by Mark Saleski She put on Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City” and then asked us to call out the instruments that we heard. I don’t really remember how we all did, but that moment has always stayed with me. An actual music class in middle school. It wasn’t justRead More

photo: Don Getsug by S. Victor Aaron Unless they have already been a key player in an established band, debut album of jazz solo artists tend to be uninspired affairs. Not yet finding their own identity, these neophytes often fall back on mimicking their major influences, making very competent butRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cornet player Rob Mazurek has got to be one of the busiest guys on the robust Chicago fringe jazz scene. We loved Sound Is when it came out last year, which introduced his new quintet, but Mazurek has by then helmed or co-helmed so many otherRead More

“Different and original,” “Blur(s) stylistic boundaries,” “developed a new music all her own” are phrases that have been used to describe the music of San Francisco Bay area trumpeter and singer Sarah Wilson. Those are just the phrases that popped in my mind as soon as I popped Trapeze ProjectRead More

by Mark Saleski If you have a few hours to spare, and are looking for some cheap entertainment, search for one of those “Best Guitarists” lists on the Internet. Oh dear, the comments will absolutely slay you with their hilarity. Just about everybody can find a way to be offendedRead More

by Pico Within the realm of improvised music saxophone players, Anthony Braxton has few peers, but David S. Ware has to be considered a lifetime member of that exclusive club. A free jazz saxophonist who is also a technician of the highest order, Ware has that rare ability to blurRead More

by Mark Saleski A variant of the “I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this” thing is the phenomenon of incomplete Déjà Vu. This occurs when you hear a piece of music and it seems totally familiar … except … hmmm … what was it? The musicRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cello virtuoso Erik Friedlander must have found a second wind at 50 years old because yesterday he released his second album of all new material as many months. The album, incidentally, is called Fifty: 50 Miniatures For Improvising Quintet and in Friedlander’s typically atypical fashion, itRead More

photo: Jason Quigley by S. Victor Aaron Although we don’t really cover indie rock on our little corner of the blogzine world, I’m often intrigued by musicians who approach jazz from the indie angle. They don’t swing and they usually don’t try to dazzle with labored technique. Most times theRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Two years is not a long time between albums, and Charles Lloyd has maintained a steady output of an album every couple of years and sometimes every year since hooking up with ECM Records in the late 80s. It’s impressive when keeping in mind that LloydRead More