JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Power To The People is one of those releases that tend to fall through the cracks. Like much of Joe Henderson’s solo work, it is not overtly innovative, but instead works through already established forms. It also lacks the simplicity and clarity that would endear it to the small jazz […]

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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It would be tempting but reductive to categorize The Infinite as Dave Douglas’ take on Miles Davis on the cusp of fusion, as fellow critic Dave Lynch does on allmusic.com. I understand the temptation. It’s always easier to talk about a recording if you have an overarching metaphor, a way […]

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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I have a confession to make. I’ve been sleeping on Kenny Garrett. I first heard him in concert with the Five Peace Band back in March, and I was suitably impressed. He managed to hold his own with monsters like John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Vinnie Coliauta, and Christian McBride.
Naturally, when […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Stefon Harris really set himself up as a target calling this release The Grand Unification Theory. The title implies that Harris’ ambition was to bring all of the strands of jazz together under one roof and tie them together so we can see the connections, much the way that Mingus used […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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I have to admit, I was expecting great things of Eon. In his work with Lookout Farm, Richie Beirach was one of the most consistently innovative keyboardists of the 70s, incorporating ideas from 20th Century classical music into jazz, without sacrificing one iota of swing.
Eon also features the great rhythm […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Most of life’s surprises tend to not be all that great, but A Little Night Waltz is a definite exception.
Before A Little Night Waltz, I had never heard of pianist G. F. Mlely. My loss. The guy swings like mad, has impeccable phrasing and technique, and doesn’t really sound like […]

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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The SFJazz Collective has a pretty unique history. The genesis of this octet came from the organizers of the SFJazz Festival and the Artistic Director of the festival, saxophonist Joshua Redman.
The idea was to have a more or less permanent ensemble that would pay tribute to influential composers of […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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The Real McCoy was the start of McCoy Tyner’s modern period, which would eventually reach it’s peak during the Milestone years.
On The Real McCoy, Tyner’s playing wasn’t as blistering as it would later become, but he was already delving into modal playing and composing, and he’s got a killer band to […]

NOT WORTH YOUR TIME
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Dave Liebman started his career playing with people like John McLaughlin, Miles Davis and Elvin Jones. His first group that I know of was Open Sky, a trio with drummer Bob Moses and bassist Frank Tusa. Then Liebman went on to found Lookout Farm, with Richie Beirach, Don Alias, John Abercrombie, […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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If Tales Of The Hudson was your first exposure to Michael Brecker, you might be excused for being impressed.
At the time of the recording, Brecker was already one of the tenor saxophone’s finest technicians. And look at the musicians he has with him! Pianist McCoy Tyner was a key component of […]