’s 70, it’s only right that guitarist John Scofield takes a victory lap with his first solo album.

Jazz Album Review: “Charles Mingus Trio” — One Kind of Masterpiece

May 2, 2022
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Even without the new takes, this Rhino reissue would be welcome: Mingus Three is to my mind one of the great trio albums.

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