Jazz

Book Review: “Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong” — The King of All Kings

September 30, 2020
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He may be extreme as a polemicist, but Ricky Riccardi shines when he sticks to jazz’s history. 

Jazz Concert Review: The Lloyd-Hussain-Lage Trio — Live from Healdsburg

September 30, 2020
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Charles Lloyd and Julian Lage and Zakir Hussain served a loose, flowing 65-minute set with complementary facility that belied the novel circumstances.

Jazz Remembrance: Ira Sullivan

September 26, 2020
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In no way was the recognition that Ira Sullivan received commensurate with his skill.

Jazz Album Review: “Monk: Palo Alto” — An Unlikely but Welcome Discovery

September 25, 2020
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This 1969 concert by the Thelonious Monk Quartet was produced by a high school student and recorded by his school’s janitor. It presents this particular group at its optimistic best.

Jazz Album Reviews: Mesmerized By Vinyl — Newvelle, Louis Armstrong, and Stan Getz

September 24, 2020
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Playing vinyl involves holding something in your hand, putting a needle down and, at least on my high end system, listening to sound quality that can mesmerize.

Jazz Remembrance: The Lasting, Complex Legacy of John Coltrane

September 23, 2020
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Of all the musicians who were harbingers of change, none has had the long-term influence on young musicians that John Coltrane has had.

Jazz Album Review: “Artemis” — Inter-generational Jazz That Expands the Tradition

September 23, 2020
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This is state-of-the art modern jazz, alternately hard swinging, contemplative, commercial, and abstract.

Jazz Album Review: Christian McBride’s “For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver” — A Mighty Cheery Big Band

September 22, 2020
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Inspired by their leader, bassist Christian McBride, the musicians in this big band always sound like they are having the times of their lives.

Jazz Album Review: Butcher Brown’s “#KingButch” — Beautifully Blurring Retro and Progressive

September 21, 2020
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“Best band in the world”? Butcher Brown spends the next 40 minutes or so living up to its boast, as song after song heads off into a different direction without a stumble or misfire.

Arts Remembrance: Critic Stanley Crouch — Jazz as a Metaphor for Democracy

September 21, 2020
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“I’m trying to get people to be at ease with the incredible amount of variety in the United States.”

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