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Six Picks: February 2011
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, February 2011: Jane Ira Bloom, Wingwalker (Outline) Joel Harrison, String Choir (Sunnyside) Jonathan Kreisberg, Shadowless (New For Now) Frank Portolese, Plectrum Jazz Guitar Solos (ind.) Noah Preminger, Before the Rain (Palmetto) Ben Wolfe Quintet, Live at Smalls (Smalls Live)
Randy Sandke’s book and its critics (including me)
There’s been some heated discussion since Howard Mandel published his thumbs-down review of Where the Dark and the Light Folks Meet: Race and the Mythology, Politics, and Business of Jazz by Randy Sandke. I’ve remained mum, largely because I edited the review. It appeared in December in JJA News. Sandke is a talented trumpeter and composer as well as an
On Dan Peterson
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Daniel Peterson’s Truth & Consequence Octet Thu., Jan. 27, 7pm. Free. Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St. 215.320.2600 www.smsmusic.org Saxophonist/multireedist Daniel Peterson, a 2004 Temple graduate, co-curates the monthly Avant Ascension series at Tritone, and he’s honed his voice in a number of the city’s finer ensembles: Bobby Zankel’s Warriors, Odean Pope’s Saxophone Choir and
On Tom Moon
My feature on Tom Moon, former Philadelphia Inquirer music critic turned saxophonist and recording artist, in today’s … Inquirer.
Viva Palestina’s bigotry
Much attention is focused on Tony Blair as he testifies before the Iraq Inquiry, but I want to say a quick word about Blair’s sister-in-law, Lauren Booth. A recent convert to Islam, Booth is someone whose politics, like George Galloway’s and Cynthia McKinney’s and Gilad Atzmon’s, can only be properly described as far-right — although all these individuals and their
On Jemeel Moondoc
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Jemeel Moondoc Trio Thu., Jan. 20, 8pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.573.3234 www.arsnovaworkshop.org Many fine if unheralded careers were made during the loft jazz era in New York, spanning the ’70s to the mid-’80s. Jemeel Moondoc, one of the era’s key alto saxophonists, led the seminal group Muntu and continues to expound his
The week on disc (85)
In case you missed the last one… David Binney, Graylen Epicenter (Mythology) Joe Hertenstein/Pascal Niggenkemper/Thomas Heberer, HNH (Clean Feed) Jeremy Pelt, The Talented Mr. Pelt (HighNote) Bill O’Connell, Rhapsody in Blue (Challenge) Matt Bauder, Day In Pictures (Clean Feed) Alex Vittum, Prism: Solo Works for Electro-Acoustic Percussion (Prefecture)
On Mike Boone/Alex Claffy
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Mike Boone & Friends/Alex Claffy Trio Fri., Jan. 14, 9pm. $10. Moonstone Arts Center, 110 S. 13th St. 215.735.9600 www.moonstoneartscenter.org The Philly jazz scene is reeling from the death of piano great Sid Simmons, not to mention the shuttering of his regular haunt Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus. But bassist and longtime Simmons compatriot Mike Boone is keeping