Guitarist-composer Chris Taylor, at once, brings in familiar fusion influences like Weather Report, Pat Metheny and the Zawinul Syndicate, even while adding these fearless flashes of next-gen electronics — samples, voices, weird keyboard programming, chants, scronks, blips, scratches. It’s jam-packed with aural pokes, the kind of album where Taylor, frontingRead More

If you’re at all familiar with jazz bassist Marc Johnson you surely know about his classic 1987 album Second Sight (by his group Bass Desires). On that record, Johnson teamed up with Peter Erskine (drums) and the phenomenal guitar duo of Bill Frisell and John Scofield You May Also Like:Read More

From the first honking strains of Roger Lewis’ sax on “The Treme Song,” amidst a howling group of happy singers led by David Montana and Fred Johnson Jr., the intentions of Treme Traditions are clear: Party. This album is like a street parade crammed inside of a shiny disc, courtesyRead More

With nearly 1,800 posts under our belt, we at SER have covered a whole lot of different styles, players and instruments, but based on a cursory search, I haven’t found a single piece where a harpist is the featured musician. We now have that covered: meet Iro Haarla. You MayRead More

by Mark Saleski Much like those pointless negative reviews where the writer (read: attacker) has never liked the band in question, I sometimes wonder if maybe it’s just not right to go on about my favorite artists. Let’s face it, I own just about every recording Pat Metheny has everRead More

It used to be that when we used the term “punk jazz,” we were referring to Jaco Pastorius. Let’s face it, the man was a jazz bass revolutionary. You May Also Like: Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride + Mike Watt] – ‘Stove Top’ (2021) Brandon Seabrook, Cooper-Moore + GeraldRead More

Better known for helping shape the Blue Note Records hard bop sound as a producer in the 1960s, pianist Duke Pearson also led his own big band before succumbing to the ravages of multiple sclerosis at age 47. You May Also Like: Glenn Zaleski – Fellowship (2017) Nick Finzer’s ThoughtfulRead More

Tim Kuhl’s website greets visitors with a set of simple sentences describing who he is: “Drummer+Composer,” followed by “Bandleader, Sideman, Collaborator, Noise Maker, Rocker.” Tim is succinct and up-front about describing himself, but the term that’s most telling — aside from the obvious “drummer+composer” part — is “Noise Maker YouRead More

by Mark Saleski Back in the mid-1980s, the arrival on the jazz scene of a trumpeter named Wynton Marsalis marked the start of the so-called “young lions” period. You May Also Like: Marcin Wasilewski Trio feat. Joe Lovano – ‘Arctic Riff’ (2020)

by Mark Saleski Elliott Sharp does two things very well: construct very thought-provoking compositions and make scary, scary noise in the realization of those compositions. Larynx is a reissue from 1988. You know, the holiday season is in full swing. Maybe you need some music to block out the stress?Read More