Jazz
The week on disc (59)
In case you missed the last one… Eric Alexander, Revival of the Fittest (HighNote) Simon Fisk Trio, Unless (Plunge) Dana Hall, Into the Light (Origin) Komeda Project, Requiem (WM) Phoenix Ensemble with Mark Lieb, Clarinet Quintets: Morton Feldman, Milton Babbitt (Innova) In the Country, Whiteout (Rune Grammofon)
Top shows 2009
This list is somewhat skewed, given the degree to which new fatherhood slowed my gig attendance in 2009. Nonetheless, I managed to attend roughly 120 shows. Here are my top 30. 1. David Sanchez with Lage Lund, Orlando Le Fleming, Henry Cole Village Vanguard, March 20 2. Peter Bernstein solo guitar Smalls, July 15 3. John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble Painted
Top 25 of 2009, plus
My list of faves for 2009, now up at the Jazz Journalists Association website. I realize there are overlaps in the supplemental categories (a debut disc might also be a large ensemble disc and vice versa, for instance). But listing them this way seemed to make the most sense. Also bear in mind that I have about 100 more CDs
On Dan Aran
The following review appears in the December 2009 issue of All About Jazz-New York. — Dan AranBreathing (Smalls Records) By David R. Adler Dan Aran’s Breathing arrived with a short, dour note from Luke Kaven, head of Smalls Records, on the shaky future of indie-label jazz. That’s not news, and yet Breathing underscores the stakes involved for artists whose work
On Miguel Zenón
The following review appears in the December 2009 issue of All About Jazz-New York. [Update: I’m going to do my best to offer end-of-decade reflections here in the near future, but meanwhile let me note that young jazz artists of Latin descent — such as Zenón, Dafnis Prieto, David Sanchez, Edward Simon, Yosvany Terry, Claudia Acuña, John Benitez, Francisco Mela
Six Picks: December 2009
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, December 2009: Circulasione Totale Orchestra, Bandwidth (Rune Grammofon) Dave Douglas, A Single Sky (Greenleaf) Mika Pohjola, Great Tunes By My Friends (Blue Music Group) Manuel Valera, Currents (MaxJazz) Nelson Veras, Solo Session Vol. 1 (BEE Jazz) Myron Walden, Momentum (Demi Sound)
A dead art?
“We seem to be on the edge of a paradigm shift.” Oh my, that sounds important. Let’s read on and see what downtown composer and pretentious blowhard Glenn Branca has to say. “Orchestras are struggling to stay alive, rock has been relegated to the underground, jazz has stopped evolving and become a dead art…” Ok, let’s stop there, because Branca,
On Eskelin-Deutsch-Miller
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: Ellery Eskelin-Erik Deutsch-Allison MillerSun., Nov. 29, 8pm. $12. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215-895-6546 www.arsnovaworkshop.org Along with his husky, exploratory tenor saxophone voice, Ellery Eskelin has displayed a flair for intriguing trio concepts on discs such as Forms and Arcanum Moderne. This new unit features Erik Deutsch, an emerging keyboardist (Charlie Hunter, Madlove) who’s making