Drummer Matt Wilson must surely be in the running for the title of hardest-working man in jazz. Wilson is a composer, bandleader, producer and teacher. As a leader, his projects include the Matt Wilson Quartet, Arts & Crafts, Christmas Tree-O and the Carl Sandburg Project. He has been in bands with luminaries such as Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Ted Nash and many, many others. As for legends, he’s played with Herbie Hancock, Dewey Redman, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvis Costello, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and Hank Jones. With appearances on over 250 albums as a leader, co-leader or sideman, this list barely scratches the surface.
While all of these credits illustrate what life can be like for a working jazz musician in the 21st Century, a striking aspect of Wilson’s resume is his ability to move between scenes. He is comfortable (and, more importantly, welcome) with cats like Wynton Marsalis, often gracing the stage for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and more often than not he can be found downtown in a small club with the likes of Myra Melford, Joan Stiles or Noah Preminger. Regardless of the venue or situation, Wilson brings his knowledge, sensitivity and enthusiasm to the proceedings.
Music & Tech Executive - Producer - Writer - Speaker - Commentator
McCoy Tyner Trio - Inception
Though two tracks from October 1960 were previously issued under McCoy Tyner’s name, they were outtakes from John Coltrane dates where the saxophonist sat out. Inception marks the pianist’s first proper release as bandleader, with the sessions for Impulse! taking place at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio on January 10 and 11, 1962. Of the set’s six tracks, four are Tyner compositions, with “Effendi” becoming something of a modern jazz standard and embraced, most notably, by pianist Ahmad Jamal.
Rez Abbasi: Thoroughly Modern Marvel
Guitarist Rez Abbasi is part of a generation of jazz musicians who came of age after the conservative backlash of the 1980s. He and his peers are making their mark on America’s art form by contributing their rich and varied cultural backgrounds and with an embrace of popular culture that was heresy in some quarters for far too long.
Rez Abbasi personifies several of the attributes on display in his music. He puts forth a quiet confidence, with a clear point of view on a variety of topics. He is capable of and open to ideas, surprises, and wonder. Though he has a singular vision for his various musical projects and approaches his art with a sense of purpose and seriousness, he is quick to laugh and clearly comfortable in his own skin. In the most striking parallel between the music and the man, conversation with him visits many themes while veering off for varied explorations.
Rez Abbasi is living, breathing proof that jazz music can be as vital and boundary-pushing as ever.
Nheap: Clouds Under The Table
“Nheap is the nom de guerre of Italian drummer/composer Massimo Discepoli. The projects he puts out as Nheap are ethereal, mostly mellow electronic excursions accompanied by his own live acoustic drum work. Clouds Under The Table marks his third collection as Nheap.
“Ambient” might begin to describe this music, but the presence of Discepoli’s relatively straightforward drumming gives the compositions more of a rootedness and energy than that to which most typical electronic ambient music lays claim. Certainly “atmospheric” goes a long way as a descriptor. This does not fall into the dance music realm, either. Though slightly beefier, most cuts from this album would not be out of place on a Windham Hill sampler…”
Alejandro Florez & Tibagui: Malandanza
Alejandro Florez’s Tibagui exists to explore and expand upon the Andean music of the guitarist’s native Columbia. Neither cumbia nor chichi, Florez’s quartet use traditional folk melodies as starting points for very modern, sophisticated and engaging improvisations.
The musical tradition Tibagui springs from is primarily string-based, typically a trio including the Latin bandola and tiple, as well as guitar. Here, Florez has expanded the instrumentation to include wind instruments and percussion, each of which has long had its own place in Andean music and is, therefore, not at all out of context here.
The John Coltrane Project: Andy Sugg Plays Trane
“The Andy Sugg Group
The John Coltrane Project: Andy Sugg Plays Trane
Downstream Music
2011
Recorded live in Melbourne, Australia, on July 17, 2010, saxophonist Andy Sugg and his group bring tasteful and modern sensibilities to the performances on this set. Sugg and his compatriots canvass the all-too-brief ten-year period spanning saxophonist John Coltrane’s emergence from the shadow of trumpeter Miles Davis to that of a leader of the jazz avant-garde.
The occasion for the performances captured here was the 43rd anniversary of Coltrane’s passing. While it may be cliché to say that the sax great’s spirit is present throughout these pieces, such a fact does not make the statement any less true. Sugg assembled an intriguing repertoire, very representative of Coltrane’s life of musical and spiritual exploration, and did justice by it…”
Read my full review at All About Jazz.
(Source: burningdervish.com)
Wilco - New York, NY - 2011-09-22
“Nels Cline can conjure wind. He did so mid-way through the third song of Wilco’s performance in New York City on September 22. There were several thousand witnesses.
Cline, Wilco’s guitarist-cum-audio mad scientist, was at the crest of an intense solo passage in “Ashes of American Flags” when a strong, crisp breeze blew in from the East, lifting the blanket of early evening humidity that was laid over the crowd gathered in Central Park’s Rumsey Playground. Wilco is a live band of such extraordinary powers that a supernatural act of meteorological manipulation seems well within their grasp. Cline’s was greeted with an appreciative roar from the devoted crowd…”
Read the rest of my review of this show on All About Jazz.
(Source: concertcrypt.burningdervish.com)
Renaissance - New York, NY - 2011-09-17
“Since forming in 1969, Renaissance has amassed a relatively small but passionate fan base. The intense affinity for the band, especially its “classic” line-up (which spanned 1971-1980 and resulted in six studio sets plus one live album), appears not to have diminished with time. The 21st century incarnation of the band, featuring guitarist and principle composer Michael Dunford and vocalist extraordinaire Annie Haslam, have focused on expanding from the core, visiting the band’s traditional strongholds in the North East of the United States as well as Eastern Canada, two territories that have always welcomed progressive bands with open arms.”
Read the rest of my review of this show at All About Jazz.
(Source: concertcrypt.burningdervish.com)
Simon Little - The Knowledge of Things to Come
“The first wave of auteurs to substantially capitalize on the proliferation of sophisticated yet accessibly-priced music production technology hailed from the DJ and electronic scenes. With turntables, samplers and DAT machines in their arsenals, these solitary explorers discovered, manipulated and mixed sound in innovative ways. The boundary between instrument and tool would never be the same.
The proliferation of multi-track recorders and expensive effects rigs have increased as their price and physical size has shrunk. As a result, artists like Simon Little can create an ever-increasing array of instrumental music, recorded and distributed as an entirely one-person endeavor…”
Read the rest of my review of this album at All About Jazz.
McCoy Tyner Trio with Gary Bartz: New York, NY, September 1, 2011
“With all of the thunder and lightning he has summoned for more than fifty years, pianist McCoy Tyner kicked off eight sets over four nights at Manhattan’s Blue Note Jazz Club on Thursday, September 1, 2011.”
Read the rest of my review of this show at All About Jazz.
(Source: concertcrypt.burningdervish.com)
