Tag Archives: Jazz music

Benet McLean’s Green Park

Way back in the ’90s I started listening to Django Reinhardt because Richard Thompson named him as an influence. The more I listened to Django the more enamored I became of the playing of Stephane Grappelli, his fiddling compatriot in … Continue reading

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Jennifer Wharton’s Bonegasm’s Grit & Grace

Because it’s Halloween time, I feel bound to lead this review of the third album by Jennifer Wharton’s trombone-forward ensemble Bonegasm with her arrangement of the Mexican folk song “La Bruja” (the witch). It’s as good a place as any … Continue reading

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Chien Chien Lu’s Built In System (Live from New York)

I haven’t enjoyed any album of straight-ahead jazz this year more than I’ve enjoyed Chien Chien Lu’s Built In System. It’s an astonishingly assured sophomore release from a rising star of jazz and the vibraphone in particular. She’s one of … Continue reading

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Frank Zappa’s Zappa Picks – By Jon Fishman of Phish

Frank Zappa was an iconoclastic American musician. He surfaced in the ’60s but was decidedly non-hippie and anti-drug, and his music drew more on jazz and cabaret than the folk and acid-rock of that decade. If I had to pick … Continue reading

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Frank Zappa’s Zappa Picks – by Larry LaLonde of Primus

Frank Zappa has become legendary in death. He must be laughing as he looks down, or up, from wherever he is spending eternity. His music is still available in beautifully packaged editions, just the way he always wanted it to … Continue reading

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Wolfgang Muthspiel’s Dance of the Elders

Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel returns with the same trio that recorded the critically acclaimed Angular Blues, for another outing that seamlessly blends folk, classical and jazz. Drawing on the quieter aspects of the repertoires of bassist Scott Colley and drummer … Continue reading

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Jesper Thorn’s Dragør

It’s not often that a musician, especially a jazz musician, reveals as much about themselves as Jesper Thorn does in conjunction with his new project Dragør. The Danish bassist and composer has previously released two critically acclaimed and well received … Continue reading

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Sinikka Langeland’s Wind And Sun

Magical. That’s the first word that came to mind as I listened to Sinikka Langeland’s Wind And Sun. This is Langeland’s 11th solo album and seventh on ECM (her work has also appeared on Grappa and Heilo labels). I first … Continue reading

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Maurice Louca & Elephantine’s Moonshine

On Moonshine, Maurice Louca’s ensemble Elephantine uses classical Middle Eastern modal music as a springboard to an entrancing blend of genre-defying sounds. It’s a dense, heady swirl of multi-cultural instrumentation united by jazz and other improvisational styles and modernist classical … Continue reading

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Mark Turner Quartet’s Live at the Village Vanguard

Mark Turner is a highly respected saxophonist with countless credits to his name as a leader and player in others’ ensembles. This is his first live release as a leader, and he chose to do it in the most storied … Continue reading

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