Jazz

record_store_listening_booths

Jessica Jones Quartet | Word | NA 1045

Posted by

2

Her Jessica Jones Quartet has been featured in the What Is Jazz? Festival at New York’s Knitting Factory and also at the Eddie Moore Jazz Festival at Yoshi’s in Oakland, in addition to performing at many Bay Area and East coast clubs, colleges and radio stations. Jessica also performs in a duet setting with her husband Tony. Word is her fourth recording as a leader and follows 2005’s Nod (New Artists Records), 2002’s Shakeup (independent release) and 1997’s Family (Nine Winds). She also performed as part of Joseph Jarman’s Lifetime Visions Orchestra on 2006’s Lifetime Visions for the Magnificent Humans. Continue reading →

Dick Twardzik | 1954 Improvisations | NA1006

Posted by

0

Richard Twardzik’s“1954 Improvisations,” with its home recording on a dim acetate as well as an untuned piano for the first six of twelve numbers, is still a rare and significant find indeed. Digitally remastered, it makes the best of serious drawbacks. Twardzik, who lived only from 1931 to 1955, made very few recordings. A promising star, extinguished too soon by a self-inflicted drug overdose, he left us with a scant 23 sides with Charlie Mariano (1961/1953), Serge Chaloff (1954), and Chet Baker (1955). In addition to one (1951) number with Bird, and an impossible to get 1954 trio album under his own name; hence, these additional 12 performances, in any form, are treasures. — Coda Magazine Continue reading →

Ace Yamashita | Dhamma | NA1036

Posted by

0

On the back glossy sleeve in almost indiscernable print is the statement, “It doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t exist because the humans couldn’t see it. It doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t exist because the humans couldn’t hear it.”That type of enlightened thinking seems to relate to how Yamashita approaches music, and probably life. There are subtleties in his playing that must be brought out by the listener, yet they are present just the same. There are also some very overt statments that require no translation. Yamashita appears to be tying the ancient with the modern with his meditative playing, relating his Japanese ancestry to the current times. Ignoring the deeper philosophical meaning and concentrating strictly on the music, this is a very fine solo guitar album with seductive sonic qualities. It has trance-inducing effects, but mostly it is a solid example of the improvisatory process by a very serious musician — Frank Rubolino
Continue reading →

Harry Schulz | Havin’ A Ball | NA1032

Posted by

1


“This is a beautiful example of the difference between influence and imitation: Bird never did this thing that he inspired Harry to do. Harry got a feeling from Bird and it took him to something completely original. It’s also the kind of line of influence that particularly moves and delight me: a singer, inspired by a saxophone player, comes up with a new conception with shattering implications for singers and instrumentalists alike.” — Andy Fite, Village Life 1992 Continue reading →

Linda Satin | The Way I Am | NA1028

Posted by

0

It is possible for music to be both beautiful and challenging as evidenced on THE WAY I AM by the vocalizing of Satin, who performs in a series of duets with pianist Crothers or guitarist Fite. The beauty comes from the delightful voice of Satin, who sings eight standards that are dripping with love. She conveys warmth and passion through her singing… (Satin) skirts through these love songs displaying all the romance and eloquence the tunes hold. The challenge comes from the instrumental side of the equation. Crothers… excels with probing solos… Her dense patterns underlining Satin’s voice and her own explorations add considerable substance to the duets. Fite… contributes a challenging ring to his… duets with Satin. His playing adds lyricism to the songs… Love is in the air with Satin at the mike…. The three form two delightful teams. – Frank Rubolino, Cadence February 2000. Continue reading →

Lonnie Leibowitz | Terra’s Ascension | NA1040

Posted by

0

A student of Connie Crothers, his style also has traces of the linear, knotted approach of Lennie Tristano. All told, it’s an interesting, stylistic synthesis of measure and exuburance, form and freedom, light and shade. What unites the various approaches-from the relative barrage of “Terra’s Ascension” to the fragile lyricism of “Pleiadian Soundscape” -is Leibowitz’s intensity and focus…this is a pretty rich program of music.”– Jason Bivins, Cadence Magazine Continue reading →

Jessica Jones Quartet | Nod | NA1039

Posted by

3

Thereis a small, specialized subgenre of jazz that occurs when out-cats decide to come in from the cold and play it (relatively) straight for a tune or two. (Think Eric Dolphy exhausting “You Don’t Know What Love Is”on Last Date, or Alber Ayler croaking“Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” The fun comes from the tension created by turmoil under voluntary temporary restraint. Nod has some of that tension (and fun). Jessica Jones and her husband, Tony Jones, are perhaps the only avant-garde, tenor-sax playing man-and-wife tandem in jazz. Their 15-year track record revolves around experimental composition, freer forms and collective improvisation. But the Joneses planned Nod as “a tribute to the jazz guys (and gals) in the lineage.” The result is an approachable, intriguing album, full of surprise and positive energy. Continue reading →

Virg Dzurinko | Solo Piano | Fun City | NA1033

Posted by

4

Basedon the brevity of information available on this disc from its packaging, it’s difficult to gain a handle on Dzurinko’s background. Fortunately, her style at the piano is far less enigmatic than her origins and usually favors a light lyrical touch and diplomatic approach to the politics of melody and rhythm. Spreading her lithe fingers over an intimate gathering of standards and originals, Dzurinko sounds very much at home in the company of one. Most of the pieces are limited in length, but opulent in ideas. Her original compositions are possessed of a stark and natural beauty that often overshadows her warmer, more accessible readings of the standards. “Dinosaurs Rising” and “Seven Eight” are two such pieces that move across the breadth of emotions within the space of only a few minutes. Other pieces, such as“Traffic and Weather Together,” manifest darker moods through taut tone clusters and the careful use of dissonance. Maintaining a high level of rapport with one’s instrument while remaining cognizant of an audience for the music can be a burden for any musician in a solo setting. From the music presented here, it’s apprarent that Dzurinko is more than up to the challenge presented by such sparse surroundings. — Derek Taylor Continue reading →