Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
Carla Bley (left), Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard recorded Life Goes On for the ECM label.
(Photo: Caterina di Perri/ECM)Kurt Rosenwinkel Bandit 65, Searching The Continuum (Heartcore)
Because jazz remains a mostly acoustic music, the striking thing about guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Bandit 65 is how overwhelmingly electronic it sounds. Rosenwinkel, fellow guitarist Tim Motzer and drummer Gintas Janusonis all are credited with “electronics.” The range of tones and textures are so deep and beguiling that it’s easy to get lost in the sheer lushness of the sound. Doing so, however, would be a bit like missing the forest for the trees, because the real genius of Searching The Continuum is that each of these tracks was spontaneously conceived of and recorded live.
Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra, Puertos: Music From International Waters (Avantango)
The high concept that drives Puertos: Music From International Waters has no right to work. Dedicating each song to a different port seems like a hokey idea lifted out of the era of stereo demonstration LPs. But what moves Puertos beyond a simple pastiche is that Emilio Solla has invested heavily in each of the pieces here. It’s the difference between seeing each city from the deck of a ship and exploring the back alleys of each place. The thread running through the various ports is how imperialist conquests, the slave trade and immigration mixed with native traditions to create distinctive yet linked music from Cadiz to Buenos Aires and New York.
Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead, Legacy Holder (Vision Ahead Music)
Marc Copland, And I Love Her ([Illusions] Mirage)
Chick Corea, Plays (Stretch)
Frisell/Lage/Riley, John Zorn: Virtue (Tzadik)
Jimmy Heath, Love Letter (Verve)
Sigurd Hole, Lys/Mørke (Elvesang)
Laubrock/Davis, Blood Moon (Intakt)
Wynton Marsalis, The Ever Fonky Lowdown (Blue Engine)
Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note)
Hedvig Mollestad, Ekhidna (Rune Grammofon)
Nous, Nous II (Our Silent Canvas)
Aaron Parks, Little Big II: Dreams Of A Mechanical Man (Ropeadope)
Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade, Round Again (Nonesuch)
Eric Revis, Slipknots Through A Looking Glass (Pyroclastic)
Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba, Hallowed (Advance Dance Disques)
Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, The New Immigrant Experience (Tapestry)
Sara Serpa, Recognition (Biophilia)
Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens, In Common 2 (Whirlwind)
Kevin Sun, The Sustain Of Memory (Endectomorph)
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
