The music comes out of an extended personal crisis; the compositions found here are a testament to a musician regaining his voice.
Michael Ullman
Jazz Album Review: Pianist Jason Yeager’s “Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite” — So It Goes
The advantage to listening to the recorded Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite is that on disc pianist Jason Yeager writes beautifully for septet: the textures he evokes in his arrangements are curiously varied and invariably moving.
Jazz Album Review: The Vince Guaraldi Trio — “Peanuts” and Beyond
Vince Guaraldi isn’t the heaviest of jazz pianists: he played at a time when McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans were omnipresent. But his tunes, his gently humanist approach to music, meant that he reached listeners that others couldn’t or didn’t.
Jazz Album Review: Newvelle Records’ Renewal Collection — A Beautifully Compact Clarity
This collection, Newvelle Records’ first series release in two years, features original compositions by Elan Mehler, Michael Blake, Dave Liebman, and Nadje Noordhuis.
Jazz Album Review: Keith Jarrett’s “Bordeaux Concert” — A Varied Masterpiece
Given Keith Jarrett’s current disability, this new ECM recording is an unexpected gift to his fans.
Jazz Album Review: Enrico Rava and Fred Hersch’s Winning “The Song Is You” — Suffused With Tact and Grace
The sound of both musicians is indelible: trumpeter Enrico Rava is warm and rounded; pianist Fred Hersch, often icy, is fetching and detailed.
Jazz Album Review: “Hampton Hawes Four!” — Evidence of a Remarkable Talent
Four! is one of Hampton Hawes’ most satisfying sessions, for the variety of the repertoire and the quality of the performances.
Jazz Album Review: Drummer Tony Williams’s “Play or Die” — Electrifying Eclecticism
Play or Die brilliantly showcases what Miles Davis heard in Tony Williams’ playing: variety of sound within a restricted framework.
Jazz Album Review: Manel Fortià Trio’s “Despertar” — Intelligently Lyrical
Manel Fortià’s album of his Spanish-tinged compositions is meant to wake us up to what the bassist can do.
Jazz Album Review: Ornette Coleman — Very Much the “Genesis of Genius”
Ornette Coleman turned to me and said, “You know, you can never really be out of tune. You are always in tune with something.”