The Fat Babies: 'Chicago Hot' (Delmark Records)
Few young musicians focus on pre-bebop jazz as intensely as the Fat Babies, and fewer still dispatch repertoire by Jelly Roll Morton, Joe "King" Oliver and other vintage masters with comparable tonal...
View ArticleZach Brock: 'Almost Never Was' (Criss Cross Jazz)
The next major jazz violinist acquits himself quite well as soloist, bandleader and composer, Brock showing beauty of tone, seriousness of purpose and depth of thought in his own compositions and...
View ArticleFred Hersch Trio: 'Alive at the Vanguard' (Palmetto Records)
This stunning double-album documents the quick-thinking, ultra-sensitive give-and-take among pianist Hersch, bassist John Hebert and drummer Eric McPherson, live at the Village Vanguard.
View ArticleDon Byron, New Gospel Quintet: 'Love, Peace, and Soul' (Savoy Jazz)
Clarinetist Byron and his aptly named New Gospel Quintet shed welcome light on the landmark compositions of gospel pioneer Thomas A. Dorsey.
View ArticleEsperanza Spalding: 'Radio Music Society' (Heads Up International)
Jazz technique, pop accessibility and an urgent social consciousness intertwine in Spalding's brilliant companion-piece to her breakthrough "Chamber Music Society."
View ArticleJosh Berman & His Gang: 'There Now' (Delmark Records)
The past, present and future of jazz sometimes converge, sometimes collide in cornetist Berman's characteristically bold release.
View ArticleRavi Coltrane: 'Spirit Fiction' (Blue Note)
Saxophonist Coltrane leads two distinct bands on his Blue Note debut recording, his music as conceptually daring as it is richly introspective.
View ArticleAnat Cohen: 'Claroscuro' (Anzic Records)
Cohen takes a wide view of the jazz repertoire, showing mastery in everything from Brazilian repertoire to bracing original music, from European balladry to classic Artie Shaw.
View ArticleMatt Ulery: 'By a Little Light' (Greenleaf Music)
Bassist Ulery offers the most mysterious, haunting music of his still-young career.
View ArticleMiguel Zenon and Laurent Coq: 'Rayuela' (Sunnyside Records)
Puerto Rican saxophonist Zenon and French pianist Coq drew inspiration for "Rayuela" from Argentine writer Julio Cortazar's book of the same name, but this sublimely expressive recording achieves a...
View Article