jazz Archive
18 Apr 2018
Album Review: Sun Ra — Standards
Jazz great Sun Ra (born Herman Blount) has an imposing reputation as the iconoclastic purveyor of wildly unusual and unconventional music. His influence is felt far beyond the confines of […]
18 Apr 2018
Album Review: An Evening with Ornette Coleman, Part 2
No one would ever accuse Ornette Coleman of making “easy listening” music. One of the acclaimed and innovative jazz musician’s few forays into what could loosely –very loosely – termed […]
09 Apr 2018
Album Review: Jean-Michel Bernard Plays Lalo Schifrin
Viewers of American film and television in the late ’60s and early 1970s were weaned on a steady diet of jazz, though they might not have noticed it happening. Especially […]
08 Apr 2018
San Jose Winter Jazz Fest 2018
The 2018 edition of the popular San Jose Jazz Fest took place February 15-28. Here’s a rundown of some of the most interesting acts who were on the bill. Ronnie […]
27 Mar 2018
Seven Jazz Archival/Reissue Releases
Monty Alexander – Here Comes the Sun (MPS) Jamaican pianist Alexander has a bright, flowing and lyrical approach to his instrument. Originally released in 1971, Here Comes the Sun was […]
16 Mar 2018
Album Review: Nina Simone — Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Sessions
Nina Simone (born Eunice Waymon) was a classically-trained pianist; she didn’t set out to be a jazz singer. Born in Tryon, N.C. in 1933, she was a musical prodigy, and […]
15 Mar 2018
Dixie Dregs Answer the Question, “What If?” (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… In the early ’80s, the band made the decision to add vocals. With the benefit of hindsight, was that a mistake? I don’t know that any […]
14 Mar 2018
Dixie Dregs Answer the Question, “What If?” (Part One)
Atlanta (by way of Augusta and Miami) band the Dixie Dregs were among the most boundary-pushing acts of the 1970s. Deftly blending styles from hard rock to jazz fusion to […]
24 Feb 2018
Album Review: Jan Sturiale — Roadmaps
A classically-trained guitarist, Jan Sturiale expertly treads the fine line between tasty guitar instrumentals and ensemble jazz. On Roadmaps, the fourth album by the Italian guitarist/composer, there’s a wide-angle focus […]
05 Feb 2018
2017’s Top Ten You Might Not Have Heard/Heard Of
My brow furrows a bit when I read “Best of” lists published in November or early December; are December releases set aside for consideration in the following year? Or are […]