Album Review
Daniel Janke Winter Trio: Available Light
by Dan McClenaghan
Canadian pianist Daniel Janke calls the trio responsible for his Available Light the Winter Trio. The leader manages piano duties, accompanied by bassist Basile Racola and drummer Ariel Tessier. The inspiration for the name was Janke's home base, Whitehorse, Yukon, a city of thirty thousand hearty souls at sixty degrees north latitude, in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains. It is a place of expansive available sunlight in the summer and minimal, dusk-like available light in the winter. The ...
read moreSean Fyfe: Stepping Stones
by Pierre Giroux
In an era when the echoes of jazz legends resonate through the ages, pianist Sean Fyfe emerges as a torchbearer of the hard-bop tradition with his latest release Stepping Stones . This album is a testament to the power of collaboration, as Fyfe is joined by the dynamic ensemble of tenor saxophonist Dave O'Higgins, drummer Matt Fishwick and bassist Luke Fowler, each of whom brings their unique talent and deep respect for those who came before. ...
read morePaul Newland: Things That Happen Again
by John Eyles
Born in 1966, British composer and musician Paul Newland studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music, at the Royal Academy of Music, in London, and at Royal Holloway, University of London, receiving his doctorate in 2006. He has taught composition at Guildhall School of Music since 2006 and is currently a Professor of Composition there and is also a Professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Greenwich. Despite such an illustrious academic career, Newland ...
read moreElephant9: Mythical River
by Chris May
Although Elephant9's plugged-in lineage includes the usual suspects--Miles Davis' electric bands and Soft Machine--the Norwegian organ trio's tap root is unmistakably planted in the work of the late British musician Keith Emerson, keyboards player with the Nice in the late 1960s and Emerson Lake & Palmer from 1970. For his own snarling jazz-rock oeuvre, Emerson's favoured keyboard was the Hammond L-100. He loved it so much that onstage he liked to plunge a hunting knife between its keys to produce ...
read moreStephane Galland & The Rhythm Hunters: Stephane Galland & The Rhythm Hunters
by Glenn Astarita
In the dense jungle of contemporary jazz, where rhythm is both compass and sustenance, Belgian drummer Stéphane Galland emerges as our audacious guide. His European ensemble, The Rhythm Hunters, embarks on a musical safari that transcends borders, time zones and conventional beats. From the initial moments of the album's opener, “Morpheus," listeners are transported into a realm where the pulse of the percussion reigns supreme. Stephane Galland, the maestro behind the drum kit, leads the charge with a ...
read moreKeith Fiala: New Beginnings
by Nicholas F. Mondello
New Beginnings from trumpeter, composer and producer Keith Fiala offers up ten varied tracks of exciting, originally-composed and superbly-performed jazz. It delivers a vibrant mix of engaging melodies and intelligent hard bop jazz improvisation with platforms both in and beyond the smooth jazz vein. The moderately-tempoed “Let Go" opens melodically with a memorable descending melodic line. Fiala spins a series of cascading ribbons from his bright horn and an energetic and neatly-mixed guitar solo from Marc Lionetti ...
read moreTomeka Reid Quartet: 3+3
by Chris May
Jazz cello has come a long way since Fred Katz's pioneering work with Chico Hamilton in the 1950s. Back then, the instrument was looked on as a novelty turn. In 2024, while still relatively avant-garde, its presence in a lineup is less exceptional. A pivotal point was American cellist Adbul Wadud's By Myself (Bishara, 1977), an album Tomeka Reid has acknowledged as an inspiration, and which may have played a part in her transition from classical music to jazz around ...
read moreOliver Schwerdt: Fucking Ballads
by Glenn Astarita
Pianist Oliver Schwerdt's Fucking Ballads is not just an album title; it is a declaration of sonic defiance, a rallying cry for those who dare to challenge the status quo. The juxtaposition of the genteel term “ballads" with the bold expletive “fucking" sets the stage for a musical escapade that is as cheeky as it is profound. From the opening notes of the album, Schwerdt and his ensemble are on a mission to disrupt the conventions of jazz. ...
read moreThe Core: Roots
by Mark Corroto
It has been over a decade since a release from the Norwegian jazz band The Core. Founded in 2001, the quartet released half a dozen albums before mostly going their separate ways. Saxophonist Kjetil Møster worked with Gard Nilssen, Mats Gustafsson, and Per Zanussi, pianist Erlend Slettevoll with Hedvig Mollestad and Petter Wettre, bassist Steinar Raknes with Tord Gustavsen, and drummer Espen Aalberg in the Basement Sessions with Jonas Kullhammar and Torbjörn Zetterberg. Roots, the ensemble's ninth recording, ...
read moreNoah Haidu: Standards II
by Pierre Giroux
On Standards II, pianist Noah Haidu embarks on a captivating journey through the jazz tradition, accompanied by bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. The seven tracks were recorded at the Van Gelder studio. The album starts with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow." This track, famously sung by Judy Garland in the 1939 film “Wizard of Oz," became her signature song. The opening, delivered with finesse by Hart, sets the stage for Haidu to build the number from the ground up, ...
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