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Year of the Snake
This review appears in the October 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Fly Year of the Snake (ECM) By David R. Adler From its eponymous Savoy debut in 2004 to its ECM breakthrough Sky & Country in 2009, the collaborative trio Fly has never lacked for spontaneity, compositional depth and fully rounded musicianship. But with Year
Six Picks: October 2012
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in The New York City Jazz Record, October 2012: Josh Berman and His Gang, There Now (Delmark) Raynald Colom, Rise (harmonia mundi/Jazz Village) Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut (Yellow Sound) Roman Filiu, Musae (Dafnison Music) Michael Formanek Quartet, Small Places (ECM) Sean Wayland, Click Track Jazz (Seed Music)
On Luis Perdomo
This review appears in the September 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Luis Perdomo Universal Mind (RKM) By David R. Adler On Universal Mind, his fourth outing as a leader, pianist Luis Perdomo embraces a hard-swinging piano trio aesthetic, mixing it up with bassist Drew Gress and Jack DeJohnette. It’s a logical move: his 2006 disc
Six Picks: September 2012
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in The New York City Jazz Record, September 2012: Riccardo Fassi, Sitting in a Song (Alice) Jürgen Friedrich, Monosuite for String Orchestra and Improvisers (Pirouet) Fred Hersch Trio, Alive at the Vanguard (Palmetto) François Houle 5 + 1, Genera (Songlines) Hafez Modirzadeh, Post-Chromodal Out! (Pi) Arturo O’Farrill, The Noguchi Sessions (Zoho)
When Harry Met Hugo
Harry Belafonte — a man who’s given us great music, a man who put himself on the line during the civil rights era — is one of a number of celebrities to have spent the last several years shilling for the ruthless Venezuelan autocrat Hugo Chavez. Supporters of Chavez often argue indignantly that the man is no dictator, that he
On Isaac Darche
This review appears in the August 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Isaac Darche Boom-Bap!tism (BJU) By David R. Adler Guitarist Isaac Darche’s sophomore effort, the follow-up to his 2010 debut One More Shot, is a concise and compelling organ trio set with Sean Wayland on Hammond B-3 and Mark Ferber on drums. It’s steeped in
On Orrin Evans
This review appears in the August 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Orrin Evans Flip the Script (Posi-Tone) By David R. Adler Pianist Orrin Evans is on a hot streak. For evidence look to his recent Posi-Tone releases Freedom, Faith In Action and Captain Black Big Band, not to mention his sideman turn with Ralph Bowen
New York @ Night: August 2012
From the August 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Just when you’re expecting an hour of solo electric guitar at Bar 4 (July 2), leave it to Mike Gamble to get behind a drum set. The multi-talented Gamble began on guitar, however, filling the small space with a rough solid-body tone that has earned him gigs with