Reviews

ARTIST Anouar Brahem ALBUM TITLE "After the Last Sky" LABEL ECM ______________________________________________________________ If the Lebanese Rabih Abou-Khalil, with his fiery temperament and extraordinary technical command, represents for the oud what John...

ARTIST Thomas Strønen ALBUM TITLE "Off Stillness" LABEL ECM ______________________________________________________________ We have followed Thomas Strønen with great interest ever since the early days of Food, his duo with Iain Ballamy, long...

ARTIST Federico Calcagno & The Dolphians ALBUM TITLE "Face the Music" LABEL Da Vinci Jazz ______________________________________________________________ The group that first revealed its remarkable potential with From Another Planet (EMME Records) in...

ARTIST Bill Frisell ALBUM TITLE "In My Dreams" LABEL Blue Note ______________________________________________________________ Much anticipated, In My Dreams arrives as a celebration of Frisell’s seventy-fifth birthday, which he marked on 18 March...

ARTIST Julian Lage ALBUM TITLE "Scenes from Above" LABEL Blue Note ______________________________________________________________ For his fifth Blue Note release, Julian Lage once again turns to producer Joe Henry, continuing a collaboration that...

ARTIST Craig Taborn - Tomeka Reid - Ches Smith ALBUM TITLE "Dream Archives" LABEL ECM ______________________________________________________________ This long-awaited debut documents a dazzling trio that had already proven its worth on stage....

ARTIST Cécile McLorin Salvant ALBUM TITLE "Oh Snap" LABEL Nonesuch ______________________________________________________________ Although still remarkably young at thirty-six, Cécile McLorin Salvant has already released eight albums, ample evidence of a talent that...

ARTIST Ron Carter & Ricky Dillard ALBUM TITLE "Sweet, Sweet Spirit" LABEL Blue Note ______________________________________________________________ Thirteen years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Ron Carter at his home in New...

ARTIST John Taylor ALBUM TITLE "Tramonto" LABEL ECM ______________________________________________________________ Ten years after the sudden passing of John Taylor, the release of this previously unheard concert offers a welcome opportunity to revisit...

ARTIST Phil Haynes & Free Country ALBUM TITLE "Liberty Now!" LABEL Corner Store Jazz ______________________________________________________________ In a rather singular pairing of new (and previously unreleased) material with selections spanning seventeen years...