Thomas Cunniffe

REMINISCING AND RE-EVALUATING

The four albums in this month’s vocal CD reviews feature artists who look backward and forward at the same time. “Somewhere”, the new disc from Peter Eldridge and Kenny Werner sounds like a classic vocalist-with-strings date but most of the music is new. On “Thirsty Ghost”, Sara Gazarek uses an eclectic selection of pop and jazz songs to comment on events from her personal life. Maggie Herron offers fresh interpretations of standards written over a 100-year span on “Renditions”, and the New York Voices’ “Reminiscing in Tempo” finds the group using jazz standards to explore new directions in their musical sphere. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the results.

THE BLUE NOTE STORY (ON VIDEO)

Blue Note Records stood apart from nearly every other American label for its dedication to artistic freedom and its disinterest in creating hit records. The company founders, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, shared a deep love for jazz, despite possessing little technical knowledge of the music. After immigrating to the US from Nazi Germany, they […]

“THE PLAYBOY JAZZ ALL-STARS, VOLUME 2” (LP: Playboy PB 1958)

Don’t let the Playboy moniker throw you: The album under review does include a gatefold cover, but there are no nude photos inside. “The Playboy Jazz All-Stars, Volume 2” collected tracks by the winners of the magazine’s 1958 jazz poll, and aside from a few misogynist remarks in the liner notes, the album is completely family-friendly. In fact, it was one of the first jazz albums that the teenaged Thomas Cunniffe ever heard. In this Retro Review, he recalls this recording, his growing love of the music, and a very special Christmas present.

“RABBIT’S BLUES” (by Con Chapman)

Johnny Hodges was a private man who disliked giving interviews. Self-taught on both alto and soprano saxophones, he was not particularly well-versed on the mechanics of music, and the fear of being asked to explain elements of his personal style may have been his reason for keeping the press at arm’s length. In his new Hodges biography, “Rabbit’s Blues”, Con Chapman explores many of the stories about the enigmatic saxophonist. However, reviewer Thomas Cunniffe was disturbed by the book’s lack of musical discussions, so he has amended this Book Review with five embedded YouTube clips featuring some of Hodges’ finest solos.

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR 9-19

How to support your favorite jazz website (three guesses which one!) plus information about this issue’s brand new articles.

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY AT VAIL SQUARE (July 25, 2019)

For Ann Hampton Callaway, her “Jazz Goes to the Movies” concerts are more than just misty-eyed trips down memory lane. As she explained to the audience at Vail Square on July 25, 2019, the music explores dreams, both as wish fulfillment and as a salve for a troubled world. In an 18-song, two-act show, she […]

NEWLY-RELEASED JAZZ (FROM THE 1960s)

It’s amazing what treasures can be found within a record company vault. In this month’s Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe discusses two double-CD sets of previously unreleased 1960s recordings by a pair of iconic tenor saxophonists. “Getz at the Gate” is a 1961 live date with Stan Getz at his most aggressive (powered by the phenomenal Roy Haynes), and “Grits, Beans and Greens” presents two contrasting recording sessions led by Tubby Hayes.

STANDARDS…OF MANY KINDS

The term “standards” can mean different things to different artists. On Holly Cole’s new CD, it refers to the Great American Songbook. Nancy Kelly, Jenna McLean and the Anöna Trio mix pop and jazz standards on their discs, and on the Tierney Sutton Band’s latest release, the term embraces a wide variety of movie music. Thomas Cunniffe reviews all of the above CDs in this month’s Vocal CD Reviews.

CATHARSIS: APART AND TOGETHER

Ryan Keberle’s outstanding group Catharsis has won wide acclaim in recent years for its superb ensemble work, commitment to collective improvisation and strong political stance. In this feature review, Thomas Cunniffe reviews the band’s latest disc, alongside albums led by two members of Catharsis’ front line, Scott Robinson and Camila Meza.

JAZZ FROM DETROIT (by Mark Stryker)

“It takes a village to raise a jazz musician, and one reason Detroit has produced so many front-rank players is that the villagers are as hip as they come.” This sentence from Mark Stryker’s new book “Jazz from Detroit” is an apt summary of the city’s contribution to jazz. In this month’s Book Review, Thomas Cunniffe explores Stryker’s history, which traces the Motor City jazz scene from the bebop era to the present day.