All About Jazz

Among jazz trombonists with a sense of history, the name J.J. Johnson is spoken with an admiration that borders on reverence. Johnson was a pacesetter, a creative and articulate slideman and improviser who, either alone or with sometime partner Kai Winding

Era il 1995 quando Riccardo Tesi fece uscire per l'etichetta Silex il suo Un ballo liscio, un disco che per la prima volta svelò a molti la suggestione e la ricchezza di una tradizione musicale troppo spesso trascurata, quando non denigrata. E la fece scoprire per primo allo stesso artista pistoiese che, quando la stessa Silex gli aveva proposto il progetto, non ne era stato subito entusiasta. Poi, studiando quella musica e incontrando personaggi straordinari che le avevano nel tempo conferito l'identità —Carlo Brighi, Secondo Casadei, Gorni Kramer, Wolmer Beltrami e tanti altri —ne era alla fine rimasto affascinato e, circondatosi di musicisti di grande spessore, spesso lontanissimi da quel genere, aveva dato vita a quella gemma.

Registrato dal vivo al Birdland dal 24 al 26 gennaio 2002, il materiale di questo doppio CD (nonché doppio vinile) raggiunge oggi i quasi 83 minuti di durata, aggiungendo, rispetto all'edizione originaria uscita pochi mesi dopo il concerto, un'alternate take inedita del brano che intitola l'album e una versione ampliata di "11/8," riposizionando nel contempo i nove brani complessivi in quanto a "ordine di apparizione."

The first name Thelonious—does it come from the word theology? Is a parent giving a newborn a form of divinity with the appellation? This is speculation; the answer is up in the air, but the most famous Thelonious is Thelonious Sphere Monk, one of the brightest of jazz stars to emerge in the age of bebop.

By Patrick Burnette | Jazz Bastard November 14, 2024 View read count

2024 is proving to be a very busy year for new jazz releases. The seventeen new albums featured on this edition of World of Jazz demonstrate a healthy and developing jazz world where tradition and modernism share equally the goal of creating memorable listening experiences.

Florida-based tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert leads a superlative quartet on It Gets Better, a graceful and charming album recorded September 2021 at the renowned Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey. While comparisons to other musicians are as a rule less than viable, the striking similarities between Rupert and the late jazz giant

Saxophonist Justin Chart is known for his cinematic, entirely improvised, live sessions. A stalwart of the Los Angeles, and Southern California, jazz scene, Chart has several superb albums to his credit. His 2024 record, Night Heat, maintains the same level of sophistication and spontaneity. It is culled from two separate appearances with different sidemen and consists of ten, relatively short, tracks that focus mainly on the intricacy of the melodies and the dynamic ensemble sound.

By Leo Sidran | The Third Story November 14, 2024 View read count

Tony Poole selects his favourite new releases and pre-releases. The opening track remembers Quincy Jones with a rare live version of Killer Joe from 1972.