by Pico So what do these three albums getting the spotlight on this Quickies have in common? For one, they all fall on the jazz side of things (no surprise there). For another, these are all April releases. Oops, it’s already May, isn’t it? It’s still not too late toRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Using large ensembles as vehicles for improvised music is hardly a new proposition, but can be one of the riskiest ones. After all, the more musicians involved, the more likelihood that one or more them won’t be on the same page and thus the greater potentialRead More

We’re not even four months into 2009 and already we’re here for the third time since February celebrating a new Chick Corea release. In February, it was piano/piano face-off with Hiromi called Duet, in March it was the live document of Return To Forever’s triumphant return Returns, and today it’sRead More

by Pico As before, this Quickies is an opportunity to highlight new offerings by some lesser-known jazz artists out there today. The thought crossed my mind to throw in a big name like Neil Young, but we kind of covered his Fork In The Road record last week in aRead More

“Live at Montreux,” which focuses on tunes from Wayne Shorter’s then-new album “High Life,” might have been just another night in a lifetime of concert dates — if not for the former Miles Davis sideman’s still prodigious, almost hypnotic ability on the sax. That, and some bonus cuts from MontreuxRead More

A lot of best and most successful jazz artists come from the best music programs: Berklee, Manhattan School of Music, and Julliard, have all produced countless musicians who’ve gone on to make big impacts on jazz. But when talking about fertile breeding grounds for jazz greats, the University of NorthRead More

Marcus Roberts has burst back onto the jazz landscape, 11 years after his last session, with “New Orleans Meets Harlem, Vol. 1” – one of the Florida-born pianist’s most celebrated recordings. A rich and explorative combining of styles from across the legacy, Roberts’ record nevertheless retains its uniquely Southern voiceRead More

by Pico Times have changed a lot since Neil Young began his music career in the mid-sixties but Young’s keen awareness of the times hasn’t. And if he’s passionate about what he sees in front of him, you’ll likely see him put out music about it when the issue isRead More

Like Dave Holland, Derrick Gardner is following the axiom of “more is…” more. Allow me to explain… One of the hottest jazz combos of the last decade has been the Dave Holland Quintet. Recently, Holland decided to shake things up a bit and expanded his quintet to a sextet. TheRead More

by S. Victor Aaron John Scofield isn’t regarded as the top two or three jazz guitarists of the last couple of decades just because he’s such a great guitar player. The thing that sets him apart from almost all the others is his ability to play a different style ofRead More