All three groups in this Blue Note anniversary concert were distinctly different. One was shaded with a hip hop influence, one proffered organ trio jazz-funk and one, all female, had singing…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 04:24PMTo hear Nat King Cole move from an anonymous member of a backing chorus to a world-class vocal soloist is well worth the time this boxed set demands. The post Jazz CD Review: Nat King Cole H…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 05:06PMThe Bad Plus are telling stories, but the trio doesn’t seem to want to follow wherever they might lead, which narrows their music's emotional range. The post Jazz Album Review: The Bad Plu…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 01:06AMYou can go home again, daddy-o, but you’re not the same person you were the first time around. The post Film Reconsideration: The Beats’s “Pull My Daisy” at 60 appeared first on The …
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 10:55PMFor me, about half of the compositions here successfully reflect the artistic visions of the painters that inspired the music. The post Jazz Recording Review: “Jazz and Art” — Paying M…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:42AMJohnny Hodges was originally a Cambridge/Boston guy, and one of the most interesting sections of Con Chapman biography is his knowledgeable description of the local jazz scene in the 1910’…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 05:54PMRobert Macfarlane’s ability to limn the pull between beauty and cataclysm provides a dynamism that elevates this book well above the level of simple “nature” writing. The post Book Rev…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 07:48PMI left thinking that holding a blues (or a jazz) festival in every city and town would not be a bad idea. It’s a better way for municipalities to spend their money -- with a surer payoff -…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 04:36PMD. A. Pennebaker was inventive, dogged, and had the ability to win people’s trust. The post Film Remembrance: D. A. Pennebaker — Documentarian Extraordinaire appeared first on The Arts …
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 09:32PM2019 is the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Double Six of Paris, so it is a good time to shine a spotlight on the group's spectacular work. The post Jazz Appreciation: The Double Si…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 12:48PMIt’s an uncommon pleasure to see band members enjoy themselves the way Tip City did. The post Jazz Concert Review: Christian McBride & Tip City — Mastery and Joy appeared first on T…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 03:03PMBolden is an intense film, depicting a life lived in a horrifically racist time and place. The post Film Review: “Bolden” — Putting Flesh on a Jazz Myth appeared first on The Arts Fuse.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 08:12PM"The half-hearted support of jazz by American broadcast TV, be it commercial or PBS or cable, has been an insult not only to the artists, but to the public as well." The post Film Interview:…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 06:49PMI did want to use this CD as a springboard to engage with the question of how using material of a certain age tends to pre-select -- and limit -- listenership. The post Jazz CD Review/Commen…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 06:41PMCoders had nothing in their intellectual toolbox that would help them understand people. The post Book Review: “Coders” — Brave New World, Coded appeared first on The Arts Fuse.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 01:29PMDespite the fact that clarinet (and occasional sax) player Pee Wee Russell was one of the most distinctive voices in jazz history, his name remains unknown outside of infra jazz circles. The…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:21AMFar more people would recognize Chet Baker’s name than Jack Sheldon’s -- and that is unfortunate. The post Jazz Commentary: Jazz and the Single Trumpet Player appeared first on The Arts …
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:35AMRarely does a book leave me questioning the ways in which I understood, or thought I understood, the construction of some of the most formative solos in jazz history. The post Book Review: �…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 12:16PMWhen it comes to jazz, you can be pretty confident that when you put excellent players together -- whether they know each other or not -- something very good will happen. And it did. The pos…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 09:16AM1917 was an important year, but perhaps not important enough to justify the sweeping title of the book. The post Book Review: “Making Music American — 1917 and the Transformation of Cult…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 06:10PMThe seven-man musical wrecking squad from Austria called Mnozil Brass has created a combination circus band, village band, marching band, and vaudeville orchestra. The post Jazz Concert Rev…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:04AMPath of Totality is a distinctive recording, put together with great attention to form and detail -- and performed with enormous skill. The post Jazz CD Review: Quinsin Nachoff’s ̶…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 07:36PMThis volume is clearly critic Nate Chinen’s resounding response to the “jazz is dead” chant.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 03:04PMThe success or failure of this show rests primarily on the physical presence, voice and acting of the actor playing the celebrated lyric tenor Roland Hayes.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 12:36PMSophisticated Giant paints a convincing picture of an extremely charming, intelligent, resilient, and talented man.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 10:06AMKelly Green and her trio are essentially mainstream players, but they explore a lot of challenging territory within that framework.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 04:04PMChristopher Hollyday's Telepathy is a keeper, Chris Pasin's Ornettiquette is an excellent outing, Jake Ehrenreich's A Treasury of Jewish Christmas Songs is uneven, and for some long winter n…
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:12AMIn this album, saxophonist Ethan Helm has achieved a very personal balance between highly composed sections and solos rooted in harmony and free playing.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:06AMThese albums, featuring Woody Shaw and Dexter Gordon, are illuminating to listen to side by side.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 11:04PMTime For Romance: But Beautiful may qualify -- if I can even use the term now -- as seduction music.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 03:32PMFor most of its history, jazz has been a macho culture. Sexual ambiguity or gay-ness were subjects of derision.
SOURCE: The Arts Fuse at 05:18PM