Ran Blake: Cocktails at Dusk: A Noir Tribute to Chris Connor

Pianist Ran Blake plays exquisitely on this set of tunes associated with the swing era ex-Stan Kenton band singer Chris...

Reviewed in issue March/2015

Kenny Barron/Dave Holland: The Art of Conversation

Dave Holland | Kenny Barron

These two giants got to the top early, Barron being 19 when he arrived with Gillespie, and Holland coming up...

Reviewed in issue Dec/Jan/2014/2015

Charlie Haden/Jim Hall:

Jim Hall | Charlie Haden

There'll no doubt be a plethora of posthumous Haden releases in the months to come, and this reissue of a...

Reviewed in issue October/2014

Michael White: Spirit Dance/Pneuma

Ray Drummond | Baba Omson | Wanika King | Kenneth Nash | Michael White | Ed Kelly | Joyce Walker | Leola Sharper | Makeda King | Faye Kelly

Known for his work with saxophonist John Handy, White could largely be seen as a forward thinking 1960s violinist who,...

Reviewed in issue April/2012

Marion Brown: Geechee Recollections/Sweet Earth Flying

Marion Brown | William Malone | Steve McCall | Jumma Santos | Wadaa Leo Smith | Kobena Adzenyah | Bill Hasson | James Jefferson | Paul Bley | Muhal Richard Abrams

A one time protégé of Archie Shepp, to whom he duly dedicated his Impulse! debut, Marion Brown was nonetheless an...

Reviewed in issue February/2012

Chico Hamilton: El Chico/The Further Adventures Of El Chico

Though he had been prominent on the LA scene since the late-1940s, it was as the original drummer with Gerry...

Reviewed in issue February/2012

Pharoah Sanders: Village Of the Pharoahs/Wisdom Through Music

Calvin Hill | Pharoah Sanders | Art Webb | Norman Connors | Mtume | Badal Roy | Kylo Kylo | Kenneth Nash | Cecil McBee | James Branch

The photo of Sanders in lotus position, generously collared psychedelic shirt poking out from under his white robes, says it...

Reviewed in issue February/2012

Sonny Rollins: And The Big Brass, Trio and Quintet

Walter Booker | Billy Higgins | Ray Bryant | Sonny Rollins | Mickey Roker | Bob Cranshaw | Tommy Flanagan

While there are perhaps no absolute classics, here is an interesting overview of one of Rollins's best and most prolific...

Reviewed in issue February/2012

Coleman Hawkins: Today And Now/Desafinado

Barry Galbraith | Willie Rodriguez | Major Holley | Eddie Locke | Coleman Hawkins | Howard Collins | Tommy Flanagan

Though from the start, they had John Coltrane on the books for the final six years of his short life,...

Reviewed in issue February/2012

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers: Quintessence 1947-1959

Doug Watkins | Bill Hardman | Donald Byrd | Freddie Hubbard | Benny Golson | Bud Powell | Thelonious Monk | Kenny Dorham | Curtis Fuller | Laverne Baker

For those new to the magic that is The Jazz Messengers, this is a worthwhile 2-CD/19-track primer, offering brief cameos...

Reviewed in issue February/2012