Steve Swallow
This is an intelligent, inventively performed, be-boppish tribute to a composer I now know better than ever.
Country for Old Men is surely going to stand as one of the best, as well as among the most unusual, recordings of the year.
With their expert handling of powerfully understated compositions, this trio’s performances insinuate themselves into your mind and age there like fine wine.
In moments like these, the band Riverside captures the Jimmy Giuffre ideals of sonority and counterpoint — where even the drums act as another complementary linear voice.
But on to the bliss of the first half, and I don’t use the word “bliss” lightly. In every respect, John Scofield, Steve Swallow, and Bill Stewart are one of the most cohesive units in jazz, and their hour together was superb. By Steve Elman. John Scofield was the headliner last night, but it seems…
Jazz Appreciation/Album Review — Carla Bley, 84 and Counting
Carla Bley’s last three CDs are not a casual sequence, and hearing all of them together, as I did recently, provides a refreshing reminder of her greatness.
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