The Death of the Cool By Robert McHenry Cool was once associated with reticence, savoir-faire, and irony, none of which is much practiced or regarded these days. Whether or not it is true that you can’t go home again, as Thomas Wolfe claimed—and the claim is just a special case of the more general observation of Heraclitus that you cannot step into the same river twice—it seems that...
A patriotic album that doesn't resort to brash jingoism... how refreshing! Drummer and composer Harris Eisenstadt has become a mainstay of the growing Brooklyn scene, while performing as a leader and a sideman around the world. Along with Eisenstadt are: Nate Wooley on trumpet, Matt Bauder on tenor saxophone, Chris Dingman on vibraphone and Eivind Opsvik on bass. Opening with "Don't Gild the Lilly,"...
European Jazz Jamboree Berlin, Germany September 18-24, 2009 20 years after the Berlin Wall came down, the global appreciation of Germany's jazz is arguably finally getting its due, with no small help from the European Jazz Jamboree (EJJ). In its sophomore year, EJJ has quickly garnered attention throughout Europe, and now the States, too, is (and/or should be) taking notice. Founded and run by entrepreneur...
Here's the playlist for my latest Popsurfing radio show. It airs weekly on WEFT Champaign 90.1 fm on Thursday night/Friday morning from 1 am to 3 am. You can stream it live online at weft.org. PLAYLIST FOR COLORS (airdate: 11-12-2009) 01. The Wellingtons -- "Wonderful World Of Color" 02. Opener -- fall leaves; lipstick color monologue 03. 7 Worlds Collide -- "Too Blue" 04. Joni...
John Coltrane - Every Time We Say Goodbye - 1961 1961 in Baden-Baden Germany John Coltrane - soprano sax, tenor sax Eric Dolphy - flute, alto sax McCoy Tyner - piano Reggie Workman - bass Elvin Jones - drums Ev'ry time we say goodbye I die a little, ev'ry time we say goodbye I wonder why a little, why the gods above me who must be in the know think so little of me they allow you to go. When you're...
Nathanial Facey (alt), Lewis Wright (vbs), Tom Farmer (bs), Shaney Forbes(dms). The last time I heard Empirical they had Jay Phelps on trumpet which gave the frontline a nice fat sound. Last night – bonfire night – the fireworks were missing. Instead we had a measured quartet with Facey the man in the spotlight. The young man is a good player with an appealing sound and no shortage of inventive...
One of the nice things about having moved the global/galactic headquarters of LondonJazz to N1 is what King's Place can do for the life of the mind. Last night I polled up for an interview with Steve Reich hosted by the London Sinfonietta - they're cranking up the fundraising for a new Reich commission in 2011. And what was the 73-year young Reich talking about, with a pace, enthusiasm and verve which...
Los Angeles is considered the world capital of cinema, as well as a thriving industrial center. Located on the shores of this Pacific Ocean in southern California, a coastal plain surrounded by mountain areas, most notably the mountains of Santa Monica and San Gabriel. It is characterized by its musical heritage and urban excitement and [...]
Alicia Keys - Alicia Keys Smooth Jazz Tribute (CC Entertainment ) Aram Shelton - Two Cities (Delmark ) Art Blakey - Jazz Messengers (LP W/Tshirt) (Phantom ) Charlie Parker - Bird On 52ND Street (Original Jazz Classics ) Collage - Fifty-Four Minutes Twenty Seconds (Wool ) Crane River Jazz Band - Storming Session (United States Of Distribution LTD. ) Crane River Jazz Band - Storming Session: Germany...
Guitarist Joe Morris continues his 2002 experimentation with the double-bass. On Fine Objects, he leads a trio of saxophone, bass, and drums through two of his own compositions, a couple of trio improvisations, and other compositions by {{Ornette Coleman = 5818}}, {{Eric Dolphy = 6340}}, {{Larry Clinton = 5763}} and {{Petr Cancura = 17902...
Japanese Pianist Junko Onishi replaces Robert Glasper: Robert Glasper forced to cancel his JazzFest Berlin '09 concert on short notice Blue Note pianist Robert Glasper has been obliged to cancel his concert at JazzFest Berlin '09 on short notice. Substituting for him is pianist Junko Onishi (Blue Note Japan), who will perform with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Gene Jackson on November 6th at 5:30...
As Nat Hentoff notes in the original liner notes to this album, pianist Cecil Taylor had scant few chances to record or even perform live during his formative years in the late 1950’s and early ’60’s. So he had quite an opportunity in the mid ’60’s to record a few albums for Blue Note Records, including this influential LP where he improvises with Jimmy Lyons on alto saxophone,...
Varmint is the sophomore follow up to Rolldown (482 Music, 2008), the self-titled debut of vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz's quintet. Inspired by the avant-garde innovations of such late 1960s Blue Note recording artists as {{Eric Dolphy = 6340}}, {{Andrew Hill = 7627}}, {{Bobby Hutcherson = 7844}}, {{Jackie McLean = 9283}}, and {{Grachan Moncur III = 12401}}, Adasiewicz continues to explore the tenuous...
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