Articles by: S. Victor Aaron

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An Appreciation: Joe Sample and the Crusaders, “It Happens Everyday” (1977)

Remembering a drop-dead gorgeous tone poem that was so emblematic.

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Anna Webber, with John Hollenbeck and Matt Mitchell – Simple (2014)

Webber laid bare her compositions, leaving it in a few, capable hands and in doing so, made them flourish.

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Wadada Leo Smith – The Great Lakes Suite (2014)

A summit meeting of progressive jazz titans, themed around the Great Lakes.

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Medeski Scofield Martin Wood – Juice (2014)

A prominent acid-jazz trio and an elite guitarist discover each other all over again.

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Mike Farris – Shine For All The People (2014)

Mike Farris is a mix of Al Green, Richard Manuel, Wilson Pickett – and more.

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Something Else! sneak peek: Aram Bajakian + Julia Úlehla, “Ej, lásko, lásko” (2014)

Bajakian and Úlehla make “Ej, lásko, lásko” fresh and edgy, despite it’s long-ago, faraway origins.

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Ben Tyree – BT3: Burn It! LIVE (2014)

Live in front of an audience is how this music demands to be played, if the musicians are good enough. Ben Tyree and BT3 are way more than ‘good enough.’

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Matthew Shipp – I’ve Been To Many Places (2014)

Not content to draw inspiration only from his influences, Shipp finds the insight for his music from himself, an earlier version of himself as interpreted by today’s version.

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Vinnie Sperrazza – Apocryphal (2014)

Yes, ‘Apocryphal’ is ethereal, an adjective that might be overused a tad, but it’s all about the way Vinnie Sperrazza and his three accomplices give the music that quality. It puts Sperrazza’s formal debut in a far corner of jazz that’s rarely occupied with so much moxie.

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Myriad3 – The Where (2014)

‘The Where’ is a solid step up from a level that was already high. No one should think jazz is stuck on neutral after listening to this trio, and one senses that they are just getting started.