Little Worlds is another one of those oddly configured trios that’s been popping up lately in jazz, but there is nothing gimmicky sounding from this guitar (Ryan Mackstaller), trombone (Rick Parker) and drums (Tim Kuhl) getup. With all three of these musicians being veterans of rock, jazz and whack jazz,Read More

Sporting a drop dead gorgeous image and a six string violin that resembles a Gibson Flying V, Susan Aquila certainly looks the part, but is her fiddle playing up to snuff? Well, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Kanye West, Metallica and Billy Joel, just to name a few ofRead More

Ramsey Lewis discusses his signature hit “The ‘In’ Crowd,” and a breakthrough collaborative moment with Earth Wind and Fire.

The Le Boeuf Brothers, like many of the younger jazz musicians today, crave bashing up jazz of their formal training with the Bjork, Radiohead and Sufjan Stevens of their iPod playlists. And as I’ve come to realize, this often has great results. But these identical twins, Romy (reeds) and PascalRead More

That Sidony Box, a French trio, has chosen to explore jazz rock is anachronistically interesting enough. But they’re doing it without the musical GPS of a bass — something that allows guitarist Manuel Adnot, drummer Arthur Nancy and saxophonist Elie Dalibert to wander around these wide open spaces. What theyRead More

There’s a trance-like euphoria surrounding this emotional, at times indescribably spiritual endeavor. Rez Abbasi, leading a group that also includes Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer, found inspiration for Suno Suno from Pakistani Qawwali, a devotional Sufi music You May Also Like: Rez Abbasi – Unfiltered Universe (2017) Rez Abbasi &Read More

I had come into writing this review thinking I had already reviewed the prior release by pioneering fusion jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær, Hamada (2009), but found that I hadn’t. You May Also Like: Eivind Aarset 4tet – ‘Phantasmagoria, or A Different Kind of Journey’ (2021)

Brian Landrus is one of the fast rising artists on the NYC jazz scene; so much so that it was only in 2009 his debut album Forward came out and now in 2011, we are here talking about his third release of 2011, Capsule. You May Also Like: Brian LandrusRead More

I’ve listened to the side-long title track of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays’ As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, oh, maybe just a couple of times in the last twenty years. You May Also Like: Lyle Mays (1953-2020): An Appreciation Lyle Mays, “Eberhard” (2021): One Track Mind Pat MethenyRead More

A record of Brazilian jazz led by Brazilians and featuring three A.C. Jobim standards invites “been there, done that” responses, but the fresh, updated arrangements that pianist Gilson Schachnik and drummer Maurico Zottarelli apply to these and other well-worn tunes distinguishes Mozik from other such excursions into this style. BothRead More