Plays It All!
By J.D. Considine
More Music, Joey DeFrancesco’s 39th album as a leader, showcases both his versatility and his virtuosity, as he offers masterful performances not only on tenor sax, but trumpet, piano, keyboard, and (of course) organ. He even shows off his vocal chops on the ballad, “And If You Please.” But while More Music may be a departure in terms of instrumentation, it’s a return to roots in terms of its sound, happily mining the soulful hard bop that has long been the bedrock of Philadelphia jazz. It helps that his new trio are all Philadelphians, and deeply invested in the local scene.
By Terry Perkins
The keyboardist, composer talks life, lessons and emotion with DownBeat … and his new recording Learning To Listen.
By Bill Milkowski
DownBeat runs an exclusive excerpt from Bill Milkowski’s new book, Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker, where the author details the first meeting between the Brecker and one of his idols, McCoy Tyner.
By Phil Freeman
Drummer Nate Smith hears and plays music his way. On the second edition of his planned Kinfolk trilogy, he pays tribute to the musical family he has embraced.
Matt Wilson’s 14th leader album, Hug!, issued last year on Palmetto, upholds the 57-year drummer’s reputation as a master navigator of a broad spectrum of improvisational and compositional strategies, animated with unfailing warmth, humor, and virtuosic execution. Wilson awarded 5 stars to each selection; this was his second Blindfold Test. He was “tested” on the following tracks.
