The title of Mike Clark’s latest record, Itai Doshin (Wide Hive, 2025) comes from the drummer’s Buddhist beliefs, a worldview shared with his onetime bandleader, Herbie Hancock. The title translates into the saying of “many in body, one in mind.” That’s the equivalent in musical speak of ‘in the pocket.” Or, in plainer language, a […]
Tribute albums have been an ubiquitous part of modern music. They generally fall into two categories. Some honor a specific recording, with artists hoping to put their own spin on a landmark work of years past, whether the George Benson covering the Beatles [The Other Side of Abbey Road (A&M, 1970)] or Nels Cline and […]
With Quartets and Solos (Contagious, 2025), bassist and composer Noah Garabedian appears for the first time on saxophonist Dayna Stephens’ label. As one might expect, Stephens is a vital member of the quartet, wielding his tenor saxophone and EWI. Rounding out the ensemble are pianist Carmen Staaf, drummer Jimmy MacBride, and Samuel Adams on synths, […]
Trio of Bloom (Pyroclastic, 2025) is the first meeting of three titans of creative music, artists to whom genres and boundaries hold little meaning. You can regularly find each of them in conventional or edgy sessions, or within the turf that lies between. The term in the promotional notes is a better one – genre […]
Audiences who saw artist-in-residence Henry Threadgill at Big Ears in 2024 were enthralled with five performances, each featuring a different configuration, and left eagerly anticipating the artist’s next move. Listen Ship (Pi, 2025), like many of Threadgill’s recent works, finds the eighty-one-year-old NEA Jazz Master conducting rather than participating instrumentally. The ensemble under his direction […]
Carmen Staaf’s Sounding Line (Sunnyside, 2025) is the second album recently covered on this site that envisions a conversation between Thelonious Monk and another pianist-composer. Just a few weeks ago, trumpeter Josh Lawrence positioned Chopin with Monk. Here, Staff has Monk conversing with a contemporary, Mary Lou Williams. Just about every jazz pianist and many […]
As a vehicle to facilitate group improvisation – or collaborative creation in the moment, as some artists refer to it- musicians have long relied on the concept of a “head” piece. A precomposed melody, the head provides a set baseline for free creation. Often, these pieces have been standards, frequently reused songs penned by others. […]
One of our few links to bands of Miles, McCoy Tyner, Pharaoh Sanders, Lee Morgan, and Roy Hargrove, NEA Jazz Master and soon-to-be-eighty-five-year-old Gary Bartz has earned the right to do whatever he pleases. Damage Control (OYO, 2025) is the first installment in The Eternal Tenure of Sound trilogy, self-funded by Bartz and produced by […]
This is the year that some of us learned that tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse was a leader of other bands rather than simply a member of Thelonious Monk’s quartet. Earlier this year, Strata-East reissued 1974’s guitar-driven, funky Two Is One (Mack Avenue, 2025). Now comes Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition (Resonance, 2025), a double LP […]
A fierce expansion on the percussive focus of More Touch (Pyroclastic Records, 2022) and the addition of intricate saxophone parts made Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic Records, 2024) a bold step forward for vibraphonist Patricia Brennan. The progression from More Touch to Breaking Stretch sounded natural, but the difference between those albums and Of The Near And […]
