Music
The week on disc (88)
In case you missed the last one… Plunge, Tin Fish Tango (Immersion) MSG (Mahanthappa/Sardjoe/Guilfoyle), Tasty! (Plus Loin) Vijay Iyer with Prasanna & Nitin Mitta, Tirtha (ACT) Omar Sosa, Calma (Otá) Orrin Evans, Captain Black Big Band (Posi-Tone) Fred Hersch, Alone at the Vanguard (Palmetto)
On Archer Spade & Marc Cary
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Archer Spade & Drew Ceccato Thu., Mar. 17, 8pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.573.3234 www.arsnovaworkshop.org Having opened for guitarist Bern Nix last month, the venturesome duo Archer Spade — trombonist Daniel Blacksberg and guitarist Nick Millevoi — returns for another mission. Blacksberg is a diligent student of improvised music, holding down klezmer gigs,
Fieldwork in Philly
In the new Philadelphia Weekly: Composer Portrait: Fieldwork Fri.-Sat., Mar. 11-13, 8pm. $12 ($30 three-night pass). Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St. 215.922.1695 www.arsnovaworkshop.org Somehow the most skewed, abstract rhythms become magnetically appealing when pianist Vijay Iyer, saxophonist Steve Lehman and drummer Tyshawn Sorey gather as the experimental collective Fieldwork. In a rare three-night showcase, these formidable musicians
On Jane Ira Bloom
This review appears in the March 2011 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — Jane Ira Bloom Wingwalker (Outline) By David R. Adler The breadth and allure of Jane Ira Bloom’s music seems to grow with every release. Wingwalker, her latest, is a fine showcase of her soprano saxophone mastery but also her compositional and bandleading wiles. Part
On Gerald Cleaver
This review appears in the March 2011 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — Gerald Cleaver’s Uncle June Be It As I See It (Fresh Sound New Talent) By David R. Adler It’s scarcely an exaggeration to say that drummer Gerald Cleaver can play everything: from the down-the-middle postbop of Jeremy Pelt to the free-blowing fury of Charles
On Dave Douglas
This review appears in the March 2011 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — Dave Douglas & Keystone Spark of Being: Soundtrack/Expand/Burst (Greenleaf) By David R. Adler Something about trumpeter Dave Douglas’s electric band Keystone lends itself to film projects. The first two records, Keystone (2006) and Moonshine (2008), took silent film icon Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle as their
On Brad Mehldau
This review appears in the March 2011 issue of The New York City Jazz Record (formerly All About Jazz-New York). — Brad Mehldau Live in Marciac (Nonesuch) By David R. Adler Brad Mehldau’s 2010 release Highway Rider, a sweeping orchestral double-album, was muddled in some respects, but one thing was clear: It was hardly intended as a bravura piano showcase.
Six Picks: March 2011
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in The New York City Jazz Record (formerly All About Jazz-New York), March 2011: David Cook, Pathway (BJU) Carlo De Rosa’s Cross-Fade, Brain Dance (Cuneiform) David Liebman Trio, Lieb Plays the Blues A La Trane (Challenge) Joe Lovano, Bird Songs (Blue Note) Daniel Peterson’s Truth & Consequence, October (ind.) Eric Reed, The Dancing