By Nick Deriso It’s no surprise that a performer who got her start working with funny funkster Morris Day settles into a lightly swinging keyboard groove from the first on “Do Something Else.” Why do anything else? After all, Gail Jhonson wrote the book on neo-soul piano. Literally: her publishedRead More

by S. Victor Aaron I don’t pay a great deal of attention to what other jazz critics say about records as I probably should; chalk it up to laziness, I suppose. But even my lazy ass couldn’t help but notice all the interest in media circles buzzing around guitarist MaryRead More

By Mark Saleski You look at the song listing and see “Alfie,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Shadow Of Your Smile,” and…”Smoke On The Water“? What? Did I read that right? Yes, and singer-guitarist KJ Denhert is not foolin’ around. Well, except for when she is.Denhert refers to her music as “UrbanRead More

“The Guitar Hero” moves away from the tabloid side of the Jimi Hendrix myth, instead delving into the American guitarist’s sweeping impact on rock music and the instrument. That makes director Jon Brewer’s film not so much a biography, per se, as it is tone-poem love letter to Hendrix’s muse,Read More

by S. Victor Aaron About this time last year Henry Threadgill ended a eight year hiatus from the recording studio and released This Brings Us To, Vol. 1. It was very well received, and made almost everyone’s year-end “best of” jazz albums for 2009, including ours. On one day shortRead More

Photo: Shawn Brickbill/High Two It’s been quite a while since the bassist and composer Michael Formanek has led a date but with his ECM debut The Rub And Spare Change, he’s more than made up for lost time. Out since October 12, The Rub marks his return as a leaderRead More

by Pico I remember at least as far back as 1988 that South American grooves and contemporary jazz can and do mix together well. I was reminded of that harmonious blend again when I first spun up the new CD by New York electric guitarist and composer Nelson Riveros. TheRead More

by Mark Saleski What is it about a vacation? Let’s say that there’s just the two of you, a house, no kids. Then, you go on vacation, arriving at your destination spot. So now the house has been swapped for a nice hotel room with a view (in our case,Read More

One of the bigger regrets I’ve had with this site was missing the opportunity to review Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Kinsmen when it was released two years ago, because this saxman of Indian descent did such a brilliant job in combining traditional Indian music with traditional jazz. Last week, the debut albumRead More

by Mark Saleski, at Binghamton University, Vestal, N.Y. Oh dear, I was this close to feeling disappointed. I loved the Orchestrion concept and music so much that tickets were procured and a trip was planned (across southern New Hampshire, Vermont, and all the way out past Albany to Binghamton, NY)Read More