Tag: Music
On the Metta Quintet
This review appears in the February 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — Metta Quintet Big Drum/Small World (ind.) By David R. Adler An album by the Metta Quintet always begins with a premise. The group’s 2002 debut, Going to Meet the Man, was inspired by James Baldwin’s short stories. Subway Songs (2006) evoked the bustle of
New York @ Night: February 2012
From the February 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — The term “groove-oriented” usually describes jazz of a funkier, danceable sort. But it’s not how many would categorize the maddeningly complex music of Vijay Iyer and his trio with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Pulsing rhythm, however, has always played a significant role for Iyer,
Center City Jazz Festival
An exciting new development in Philadelphia jazz, scheduled for April 28. My take at JJA News.
On Inzinzac
In the current edition of Philadelphia Weekly: Inzinzac Sat., Jan. 21, 8pm. $6. With Zvoov, Mi Head Ur Head. Angler Movement Arts Center, 1550 E. Montgomery Ave. 215.922.0866 www.museumfire.com It’s not easy to categorize the raw, cerebral music of this trio, but “highbrow garage” is a start. The band name alone offers a kind of onomatopoeic clue. But what, really,
2012 NEA Jazz Masters Concert
My report for JazzTimes here — I’m told it’ll reappear later in a print issue of the magazine, as a sidebar to a Jack DeJohnette feature.
On Eldar
In the current edition of Philadelphia Weekly: Eldar Djangirov Fri., Jan. 13, 5pm. Free with museum admission. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and JFK Blvd. 215.763.8100. philamuseum.org Great jazz pianists have emerged from hotbeds like Detroit and Philadelphia—and how about Bishkek, in the seldom-noted former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan? Eldar Djangirov is a young and fearsome player who landed a
On Ilhan Ersahin
This review appears in the January 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions Night Rider (Nublu) By David R. Adler As founder of the club Nublu, tenor saxophonist Ilhan Ersahin has had a notable impact on live music in New York, increasing the creative traffic between jazz improvisers, beatmakers, world music bands and avant-gardists of
On Herculaneum
This review appears in the January 2012 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Herculaneum UCHŪ (ind.) By David R. Adler On releases such as Orange Blossom, Herculaneum III and Olives and Orchids, the Chicago sextet Herculaneum fashioned a sound full of urgent, percolating rhythm and well-placed dissonance — a horn-heavy aesthetic with echoes of Blue Note’s ’60s avant-garde