There's a fullness in ten years. A lot of work, if rather relentlessly done, can really make a discernible impact. Ten years ago, folks were making all the talk as rather cyclically that jazz was dead. It was such an exhausting conversation. Folks were around making this music, obviously. It couldn't be that dead. The problem was in the awareness and the tweaking of the … [Read more...]
Stream the ECM Records 50th Anniversary Concert
ECM Records will be capping its 50 year anniversary celebration tonight with an epic concert live from Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Featuring a who’s who of modern jazz cognoscente including Joe Lovano, Craig Taborn, Vijay Iyer, Ravi Coltrane, Bill Frisell, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Ethan Iverson, Fabian Almazan, Dezron Douglas, Shai Maestro, Ziv Ravitz, Nasheet … [Read more...]
Jeff Ballard – ‘Fairgrounds’ (Album Review)
It's hard not to love Jeff Ballard's solo work. He's a percussionist who isn't afraid to get weird. He's probably best known for his branching out work with the Brad Mehldau Trio, but that's an acoustic group. They're a trio, one Ballard has been a part of for the last fourteen years. But the last time Ballard released an album as a leader was in 2014. Time's Tales was a … [Read more...]
Kurt Rosenwinkel – ‘Caipi’
Few things can put a smile on your face this year quite like Kurt Rosenwinkel's latest Brazilian-influenced album, Caipi, out now on Sunnyside. The man has been an inspiration to a whole generation of jazz musicians for his ambitious but amiable approach to the guitar. However Rosenwinkel has went beyond this, playing most of the instruments, singing, and arranging himself and … [Read more...]
Jochen Rueckert – ‘We Make the Rules’
There is nothing wrong with Jochen Rueckert's new album We Make The Rules. Rueckert is on the drums and is joined by a fantastic group of musicians - Mark Turner on sax, Matt Penman on bass, and Lage Lund on guitar - to round out his quartet. Rueckert has been based in New York City since 1995 and has played with many of the leading voices in jazz during that time (Kurt … [Read more...]