Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
The debut Bluebird Jazz release from Brazilian-born, New York-based pianist/vocalist Eliane Elias, Kissed By Nature, is set for a Sept. 24 release. The 13-track album is comprised of 10 original vocal and instrumental compositions, a medley of two tunes by Brazilian songwriter Djavan and two remixes produced by the popular Brazilian DJ team BossaCucaNova.
While continuing to exercise her prowess as a top jazz artist, Elias expands her creative vision on Kissed By Nature by adding new textures, colors and shapes to her music. She delivers romantic ballads and upbeat, swinging numbers that are infused with Brazilian music influences.
“I wanted to make a record that could be listened to when you just want to relax,” Elias said. “Instead of creating an album of pianistic virtuosity, I set out to make music that is beautiful as well as artistically engaging.”
For most of the album, Elias works in a trio with bassist Marc Johnson and alternated between drummers Joey Baron and Paolo Braga. Randy Brecker appears on trumpet and flugelhorn on a couple of tracks, and Rick Margitza adds tenor saxophone to the mix.
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.
Sep 3, 2025 12:03 PM
Trio aRT, a working unit since 1988, shockingly released its very first studio recording this summer. Recorded in…
