Jazz
Every guitarist should listen carefully to this album. And then maybe some Johnny Smith.
Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval is a big personality and in this performance he was almost as much raconteur, comedian and ringmaster as musician.
From intense solo recitals to big band rumbles, Satoko Fujii can not only be counted on for exploratory zeal — she also has the chops to pull off whatever she attempts.
Although his choice of material doesn’t always work for me, for my money, Kurt Elling is the most important jazz vocalist of the last twenty years.
One aspect of Newport I treasure is that it shows me, every time, how much I don’t know.
The author of this Sonny Rollins bio promises us “A Journey into his World of Spirituality” — and that sets high expectations.
Vocalist Allegra Levy is at her strongest when purveying certain specific moods — melancholy, playful, even lightly ironic.
Ronnie Cuber makes the high-speed acceleration sound lyrical as well as virtuosic; the band obliges with solos that come off as much more than your standard bop band running the changes.
Miguel Zenón’s extraordinary writing for strings and saxophone makes use of ever-changing textures generated out of jazz, Puerto Rican folk, and classical music.
Commentary/Interview: “The Jazz Bubble” — The Arts, Commodified
In what ways are the arts themselves (and our understanding of them) being shaped to serve the ethos of corporate profit-making?
Read More about Commentary/Interview: “The Jazz Bubble” — The Arts, Commodified