Music
The week on disc (6)
In case you missed the last one… Ryan Cohan, One Sky (Motema): Chicago pianist with expanded ensemble, long-form sensibility, lyrical mainstream jazz with an edge (Bob Sheppard on tenor, James Cammack of Ahmad Jamal fame on bass, etc.). Jason Kao Hwang & Sang Won Park, Local Lingo (Euonymous): Sparse, evocative work for violin and kayagum/ajeng (East Asian instruments). Jason will
Live highlights
Just a quick note on recent shows I’ve caught while not on assignment: —John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet, with Gary Versace subbing on keyboard bass for the group’s regular bassist, Drew Gress. This was in the same room Kidd Jordan played three nights later. Great post on the Claudia by Darcy here. —Ensemble Noamnesia, led by bass clarinetist Gene Coleman, playing
The week on disc (5)
In case you missed the last one… Dániel Szabó Trio, Frictions (Warner Music Hungary): This was handed to me on my last New York visit, had never heard of the pianist before. It’s a probing all-original date, with bassist Mátyás Szandai and drummer András Mohay. Nikoletta Szöke’s one guest vocal doesn’t knock me over. Kurt Rosenwinkel’s three guest guitar slots,
On Kidd Jordan
My review of saxophonist Kidd Jordan’s trio in Philly, in today’s Inquirer. My friend Shaun Brady has a backgrounder on Jordan in the Philadelphia Daily News.
On Dan Morgenstern
Downbeat magazine gave this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to jazz historian (and former DB editor) Dan Morgenstern. It’s not online, but I have a profile on Dan in the November Downbeat, now on newsstands.
Ratliff on Coltrane
My review of Ben Ratliff’s new book, Coltrane: The Story of a Sound, in today’s Inquirer.
The week on disc (4)
In case you missed the last one…Sean Wayland, Expensive Habit (Seed): The pianist/keyboardist makes beautiful music out of the nearly unplayable. Guitarist James Muller is someone I hadn’t heard before, and I hope to hear much more. Charles Evans, Ballads (self-released): Beautiful originals and classics too from the baritone saxist, with weird harmonic twists and two lovely appearances by another
Six Picks: October 2007
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, October 2007: The Claudia Quintet, For (Cuneiform) Erik Deutsch, Fingerprint (Sterling Circle) Amir ElSaffar, Two Rivers (Pi)Bill McHenry, Roses (Sunnyside)Sacks/Opsvik/Maneri/Motian, Two Miles a Day (Loyal Label/Yeah Yeah) Maria Schneider, Sky Blue (ArtistShare)