Jazz Articles
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Introducing Vocalist Dani Assis
by Sanford Josephson
This article previously appeared in Jersey Jazz Magazine. Vocalist Dani Assis' bio points out that he was born into a musical family. That is an understatement. “When I was younger," he said, “I didn't know there was anything else to life other than music because both my parents were musicians. My mom, Adriana Quadros, is a wonderful singer, and my father, Nanny Assis, is a percussionist (and singer), so I remember being under 10, just crawling under the ...
read moreJulius Rodriguez: Evergreen
by Chris May
There are two faces of Julius Rodriguez and they are opposing rather than complementary. One face is the pop-jazz one presented by multi-instumentalist Rodriquez on his own albums. The other is the adventurous, strikingly singular modern-jazz face presented by pianist Rodriguez on other people's albums. It is possible to be wildly enthusiastic about the jazz face and lukewarm about the pop-jazz one, and, presumably, vice versa. But almost certainly not both. Rodriquez has released two albums under ...
read moreFrancesco Crosara: Jazz Journeys from Rome to Seattle
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines on jazz pianist, composer, and educator Francesco Crosara. Francesco was born and raised in jny: Rome, Italy, where both jazz and classical music came into his life early on, particularly through his mother, the influential jazz singer, broadcaster, and educator Lilian Terry. Lilian presented many of the most important names in American jazz, and some--like Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Chick Corea, and Dizzy Gillespie--influenced young Francesco's artistic growth. Francesco studied classical piano, ...
read moreNduduzo Makhathini: uNomkhubulwane
by Mike Jurkovic
Abundantly, beatifically, and beautifully ebullient, uNomkhubulwane, Nduduzo Makhathini's eleventh overall effort but third masterwork for Blue Note (his 2020 Blue Note first, Modes of Communication: Letters From the Underworlds and 2022's In the Spirit of Ntu still shimmer and transcend) is, as is the South African pianist's quickly evolving tradition, radiant and revelatory. Emerging from a mother song gifted to Makhathini during his initiation process to become a healer, (the pianist was immersed in water in order to encounter the Zulu ...
read moreJames Falzone: Joyful Noise from the Pain Stick
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines on clarinetist, penny whistle player, composer, improviser, and educator James Falzone. This discussion was recorded back in early March of 2024. I reached out to James shortly after seeing him perform with the bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst in their duo Wayfaring. I was initially hoping to record them together but an even better outcome came about: I had separate discussions with each of them, which allowed us to expand beyond their work together ...
read moreTomeka Reid, Isidora Edwards, Elizabeth Coudoux: Reid/Edwards/Coudoux
by Hrayr Attarian
Leave it to Relative Pitch Records' Kevin Riley's ingenuity to release a unique, live session which brought together three of the world's preeminent cellists-improvisers. The result is the provocative, captivating and simply titled Reid/Edwards/Coudoux. On it, American Tomeka Reid joins forces with Chilean Isidora Edwards, and German Elisabeth Coudoux for four multilayered conversations. “Could You Imagine" opens with woody groans and resonant percussion which set an expectant mood. The overlapping angular phrases paint a dissonant and moving musical ...
read moreOtis Taylor at Dazzle
by Geoff Anderson
Otis Taylor Dazzle Denver, Colorado May 16, 2024 Electric banjo? Check. Cello? Check. Synthesizer? Check. A couple of electric guitars and an electric bass? Check. OK, Otis Taylor is ready to play some blues. No, it's not the typical instrumentation for a blues show. But Otis Taylor doesn't put on a typical blues show. Much of Taylor's blues is based on a single chord drone he calls Trance Blues which creates a hypnotic effect, ...
read moreMarion Brown: Three For Shepp To Gesprachsfetzen Revisited
by Mark Corroto
It's not too late to catch up with alto saxophonist and composer Marion Brown. Thanks to this excellent reissue and remaster series, you can hear the innovative recordings from this master musician. This release follows his 1965/66 discs Capricorn Moon To Juba Lee Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2019) and 1966/67 discs Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2020). Chris May's excellent liner notes posit an answer to Brown's relative obscurity. He essentially lays the blame on marketing. Record labels and ...
read morePaul Auster: The Jazz Music of Chance; Harold Land
by Ludovico Granvassu
New releases and re-releases to remember Harold Land open this episode which then continues with a tribute to Paul Auster, a writer admired by many musicians who wrote music with him, for him, to accompany some of his writings, or inspired by him.Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Lily White Quintet “Grooveyard Blues" Daughter of Fortune (Self-produced) 0:16 Host talks 5:47 Harold Land “In the Back, In the Corner, In the ...
read moreSecond Line For The Second Time: The Curious Tale Of A Rhythm Reborn
by Kurt Ellenberger
In New Orleans in the late 1800s, the precursors to jazz were forming in the brass bands that performed on the streets for parades, funerals and other events. These groups featured brass and percussion and were followed by crowds who marched behind them in the parades and processions. The rhythms played by the percussion were a rhythmical representation of the melting pot of different cultures found in the post-Civil War era New Orleans--Cuban, Caribbean, South American, Creole, African American, Spanish, ...
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