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PAOLO FRESU·OMAR SOSA - Alma (2012)
Trying to keep pace with the musical projects of pianist Omar Sosa or trumpeter Paolo Fresu is an almost-athletic pursuit. Calling either man prolific is an understatement, but what's more impressive...
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NGUYÊN LÊ - Nguyên Lê With Michael Gibbs & NDR Bigband·Celebrating The Dark...
It's a bold concept; take Pink Floyd's iconic Dark Side of the Moon (Harvest, 1973) and reinterpret it in a big band jazz setting. With upwards of forty million copies sold, every note, every nuance...
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JOHN LINDBERG QUINTET - Dimension 5 (1982)
While not the absolutely earliest of this excellent bassist, bandleader, and composer's projects, Dimension 5 still features a photograph on the back cover that has prompted comparisons with nervous...
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JOHN LINDBERG REVOLVING ENSEMBLE - Relative Reliability (1988)
Tracks1. Sparkle From Half–Pint (Lindberg)2. Tones Of Mourning (Lindberg)3. Common Goal (Lindberg)4. One For Jerome (Ehrlich)5. Cisse (Ehrlich)6. Flight (Lindberg)7. Arenas (Lindberg)8. Multiple...
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KENNY WHEELER·PETER O'MARA·WAYNE DARLING·BILLY ELGART - Wheeler, O'Mara,...
Tracks1. Bill's Place (Wayne Darling)2. The Beauty And The Past (Peter O'Mara)3. Terrible Ooze (Peter O'Mara)4. Old Ballad (Kenny Wheeler)5. Sun King (Peter O'Mara)6. Everybody's Song But My Own...
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KENNY WHEELER·BRIAN DICKINSON - Still Waters (1999)
Tracks1 The Forks 6:202 Still Waters 6:223 Kind Folk 5:424 Remembrance (For M.P.) 8:095 Winter Suite 6:446 Spring Sprung In 4:307 Phrase One 5:358 Springs Eternal 5:549 Gentle Piece 6:28KENNY WHEELER...
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DICK HECKSTALL-SMITH·JACK BRUCE·JOHN STEVENS - This That (1994)
Tracks1. Within 2. This Piece 3. That Piece 4. Next Piece 5. Other Piece 6. Another Piece 7. Following Piece 8. Our Peace DICK HECSTALL-SMITH tenor & soprano saxesJACK BRUCE bass, vocalsJOHN...
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ANTHONY BRAXTON - 3 Compositions of New Jazz (1968)
While it is not as powerful or as revelatory as For Alto, Anthony Braxton's second album for Delmark, 3 Compositions of New Jazz is his debut as a leader and showcases just how visionary -- or out to...
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ANTHONY BRAXTON - Anthony Braxton (1969)
And so begins Anthony Braxton's three year sojourn into Europe. Not finding a lot of respect in America, though "For Alto" did achieve a 5/5 from Downbeat, Braxton turned to the Europeans and his...
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ANTHONY BRAXTON - 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992
Two of the compositions on this recording were written around 1980, two in 1992, but all are representative of the more "classical" side of Braxton's work. Unlike several previously recorded examples...
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ANTHONY BRAXTON - Composition No. 94 For Three Instrumentalists (1980) (1999)
The folks at Leo Records remind us that “new jazz”, “free-jazz” or “new music” is over 40 years old as they approach their 20th anniversary as a fine, cutting-edge label often featuring old and new...
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DAVE LIEBMAN - Return of the Tenors; Standards (1996)
Throughout much of the '80s and '90s, Dave Liebman focused exclusively on soprano saxophone. On this 1996 date he proclaims the Return of the Tenor, taking up the larger horn once again for an...
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DAVE LIEBMAN·ELLERY ESKELIN·TONY MARINO·JIM BLACK - Different But The Same...
On first inspection, teaming up saxophonists Dave Liebman and Ellery Eskelin might seem to have the potential for an acute dose of musical schizophrenia. But closer consideration reveals that there is...
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DAVE LIEBMAN - Negative Space (2008)
On David Liebman's trips to Europe, as with many of his gigs in the U.S., he chooses to play with so-called "pickup" bands. In Italy, one of his favorite and most skilled combos features drummer Tony...
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DAVE LIEBMAN·LEWIS PORTER - Surreality (2012)
If Dave Liebman in Conversation with Lewis Porter: What It Is: The Life of a Jazz Artist has not already been published by Scarecrow Press, then it will be soon. It clearly promises to be an absorbing...
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TRYGVE SEIM - The Source (2006)
Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim turned heads with his two recordings as a leader, Different Rivers (ECM, 2000), and Sangam (ECM, 2004). But these richly composed discs reveal but one aspect of his...
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MIKE WESTBROOK ORCHESTRA - On Duke's Birthday (1990)
In many ways, this is the most delightful and most confounding of all of Mike Westbrook's recordings. The music here is not Ellington re-arranged or reconceived, it' s not a set of Ellington...
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URI CAINE - Callithump (2014)
A case can be made for ‘delayed recognition’ of a lot of artists in jazz, and Caine is a more than deserving candidate in this respect. That he has one of the longest-running tenures on a notable...
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THE LEGENDARY ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE - Black Is Back·40th Anniversary...
The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's latest album, "Black is Back," is a superb musical effort. For forty years Kahil El' Zabar has led the Ensemble, it's origins stemming from the school and musical...
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MICHAEL MANTLER - The Jazz Composer's Orchestra Update (2014)
When the Jazz Composer's Orchestra album was released in 1968, it was an immediate game changer. Group founders Michael Mantler and Carla Bley had enlisted some of the new jazz's greatest soloists --...
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