Music
On FLY
My feature on FLY (Jeff Ballard/Mark Turner/Larry Grenadier) is in the current Time Out New York. FLY plays the Jazz Standard April 9-12. I am forced to point out that the following grammatical error: “A reluctant leader, his four-album stint on Warner Bros ended in 2001, …” is not mine.
On Claudia Acuña
This review appears in the April 2009 issue of All About Jazz-New York. — Claudia AcuñaEn Este Momento (Marsalis Music) David R. Adler It’s been roughly five years since Chilean vocalist Claudia Acuña gave us Luna (MaxJazz), a brilliantly conceived meeting of minds with pianist/co-producer/co-composer Jason Lindner, her strong ally coming up in the Smalls scene of the 1990s. In
On Branford Marsalis/Blue Note 7
Philadelphia Weekly is still figuring out why the live music previews aren’t appearing online, so I’ll continue to post mine here… Branford Marsalis QuartetSun., Apr. 5, 7pm. $20-$55. Zellerbach Theater, 3680 Walnut St. 215.898.3900 www.pennpresents.org No doubt, the long-ago Sting sideman, former Tonight Show bandleader and guest food-taster on Top Chef is a celebrity. But undiluted jazz is the saxophonist’s
Six Picks: April 2009
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, April 2009: Michael Blake & Kresten Osgood, Control This (Clean Feed) Seamus Blake Quartet, Live in Italy (Jazz eyes) Fareed Haque & The Flat Earth Ensemble, Flat Planet (Owl Studios) Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, Muse (Creative Nation) Ben Wendel, Simple Song (Sunnyside) Michael Wolff, Joe’s Strut (Wrong)
Jules at 21
The first time I heard guitarist Julian Lage, he was playing a duet with his mentor, the great Gary Burton, at the 2004 Newport Jazz Festival. Pretty good for 16. I assumed he was some European prodigy. Only later did I learn that this was the kid from “Jules at Eight,” a 1996 documentary that focused on Julian’s music studies
On Jamie Baum & Tomasz Stanko
My preview of the Jamie Baum/Tomasz Stanko double bill (Merkin Hall, Sat. April 4), in the current Time Out New York.
On Erik Friedlander
The new Philadelphia Weekly website is buggy, and for some reason the music previews didn’t make it online this week. So I’m posting mine here. Broken Arm TrioThu., Mar. 26, 8pm. $12. Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St. 215.545.4302 www.arsnovaworkshop.com Erik Friedlander’s 2007 solo disc Block Ice & Propane — and ravishing unaccompanied set at International House last year
Live standouts
Having just published a feature on the Bad Plus, I wanted to add a word about pianist Ethan Iverson’s wonderful trio gig at Smalls, with Ben Street on bass and the great Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums (Philly in the house). It was great to hear Ethan play straight bebop — “Hot House,” “Now’s the Time,” “A Night In Tunisia”