My review of emerging piano great Isaiah J. Thompson’s Power of the Spirit (Blue Engine, 2023) ended thusly: “a must-have for enthusiasts of straight-ahead, blood-pumping soul-jazz, 21st-century style. Thompson will be a force to be reckoned with well into the foreseeable future.” While there is still plenty of soul-jazz present in The Book of Isaiah: […]
One never knows where drummer-composer Ches Smith’s muse will take him next. From the Haitian voudou of We All Break: Path of Seven Colors (Pyroclastic, 2021) to the uncategorizable mash-ups of Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic, 2024) to inventive trio albums with violist Mat Maneri and Craig Taborn to whatever else strikes his fancy, Smith is there. […]
There are widely publicized and wildly anticipated supergroups, and then there are those – at least a few – that sprout suddenly without heralding fanfare. The Quantum Blues Quartet is the epitome of the latter, joining four iconic players who came together in New York in 2024 for a day-long session. They are avant-garde jazz […]
My sister and I made the scenic journey through the picturesque farmlands of central Pennsylvania, through the bucolic splendor of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, on a nine-hour road trip to Knoxville, TN, for the annual Big Ears Festival. The fest has become America’s – and perhaps the world’s – most diverse, eclectic, and exploratory festival comprising […]
