After a two-year gap, Reelin’ in the Years has released their long-awaited fifth series of Jazz Icons. The new set features French performances by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (with Lee Morgan & Wayne Shorter), John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the set.
Jazz Icons Series 5 box set (Reelin’ In The Years/Mosaic) Read More »
According to its author, Eugene Marlowe, the first reaction he gets to his pioneering study, Jazz in China, is the question, Is there jazz in China? It has not been an easy road for jazz to flourish in this heavily Communist country, but it has two major periods, one before Mao’s reign, and one after. Thomas Cunniffe applauds Marlow’s original research and intrepid detective work in documenting this subject, but notes that a further trip to China was necessary to bring the book up-to-date.
Jazz in China (by Eugene Marlow) Read More »
In the midst of Manhattan’s wholesale flower district, painter David X. Young, composer Hall Overton, and photographer W. Eugene Smith hosted a loft space for jam sessions and rehearsals. Many of New York’s finest jazz musicians spent time at the loft, and Smith made tape recordings and took photos of the proceedings. Much of the material has survived and it provides the visual and aural content of the new documentary The Jazz Loft, According to W. Eugene Smith. Thomas Cunniffe provides his thoughts on the film.
The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith (Kino/Lorber) Read More »
The liberal arts and the sciences may not be as far apart as you think. In his new book, The Jazz of Physics, physicist and jazz musician Stephon Alexander finds remarkable connections between improvised music and the laws of the natural world. As Thomas Cunniffe notes in his book review, Alexander’s dense text is sometimes slow-going, but it leads to a group of astonishing theories.
The Jazz of Physics (by Stephon Alexander) Read More »
One of the most revered vocalists of the 1950s, Jeri Southern created a series of acclaimed LPs and then abruptly stopped performing and recording. Thomas Cunniffe explores her minimalist style and her recorded legacy in this month’s edition of Sidetracks.
The Enigma of Jeri Southern Read More »
In a reversal of Horace Greeley’s advice, Thomas Cunniffe went east this spring to examine the possibilities of relocation, meet several friends and hear a lot of live music. In this special Concert Review, Cunniffe reports on the eight sets of music he heard in just one week.
Jazz History Online Goes East (May 17-25, 2016) Read More »
Neither jazz historian Ed Berger nor trumpeter Joe Wilder were prone to publicize their own triumphs, but a few years ago, Berger realized that Wilder’s story needed to be told. Softly With Feeling reveals Wilder’s breakthroughs in integrating studio and symphonic orchestras. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the biography.
Joe Wilder: Softly, With Feeling (by Edward Berger) Read More »
For viewers with no background knowledge of its subject, the new documentary Open Land: Meeting John Abercrombie is an amiable snapshot of the guitarist in his later years. However, anyone with previous knowledge of Abercrombie’s triumphs will find numerous problems with the film. Thomas Cunniffe tells you what the film doesn’t in this month’s DVD review.
Open Land: Meeting John Abercrombie (ECM DVD) Read More »
Round Midnight is the latest concept album from vocalist/pianist Karrin Allyson. This collection of intimate ballads features a great variety of songs, but nothing compared to Allyson’s live repertoire. A CD and concert review by Thomas Cunniffe.
Karrin Allyson: “Round Midnight” (Concord Jazz 32662) Read More »
When an artist goes on the road to promote a new album, the sounds which come from the bandstand may be significantly different than what was captured in the studio. In the case of bassist/vocalist Katie Thiroux, those differences came from a change in the personnel of her touring group. Thomas Cunniffe reviews Thiroux’s live performance at the Denver nightclub, Nocturne, and compares the music played there to Thiroux’s new CD, Off Beat.
Katie Thiroux Trio at Nocturne, Denver (October 3, 2017) Read More »
Clark Terry is one of jazz’s greatest mentors. There’s hardly a jazz musician working today that hasn’t been touched by this gentle, wise giant. A new documentary, Keep On Keepin’ On, captures Terry and his gifted student, pianist Justin Kauflin, as they each face numerous obstacles. Thomas Cunniffe provides a sneak preview in this special edition of Sidetracks.
Keep On Keepin’ On (Anchor Bay DVD) Read More »
Jazz history textbooks will all tell you that Miles Davis’ 1959 masterpiece Kind of Blue was important because of its extensive use of modal improvisation. Thomas Cunniffe agrees wholeheartedly with that statement, but wonders if the modes were simply a means to an end. He traces the history of the album through its immediate predecessor, Jazz Track and finds a simple reason for the album’s artistic and popular successes.
Miles Davis: “Kind of Blue” & “Jazz Track” (Columbia CS 8163/CL 1268) Read More »
In what is fast becoming a holiday tradition, Kurt Elling performed a spectacular concert at Denver’s Soiled Dove. This year, he sang two separate sets, one of Holiday music (from his album The Beautiful Day) and the other featuring protest music (from The Questions and the new digital EP, The Questions–LIVE). Thomas Cunniffe reviews both concert sets and the live EP in this Concert Review.
Kurt Elling at the Soiled Dove, Denver (December 12, 2018) Read More »
Although they were born just seven years apart, saxophonists John Coltrane and Frank Morgan reached their artistic zeniths in the last years of their lives. Each of these tremendous saxophonists are the subjects of new documentaries, and Thomas Cunniffe reviews both discs, noting that the films deal with the subject of drug addiction in different ways, but still let their subjects shine.