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 Nick DeRiso Miles Ahead was initially billed by Columbia Records, in the flatly obvious tone of the day, as “Miles Davis plus 19, with Gil Evans.” Right. Still, it was that last guy, the 20th man, who was the important one. After a burst of creativity in the lateRead 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

by Nick DeRiso On Triangulation, Boston-based guitarist Mitch Seidman has complete command of both the bebop R&B fission and the gentlemanly poise of early idol Kenny Burrell. That means tunes of lyrical strength and technical skill, linked by this remarkable ability to blend seamlessly with his fellow musicians across aRead More

by Pico As much of a transformational figure as he was, Scott LaFaro wasn’t the only brilliant bassist who had played in Bill Evans’ trio; Eddie Gomez held that esteemed seat for longer than anybody, from 1966 to 1977. Like LaFaro, Gomez was virtually an equal harmonically as the legendaryRead More

Gene Pritsker is a guitarist and bandleader whose written over 370 compositions, has worked closely with the late Joe Zawinul and has orchestrated major Hollywood movies. His band Sound Liberation plays an amalgamation of rock, jazz, chamber, minimalism and hip-hop. Varieties Of Religious Experience Suite is a series of relatedRead More

This debut release by the modern rock-jazz ensemble Salo is a showcase for the compositions of its bass player Ben Gallina. The rest of the band includes Alex Hamlin (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone), Ed Rosenberg (tenor saxophone), Josh Rutner (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), Red Wierenga (piano, keyboards), Alex Wyatt (drums,Read More

Jazz saxophone and flute giant James Moody has been around seemingly forever and never slowed down, but yesterday pancreatic cancer finally ended a long and distinguished career at the age of 85. He was a key member of Dizzy Gillespie bands going back to the 1940s (Diz once remarked, “PlayingRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Jazz that’s hard to categorize is usually the kind of jazz that’s also hard to describe adequately with words but also the kind of jazz I prefer. And if it swings and grooves, so much the better. Alto sax player Pete Robbins’ music has all thoseRead More

by Mark Saleski See, I just knew I was going to like this album. About twenty seconds into the first listen and the whole “Is it jazz?/Is it rock?/What the hell is it?” issue popped up — almost always a recipe for a good time. Heck, I knew even beforeRead More