Eighty-Eights
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
Driftwoods
Tompkins Square
If you have read about Ran Blake but do not know his music, Driftwoods is a good place to discover him. In contrast to Blake’s previous recording, All That is Tied (which was his 35th and which contained his own jagged, austere compositions), Driftwoods...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
New York Trio Recordings Vol. 3: Night Whispers
Pirouet
Moodscapes, self-contained atmospheres of crystalline lyricism
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
Turning It Loose
Jazzheads Records
Dave Frank taught for 17 years at Berklee and now directs the Dave Frank School of Jazz in Manhattan. His new album can be admired as a dissertation on the largest issue facing the solo jazz pianist, which is how the left hand deals with the absence of a...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
An Old Sweet Song
Sea Breeze
This recording describes itself as “a concept album that features soulful, groove-heavy jazz interpretations of popular compositions not normally associated with the jazz genre.” It is a curious description, given that several of the tunes here are in fact...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
Live in Japan
WilderJazz
The trio here, with bassist Trey Henry and drummer Ray Brinker, is probably best known as Tierney Sutton’s back-up band. But they have also been a stand-alone ensemble for 12 years and sound like it. They interweave their three voices with a confidence and...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
88 Fingers
Eyran
Eyran Katsenelenbogen, who claims Felix Mendelssohn in his family tree, plays solo piano like no one in jazz. His music is a wildly eclectic fantasia, with dizzying runs of ornamentation whirling at warp speed, spin-offs and digressions intruding upon and...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
Life’s Backward Glances
ECM Records
This boxed set reissues three Steve Kuhn albums from the ’70s, all long out of print. It is an uneven package, with one solo gem (Ecstasy), one quartet album that is easier to respect than to love (Motility), and one problem (Playground). Playground is a...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
TV Trio
Brux
John Stetch’s improbable decision to create jazz versions of TV themes from the ’70s and ’80s gives rise to an interesting question: What is a “standard”? Conventional jazz wisdom answers “Stella By Starlight” or “Skylark,” which helps explain why jazz has...
May 2009 By Thomas Conrad
Tomorrows
Imagery
This is the debut leader recording by a musician with an extraordinary life story. Donald Vega was smuggled out of civil war-torn Nicaragua when he was 14, was eventually granted political asylum in the U.S., and, through benefactors in the Los Angeles jazz...
