Clik here to view.
Joe Henderson
I saw Joe Henderson play in January 1997, at Town Hall in New York. The show was part of a package tour put together by Verve Records—his trio, which at that point featured George Mraz on bass and Al...
View ArticleClik here to view.
James Farm
James Farm (Nonesuch) Buy it from Amazon by Phil Freeman I was really bummed out when Blue Note Records dropped pianist Aaron Parks after only one album—2008′s Invisible Cinema. I interviewed Parks for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alice Coltrane
Universal Consciousness/Lord of Lords (Verve) by Phil Freeman Buy it from Amazon [Verve has recently reissued many Impulse! titles as twofers. Among them are discs by Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sonny Rollins
On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You (Impulse!/Verve) by Phil Freeman Buy it from Amazon [Verve has recently reissued many Impulse! titles as twofers. Among them are discs by Albert Ayler,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sean Nowell
Stockholm Swingin’ (Posi-Tone) by Phil Freeman Buy it from Amazon This album features Alabama-born, New York-based tenor saxophonist Sean Nowell and his regular drummer, Joe Abba (whose last name is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Elvin Jones
Illumination!/Dear John C. (Verve/Impulse) by Phil Freeman Buy it from Amazon [Verve has recently reissued many Impulse! titles as twofers. Among them are discs by Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Michael White
Spirit Dance/Pneuma (Verve/Impulse!) Buy it from Amazon by Phil Freeman This is another Verve/Impulse! 2-for-1 CD, but one combining two possibly more obscure albums than the titles by Alice Coltrane,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A List Of 50 Jazz Albums
by Phil Freeman Apparently April 30 is International Jazz Day. So as a way of subverting the canon-building exercises that are sure to go on across the jazz internet today, I’ve come up with a list of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Branford Marsalis Quartet
Four MFs Playin’ Tunes (Marsalis Music) Buy it from Amazon by Phil Freeman Since the dawn of the millennium, Branford Marsalis‘s quartet has been steadily turning out albums that, without ever making...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The 50 Greatest Saxophonists…EVER!!! 10-1
Well, we’ve made it to the end of the official Burning Ambulance countdown of the 50 Greatest Saxophonists…EVER!!! Here are the Top Ten. 10. JOE HENDERSON. The key saxophonist of Blue Note’s mid-’60s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
John Coltrane – Sun Ship
John Coltrane‘s Sun Ship is an album that’s tended to fall through the cracks. Recorded in 1965, it was one of the final sessions with the so-called “Classic Quartet” with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interview: Tim Warfield
Tim Warfield is a tenor saxophonist who first emerged into the public eye in the early 1990s, as one of the featured players—along with Walter Blanding, James Carter, Herbert Harris and Todd...
View ArticleClik here to view.
John Coltrane: The Posthumous Years
Today would have been saxophonist John Coltrane‘s 87th birthday, had he not died of liver cancer in 1967, at 40. In the wake of his passing, his wife Alice arranged with Impulse! Records to release...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ari Brown
Chicago-based saxophonist Ari Brown‘s been performing since the ’60s, but he’s only released three studio albums and one live disc as a leader. He began his career in R&B and soul bands, making...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mimi Jones, Camille Thurman & Shirazette Tinnin: The Women Of Hot Tone Music
L-R: Camille Thurman, Mimi Jones, Shirazette Tinnin Artist-run labels have a long history in jazz. They’re frequently a vehicle for artists to release their own work: Charles Mingus and Max Roach...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tom Tallitsch: Going For A Ride
Tenor saxophonist Tom Tallitsch has put together a tight, empathetic band for his second CD on the Posi-Tone label (fifth release overall). Ride (buy it from Amazon/download it from Amazon MP3)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interview: Marc Ribot
Photo: David O’Shaughnessy Guitarist Marc Ribot‘s been around. Beginning in the early ’80s, he’s balanced his own skronky, avant-garde-ish solo work with sideman and session gigs for half the rock and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two Octets
The octet is an uncommon format for a jazz group. With a standard rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums, that leaves five spots left to fill, and that can make for a cluttered bandstand....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Eric Wyatt
When you read the phrase “Brooklyn jazz” in 2014, you probably don’t think of a guy like Eric Wyatt. You probably think of young men in untucked plaid shirts with glasses and beards, and young women...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dylan Howe
Drummer Dylan Howe is the eldest son of Yes guitarist Steve Howe. He’s recorded and toured in a wide range of contexts since the late ’80s, including the Blockheads (both before and after frontman Ian...
View Article