Articles by: S. Victor Aaron

Why I Avoided Herbie Hancock's Triumphant 'River: The Joni Letters' For So Long

Why I Avoided Herbie Hancock’s Triumphant ‘River: The Joni Letters’ For So Long

Issued 15 years ago this week, ‘River: The Joni Letters’ took flight by celebrating Joni Mitchell without making Herbie Hancock a sideman on his own LP.

Greg Davis - 'New Primes' (2022)

Greg Davis – ‘New Primes’ (2022)

The ambient, computer-generated drones of ‘New Primes’ produced by Greg Davis is a deep harmonic bath that uses your ears to transport your mind.

Stephan Thelen - 'Fractal Sextet' (2022)

Stephan Thelen – ‘Fractal Sextet’ (2022)

With ‘Fractal Sextet,’ guitarist/composer Stephan Thelen doesn’t necessarily introduce new ideas, but he takes good ideas he already developed and puts them into a new framework. That makes the music that resulted from this sound just as fresh.

Gordon Grdina, Mark Helias + Matthew Shipp - 'Pathways' (2022)

Gordon Grdina, Mark Helias + Matthew Shipp – ‘Pathways’ (2022)

If you’re looking for a guitar / piano / acoustic bass combo that breaks all the rules, there’s probably only Gordon Grdina, Matthew Shipp and Mark Helias.

Michael Formanek Quartet, w/ Tim Berne, Craig Taborn + Gerald Cleaver - 'Other Zones' (2022)

Michael Formanek Quartet, w/ Tim Berne, Craig Taborn + Gerald Cleaver – ‘Other Zones’ (2022)

Michael Formanek’s composing prowess had set a high standard for this ensemble. Sometimes, though, you just gotta let guys run off the leash. And, as we now know with ‘Other Zones,’ he did.

Rocío Giménez López, Matthew Golombisky + Matias Formica, "wha tekau ma iwa" (2022): Something Else! video premiere

Rocío Giménez López, Matthew Golombisky + Matias Formica, “wha tekau ma iwa” (2022): Something Else! video premiere

Here is the video premiere of “wha tekau ma iwa,” from the fully improvisational ‘4.9’ album by Rocío Giménez López, Matthew Golombisky and Matias Formica.

Jon Cowherd Trio - 'Pride and Joy' (2022)

Jon Cowherd Trio – ‘Pride and Joy’ (2022)

With ‘Pride & Joy,’ piano ace Jon Cowherd leads a top-shelf trio with two very special guests to make high-quality jazz richly inspired by personal experiences.

Yellowjackets © Roberto Cifarelli

Yellowjackets – ‘Parallel Motion’ (2022)

With ‘Parallel Motion,’ the Yellowjackets continue to defy the tendency of even the best bands to run out of steam and go stale.

Michael Orenstein - 'Aperture' (2022)

Michael Orenstein – ‘Aperture’ (2022)

With ‘Aperture,’ Michael Orenstein enters the realm of jazz recording artists as a fully formed talent, one with a fresh, contemporary extension of the piano greats who’ve come before him.

Walt Weiskopf European Quartet - 'Diamonds and Other Jewels' (2022)

Walt Weiskopf European Quartet – ‘Diamonds and Other Jewels’ (2022)

‘Diamonds and Other Jewels’ presents Walt Weiskopf’s European quartet emerging from the pandemic with its coherence at an all-time high.