by Pico Rufus Reid has never had the flamboyant, edgy comportment of, say, Charles Mingus, but for decades now, he’s been a first-call bassist for many of the finest jazz (and even non-jazz) musicians. Making his way to the top level of bottom pluckers via stints in the Thad Jones-MelRead More

by S. Victor Aaron When I heard Joe Higham’s wonderfully diverse world fusion treat Where Are We Now? last year, I became suspicious that the Low Countries might be a magnet for out-the-box thinking for jazz players. Listening to Eric Vloeimans and his Gatecrash’s new release Heavensabove! just confirmed thoseRead More

photo: Valerie Trucchia by S. Victor Aaron Since starting up this site about four years ago, we’ve taken a look at a Japanese whack jazzer only once, but the fact of the matter is, the Land of the Rising Sun is a haven for music that’s unconventional, unpredictable and thrivingRead More

Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times by S. Victor Aaron Last month ECM put on sale new offerings by two of their oldest stalwarts: drummer Paul Motian and Ralph Towner. Motian has been discussed on this site probably more than any other drummer, no doubt due to his longRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Last Tuesday, HighNote Records furnished two new CD’s, each by established veterans of the jazz scene. Look on the back of just about any classic Blue Note album from the 60s, and you’re likely to see Joe Chambers’ name listed as the drummer. And while there’sRead More

by Pico We’ve used this space for bringing telling the world about the recorded accomplishments of artists both popular and obscure, and for us, at least, the talented ones who haven’t emerged yet are usually the ones that are most fun to write about. With those types, there’s a greaterRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Fresh, new talent worth listening to is often hard to spot. Good thing the folks at jazz label Posi-Tone Records specialize in bringing to our attention promising young talent who will keep the flame of jazz going for another generation. Their issuance yesterday of the firstRead More

by Nick DeRiso Luis Bonilla’s “I Talking Now” (NJCO/Planet Arts), from the first bristling blast of trombone on the title track, is dashing down a busy city street. It’s difficult to tell, at first, if he’s running away from or toward something. Whatever the apprehensions, you are quickly surrounded byRead More

by S. Victor Aaron He looks like a young Keith Jarrett, even hums along to his piano lines a little like Jarrett, but Jacky Terrasson is defying straight comparisons to anybody. This 1993 winner of the Thelonious Monk competition can conjure the big, train-like sound of McCoy Tyner, the cerebralRead More

by Pico Jan Gabarek. There, I had to get that out of way right off. A Norwegian saxophone player who skillfully blends jazz with folk music of his homeland…who else would come to mind so quickly? Probably no one. But to be fair to tenor saxophonist Karl Seglem, he’s workedRead More