The Montreal International Jazz Festival kicks off its 40th edition this week, starting June 26th, with a line-up sure to delight the most diverse of musical tastes. Often jazz festivals can be criticized for not showcasing enough jazz per se, but this year’s Montreal edition is particularly fruitful and ripe with a great selection of actual jazz artists. We’ve highlighted a … [Read more...]
Stream the Kendrick Scott Oracle’s New Single, “>>>>>>>>>Voices”
Following the release of his 2015 Blue Note debut, We Are the Drum, drummer Kendrick Scott found himself in a rut. The music he now composed and played just never felt quite good enough. His inspiration faltered and self-doubt settled in. But, as Scott now points out, “Wayne Shorter says there’s always something unfolding on the other side of the negative.” Scott reached out to … [Read more...]
Ben Wendel – ‘What We Bring’
If there's something to Ben Wendel's signature sound on the tenor saxophone, it has to be one of a circuitous nature. His style of play always seems to loop back in on itself. There's an extra bit of energy in his runs that never seems to worry about taking a few more steps on the scenic route to get to where his ideas ultimately need to go. He'll make loops to move a mere full … [Read more...]
Kendrick Scott Oracle – “We Are The Drum” (Stream)
Drummer Kendrick Scott is a modern marvel as a performer and as a composer. Every one of his releases with his band, Oracle, have been extremely impressive, and his latest, We Are The Drum continues in that same trend. The album featuring the always impressive saxophonist John Ellis, keyboardist Taylor Eigsti, guitarist Mike Moreno, and bassist Joe Sanders keeps the same … [Read more...]
Charles Lloyd’s ‘Wild Man Dance’ EPK
Charles Lloyd’s Twitter byline reads as follows, “Jazz Sax, Composer, Musical Healer”, and the tenor man is nothing short of eccentric as can be attested by the EPK to his April 14th Blue Note Records release aptly named Wild Man Dance. This will be the second Blue Note album for Lloyd over a 30 year span, the last being 1983’s A Night in Copenhagen which featured a 21 year old … [Read more...]