STANLEY COWELL: Late Pianist Had Plenty to Say in His Last Album
For a jazz master whose modus operandi was versatility, it seems befitting that his final recorded work would be Live at Keystone Korner Baltimore. To appreciate this demonstration on how to be the jack-of-all-trades- jazzman, it bears examining this album with slightly more than what meets the ear. | Read more>>
HIT IT, BK TRIO’S NEW ALBUM, HITS ALL THE RIGHT NOTES
Some things just feel good. They just feel right: stepping out with your boo on a Saturday night, enjoying good home cooking Big Mama made for you because you were stopping by after church Sunday afternoon, or having a cold one listening to unpretentious music made by three musicians who know how to put it in the pocket. | Read more>>
Being in the Moment and Stirring Up Joy
Jeff Reed’s new album, Look for the Light
I have known the quiet, humble superstar bassist Jeff Reed since 2004 and have been fortunate enough to work with him for years on many gigs and on my recent “in progress” Joni Mitchell project. | Read more>>
Mitch Mirkin’s New Album Links Cultures
This album, inspired by the old synagogue that was once home to Mishkan Israel congregation and is now occupied by a Seventh-Day Adventist congregation, reflects on “the inevitability of change, evolution, transformation,” as Mirkin puts it. The seven tunes on the album traverse cultures with various grooves and styles that often switch within a tune. | Read more>>
JAGGED SPACES: AN ANTIDOTE TO ZOOM CALLS
In this odd season of pandemic-induced social distancing and assorted virtual encounters– “Zoom” world– there’s a palpable longing for the familiarity of group encounters, at a restaurant, a stadium, a church or, perhaps, a favorite jazz venue. Fortunately for those with an ear for jazz, recorded music provides a stopgap, recreating the sound if not the camaraderie of a jazz concert. | Read more>>