Articles by Pierre Giroux
Champian Fulton: House Party
by Pierre Giroux
There are evenings when jazz truly finds its footing: social, spontaneous, and unguarded. House Party was recorded live in March 2025 at a producer's home for Turtle Bay Records, capturing one such moment. Pianist-vocalist Champian Fulton, joined by bassist Hide Tanaka and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, along with guest saxophonists Klas Lindquist and Cory Weeds, dispense with polish-for-polish's-sake and instead offer something more meaningful: the sound of musicians trusting each other without prior rehearsal. The opening trio performance of ...
Continue ReadingBernie Senensky: Duos
by Pierre Giroux
Duos by Bernie Senensky is a record built on patience, craftsmanship, and the quiet confidence of musicians working together. It is a carefully arranged and well-executed set that highlights one of Canada's most respected pianists performing in a duo, accompanied only by a saxophone voice from a select group of notable North American saxophonists, where any wrong note or discord will be immediately noticeable. Since arriving in Toronto in 1968, Senensky has earned admiration from musicians for his exceptional tact, ...
Continue ReadingMal Waldron: Stardust & Starlight At The Jazz Showcase
by Pierre Giroux
The never-before-released Stardust & Starlight: At The Jazz Showcase captures pianist Mal Waldron in August 1979, first in solo, then in the company of bassist Steve Rodby and drummer Wilbur Campbell, then in dialogue with the ever-incisive saxophonist Sonny Stitt, and always in conversation with himself. Resonance Records issues this performance as a limited-edition 180-gram 2-LP set and as a CD. Few figures in modern jazz carry the quiet gravity of Waldron. Emerging from the fertile NYC jazz ...
Continue ReadingFreddie King: Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts
by Pierre Giroux
Some archival releases simply take up space on the record shelf, while others are rare discoveries that reignite passion, danger, and significance in an artist's legacy. Freddie King--Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts, is issued by Elemental Records in a limited edition 3-LP set in time for Record Store Day and later available in CD and digital formats. Sourced from ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) original recordings, this set clearly belongs in the latter category. This previously ...
Continue ReadingRoy Hargrove: Bern
by Pierre Giroux
The appearance of Bern, a previously unreleased recording from May 4, 2000, at the International Jazzfestival in Bern, Switzerland, is the kind of archival find that reminds listeners how electrifying Roy Hargrove could be live. Released by Time Traveler Recordings on LP for Record Store Day, with CD and digital download versions to follow later. This set captures the late trumpeter in a moment of confident maturity, blending respect for tradition with the restless creativity that defined his career.
Continue ReadingMichel Petrucciani: Kuumbwa
by Pierre Giroux
Michel Petrucciani's Kuumbwa is the type of release that reminds us why live jazz recordings still matter. This is not a vault-cleaning exercise, nor just a historical note. Recorded at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California, in 1987, it is now released by Elemental Music, first as an exclusive two-LP Record Store Day set, with CD and digital editions to follow. This excellent recording captures Michel Petrucciani in one of his most exciting trio settings, alongside longtime drummer ...
Continue ReadingJoe Henderson: Consonance: Live At The Jazz Showcase
by Pierre Giroux
Some live recordings capture a set. Others capture a feeling. Joe Henderson's Consonance: Live At The Jazz Showcase, Resonance Records' newly discovered limited edition 3LP Record Store Day release, followed shortly by a 2CD version, is more than just another archival find. It feels vibrant from the very first notes, reminding us how Henderson could turn a club date into a lively conversation. Henderson is a gravitational force here, with his tenor's sound that is warm, muscular, slightly ...
Continue ReadingOscar Peterson Trio: The Oscar Peterson Trio at Baker's Keyboard Lounge
by Pierre Giroux
There are live recordings that capture an engagement, and others that seem to revive an entirely vanished room. This newly unearthed Verve Records release from Detroit's Baker's Keyboard Lounge, recorded over five sets in August 1960, clearly falls into the latter category. More than just a historical curiosity, it reveals atmosphere, temperament, and mastery. The Oscar Peterson trio at full strength in a venue that knew how to listen, playing as if elegance and fire were not mutually exclusive virtues ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. Bennett
by Pierre Giroux
John Pizzarelli has long been one of the most refined interpreters of The Great American Songbook, a musician who understands that this repertoire thrives not only on reverence but also on personality, swing, and storytelling. With Dear Mr. Bennett, Pizzarelli offers a heartfelt tribute to the incomparable Tony Bennett, whose phrasing, warmth, and commitment to timeless songs have influenced generations of singers. Joined by bassist Mike Karn and pianist Isaiah J. Thompson, Pizzarelli revisits material connected with Bennett, ...
Continue ReadingJavon Jackson: Jackson Plays Dylan
by Pierre Giroux
With Jackson Plays Dylan, tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson delves into one of the great sources of modern song, the work of Bob Dylan. He treats it with reverence, imagination, and a strong respect for jazz tradition. This is not a clever concept album but a heartfelt musician's dialogue with timeless material, influenced by tradition and deep musical listening. Jackson is joined on this release by pianist and keyboardist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Isaac Levien, drummer Ryan Sands, and Grammy-winning guest vocalists ...
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