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STANLEY COWELL - Games (1991
There are no bad Stanley Cowell albums. All of the pianist's leadership recordings are resplendent works of dazzling art. I don't say this about all jazz artists, since most have their moments of...
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BUGGE WESSELTOFT - IM (2007)
Following a series of releases that, under the imprint "New Conception of Jazz," find the place where improvisation, jazz and dance club beats meet, pianist Bugge Wesseltoft's IM might be considered a...
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BUGGE WESSELTOFT - Playing (2009)
As a successor to the impressive IM (Jazzland, 2007), pianist Bugge Wesseltoft continues to explore the powerful potential of solo performance. Like IM—and no surprise to those familiar with his...
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CARLA BLEY - The Very Big Carla Bley Band (1990)
This 1990 recording found Carla Bley at the helm of an 18-piece big band and signaled a return of sorts to a more traditional jazz sound than had been evidenced on many of her albums of the '80s, which...
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POLAR BEAR - In Each And Every One (2014)
Polar Bear is back. Not just with a bang, but with a whole array of other sounds, including the occasional whimper. In Each And Every One brings together 11 tunes from the pen of drummer Sebastian...
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CLAUDIA QUINTET - September (2013)
Bandleader, drummer and composer John Hollenbeck has been able to keep his Claudia Quintet viable long after its original formation in the late 90s by continually tossing new challenges at it. For...
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JOHN TCHICAI·CECIL McBEE·GARRISON FEWELL·CHARLIE KOHLHASE·BILLY HART - Tribal...
Only at the end of his career John Tchicai, a man who played with Albert Ayler and John Coltrane and who was one of the great voices in free jazz, was allowed to have his first and only weeklong...
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ANDREW HILL - Time Lines (2006)
Andrew Hill has been, in the gentlest of cases, an idiosyncratic player, composer, and bandleader. But often, reviews of his work have been quite strident and refer to him as an iconoclast. That's...
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ANDY SHEPPARD·MICHEL BENITA·SEBASTIAN ROCHFORD - Libero (2012)
The self-titled debut recording by Trio Libero features the acoustic collective of saxophonist Andy Sheppard, bassist Michel Benita, and drummer Sebastian Rochford. The group's name comes from a...
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CARSTEN DAHL·ARILD ANDERSEN·PATRICE HERAL - The Sign (2002)
That nearly a third of the material on their debut, The Sign, is completely free improvisation, demonstrates the kind of simpatico that emerged during the trio's first tour. That it is sometimes...
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FRED ANDERSON - Black Horn Long Gone (1993)
Fred Anderson is one of today's most powerful and singular saxophonists. Recorded in 1993, this trio (with bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Ajaramu—aka AJ Shelton—who have both since passed away)...
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BUDDY TERRY - Pure Dynamite (1972)
An overlooked gem from the early 70s, Buddy Terry’s “Pure Dynamite” mixes post bop and fusion in a style somewhat similar to what Freddie Hubbard and Sonny Rollins were doing at the same time, but...
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HORACE SILVER QUINTET & TRIO - Blowin' The Blues Away (1958)
Tracks01. Blowin' The Blues Away02. The St. Vitus Dance03. Break City05. Sister Sadie06. Baghdad Blues07. Melancholy Mood08. How Did It HappenBLUE MITCHELL trumpetJUNIOR COOK tenor saxHORACE SILVER...
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AKI TAKASE - Something Sweet, Something Tender (2007)
Aki Takase was born in Osaka and grew up in Tokyo. She alresady had piano- lessons when she was three years old. Piano was her main subject during her studies at the Tohogakuen University in Tokyo....
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ANGELICA SANCHEZ QUINTET - Wires & Moss (2012)
Perceptive composer and cunning improviser, educator/keyboardist Angelica Sanchez has risen to the A-list of modern stylists and innovators. As history dictates, she largely summons the...
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ANNA WEBBER - Percussive Mechanics (2013)
Anna Webber is a Brooklyn-based composer and instrumentalist who has been making ever-expanding waves since her 2010 debut as a leader, Third Floor People. Since that time, she’s been primarily...
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RITA MARCOTULLI - Koinè (2002)
Lost in the profusion of gigs in last year's London jazz festival, the single performance of the Italian pianist Rita Marcotulli with UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard was an overlooked gem. Marcotulli's...
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MALACHI FAVORS MAGHOSTUT - Natural & the Spiritual (1977)
Best known as the bassist for the acclaimed avant-garde ensemble the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Malachi Favors kept a fairly low profile, though he was an essential element of the group’s artistic...
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SUNNY MURRAY TRIO - Live at Moers Festival (1979)
Tracks1. Sweet Lovely2. German Dilemma3. Tree Tops4. Happiness TearsSUNNY MURRAY drumsMALACHI FAVORS bass, percussionCHEIKH TIDIANE FALL congasDAVID MURRAY tenor saxophone, bass clarinetAll...
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SAM JONES - Visitation (1978)
Sam Jones was a prolific sideman during his career, though he recorded on an occasional basis as a leader. This 1978 session, just a few years prior to his premature death, finds him leading a powerful...
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