by S. Victor Aaron Gerald Cleaver, along with Nasheet Waits, seems to always be the drummer on some really outstanding jazz records of late. Michael Formanek’s The Rub And Spare Change required virtuosic musicians playing at peak level to make it work, and Cleaver did his part and then some,Read More

Many relative newcomers like Sarah Wilson have brought a breath of fresh air to jazz this year. by Pico When scanning the landscape of jazz records from 2010, one thing is clear: there’s an awful lot of very skilled and talented jazz musicians out there today, and I would argueRead 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 S. Victor Aaron Did Columbia Records just pull a forgotten Miles Davis Second Great Quintet record out of the vault and dropped it unsuspectingly on the public? Because when I listen to Jeremy Pelt’s new CD Men Of Honor (released January 26), it often feels like a set ofRead More

photographer – Clay Patrick McBride by PicoIt’s not a recording that’s a decade in the making, but it’s been fermenting for that long. Saxophonist David Rogers has immersed himself in the music and culture of far-flung parts of the world where he’s lived, like Southeast Asia and West Africa, andRead More