A couple of years ago, pianist Jay D’Amico put out a record that made a fine illustration of his ability to combine the classical stylings of Chopin with the suppleness and relaxed feel of a traditional jazz trio. Tuscan Prelude: Jazz Under Glass was a successful melding of the styles,Read More

by Pico Acoustic bassist Harvie S has appeared on over 350 recordings for a very good reason. He has an unshakeable sense of swing, a flawless tone and otherworldly dexterity on his instrument. For a example of his amazing technique, just eyeball the video I embedded in a recent reviewRead More

Trombone Shorty’s sudden emergence on the national music scene from the streets of Treme is one of the big music stories of 2010. by S. Victor Aaron Sometimes when listening to music, neither jazz nor mainstream is right for the moment. Blues or something folky or rootsy is usually calledRead More

by Pico Last May 7, Piloo Records issued the 5th album by pianist, composer and vocalist Kerry Politzer, called Blue In Blue. Playing the piano since the age of four, Politzer studied classical piano for 14 years before falling under the spell of jazz, and she has committed herself toRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Wallace Roney’s live album that bowed last spring is a good record for several reasons, first and foremost because of the trumpet player’s dexterity on the brass horn. In our brief review of If Only For One Night, I didn’t have room to say much aboutRead More

Larry and Tak’s new record is taking Japan by storm; can it do the same in the U.S.? The five new albums below were chosen for a Quickies together mainly because they’re fusion-type records. Beyond that, they are also by artists who I’ve followed for a while or used toRead More

by S. Victor Aaron World class drummer Manu Katché continues to pursue a second musical career as a bandleader with his third ECM release (and fourth overall) on Third Round. His second ECM Playground was warmly greeted here when it first appeared three years ago, and his label debut wasRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Throughout all of the history of jazz, trumpet players were always in the vanguard: Armstrong, Gillespie, Davis, Bowie, I could go on. The common theme with the two fresh offerings go beyond the fact that they are led or co-led by trumpeters; these are releases thatRead More

by S. Victor Aaron We introduced the master trumpeter Weiss on this space as the leader of the talent laden New Jazz Composer’s Octet and he’s shepherded this project through five releases. The NJCO represents just a slice of the long and varied career of this Queens, NY native. HavingRead More

Things could be looking up for Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. by Pico It’s been a whole three months since we last discussed a batch of sparkling new releases that are targeted for wider audiences. That’s such a long span that a few of the half dozen records yakked aboutRead More