Photo of Ingrid Jensen from http://www.ingridjensen.com by S. Victor Aaron Nordic Connect is a grouping of musicians from Canada (Ingrid Jensen, trumpet; Ingrid’s sister Christine Jensen, alto and soprano saxes), U.S.A. (Ingrid’s husband Jon Wikan, drums), and Sweden (Maggie Olin (piano, Fender Rhodes; Mattias Welin, acoustic bass). The name pointsRead More

photo: Bruno Schlumberger by S. Victor Aaron Peter Hum is, in a few ways, like me. We’re a couple of middle-aged guys who both love jazz, love to write about jazz and critique jazz records, and post our reviews on the internet. I’ve been an admirer of Hum’s jazz blogRead More

by Nick DeRiso Twinray has produced a cloud-parting blast of pop-rock buoyancy with The Train You’re On, recorded with producer/engineer Sean O’Keefe (Plain White T’s, Fallout Boy, Hawthorn Heights). Their endless enthusiasm informs both the subject matter, and the merry experimentation that propels the Chicago-based band’s genre-bending sound. “Do YouRead More

by Nick DeRiso Inspired by a record-release performance by the Toronto-based Foggy Hogtown Boys, fellow Canadian Bradford Monk decided to compose a traditional bluegrass recording. By that, he didn’t mean sped-up country songs. He meant honest-to-goodness, real-deal bluegrass – done the old-fashioned way, with no winking irony or next-gen updates.Read More

by Nick DeRiso Taking on Nina Simone, a singer of dusky persuasiveness, might be foolhardy enough. Remaking this song, a Top 20 pop hit off Simone’s celebrated 1958 debut Little Girl Blue seemed like the worst idea of all. But Canadian singer Kellylee Evans finds a new light, even ifRead More

by S. Victor Aaron “If that guy hits you, I’m not stopping to help you!” “Come on, people, MOVE!!!” “Get your @#$% out of my way!” My wife, God love her, gets a little impatient with her fellow motorists and often has these one-sided conversations with them from behind theRead More

by S. Victor Aaron “Catalyst” is not just the name of the album, it’s also the name of the band sax/flute player King leads, and this is their debut album. This band which features King, Luis Deniz (saxes), David Braid (piano and keyboards), Rich Brown (bass), Joel Haynes (drums), haveRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Here’s the setup: a successful real estate tycoon suddenly decides to revisit his original passion, music, and pulls in three of Canada’s most prestigious jazz musicians and a top-notch producer to make his first record, one full of done-to-death standards. And you’re thinking, this is probablyRead More

by S. Victor Aaron The master tenor sax player Ralph Bowen has been around for quite a while, releasing his first album back in 1992. But plum sideman opportunities and a teaching gig at Rutgers has kept him plenty busy; it only been the last three or so years thatRead More

Photo: Juan-Carlos Hernandez by S. Victor Aaron In my humble opinion, it’s not the improvised (aka “whack”) jazz that seems toughest to compose and render, nor is it the more mellifluous but intricate modern jazz. Rather, it’s the the kind of jazz that successfully combines both approaches. To me, it’sRead More