Photo: Juan-Carlos Hernandez by S. Victor Aaron In my humble opinion, it’s not the improvised (aka “whack”) jazz that seems toughest to compose and render, nor is it the more mellifluous but intricate modern jazz. Rather, it’s the the kind of jazz that successfully combines both approaches. To me, it’sRead More

by S. Victor Aaron They say that writing about music is like dancing about architecture, and if that’s true, then writing about whack jazz can be more like swimming about psychiatry. Often, you can’t describe a melodic or rhythmic structure because there are none. Saying so-and-so sounds like some otherRead More

by S. Victor Aaron There’s jazz and and there’s whack jazz, that label I assign to jazz that is unrestrained, unconventional and sometimes, rude. The kind of jazz that you wouldn’t play at any party, but boy, they sure are fun to listen to when you’re really engaged to theRead More

by S. Victor Aaron In 2001, the avant garde jazz leading light Henry Threadgill had just recorded two albums he wanted released but couldn’t find a record company willing to do it. Quite a turnaround in the attitudes of the music business toward creative modern music, where Threadgill’s prior threeRead More

by S. Victor Aaron This article makes it twenty-three albums covered in the span of eight days, which put a nice dent in my backlog, and there’s just a couple more to go before turning our attention to the year 2009 in music. The batch of records covered here drawsRead More

If you look at the list of past winners and finalists of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competitions, it’s quite impressive: Aaron Parks, Marcus Strickland, John Ellis, Sam Yahel and Miles Okazaki, just to name a few. In 2008, the winner was an alto and tenor saxophonist from the PhilippinesRead More

For this installment of the 2009 roundups, we lasso those stray cd’s of jazz that’s really “out there.” Hmmm, I think there’s a term for that kind of music. Despite hard times—and it’s really hard for those musicians who choose to play music entirely for art’s sake as these guysRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Joe Morris is fresh-minded guitarist whose uncommon ideas about improvisation, interaction, time, harmonics and phrasing collectively combine to form a unique sound even within the “seen it all/done it all” world of New York’s improvised music scene. And he does it with a tone that’s clearRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Born in the Mississippi Delta town of Leland, MS just a few miles west of BB King’s hometown of Indianola, Wadada Leo Smith didn’t pick up a guitar and started singing the blues but his mark on music ended up having a worldwide impact, anyway. AfterRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Previte has from the start been a “go it alone” kind of guy and found success taking that route, a remarkable achievement considering that drummers usually have to first make their mark as a member of a band. He’s gotten his due in a wide varietyRead More