Concert Reviews
Roy Hargrove Quintet + Pharoah Sanders @ Yoshi’s
Roy Hargrove and Pharoah Sanders... at first glance it might have looked like a misprint. But it was true. Kicking off a two-week residency that Yoshi's hopes to make an annual tradition, Hargrove's quintet was booked at the club's San Francisco stage for four nights with saxophonist Sanders as a special guest star. But would this unlikely pairing of divergent musical personalities work? [more] »
Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin at Yoshi’s
Early in her 8:00 set at Yoshi's San Francisco, pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi spoke in charmingly accented English about the salad days of her six-decade career. She said that after spending her youth in Japan absorbing and imitating other pianists, she eventually realized "the need to find my own idiosyncracies." [more] »
Thorny Brocky at Red Poppy Art House
The Red Poppy Art House is a funky little nonprofit space with a reputation for booking innovative artists who challenge musical boundaries. That description sums up bass clarinetist Aaron Novik nicely. Tossing unlikely musical elements into a compelling modern-jazz stew, Novik's new sextet Thorny Brocky packed the house to overflowing on Saturday night and filled the humid air with richly varied, unfailingly gripping sounds. [more] »
Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy at Yoshi’s
It doesn't require any great insight to realize that Brass Ecstasy -- the latest project from polymorphic trumpeter Dave Douglas -- takes its inspiration from Brass Fantasy, a boundary-busting ensemble led for many years by the late trumpet trailblazer Lester Bowie. But don't make the mistake of labeling this a mere tribute band. [more] »
Terence Blanchard Quintet at Yoshi’s
With more than 50 film scores under his belt, it's no surprise that trumpeter Terence Blanchard's music often has an evocative, metaphoric quality. He is a master of capturing a scene, but to call his music cinematic is not enough. Blanchard is an auteur, penetrating to the emotional core of his subject and exposing it to the light. [more] »
Leny Andrade at Birdland
What is it that makes a great singer? Technical mastery, emotional depth, improvisational chops, a distinctive, individual character -- these are all vital. But perhaps above all there's that rare ability to walk into a room, take a microphone and instantly own it all: the music, the audience, the moment, time itself. [more] »
New York Diary: Day 3
You don't often get to hear a single artist playing in two cities 3,000 miles apart over a four-day span -- I don't, anyway. But an early start to my third day in New York allowed me to do just that... [more] »
New York Diary: Day 2
I hadn’t expected to catch any live music tonight, but I was able to slip back to Smalls for a couple of late sets by two artists who have been on my radar for a while. I reviewed Owen Howard’s Time Cycles CD for JazzTimes in 2008, and the Nick Hempton Band’s self-titled disc has [...] [more] »
