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Pete Mills: This Is Now
by Jack Bowers
As usual, swing is king on This Is Now, Canadian-born tenor saxophonist and composer Pete Mills' sixth recording as leader, one wherein the high-powered opening number (and title song) sets the pace for what is to come on this bright and upbeat session while showing that Mills and his quintet mean serious business. As is true of most contemporary tenors, you would be hard-pressed to pick Mills out of a lineup; on the other hand, his technique is ...
Continue ReadingPete Mills: This Is Now
by Mark Corroto
Let us imagine asking a sociologist whether something like musical FOMO, fear of missing out, exists. Pete Mills makes a convincing case that it does with This Is Now. Even though we have the recorded evidence, there is a lingering sense that something special happened in the room, something listeners can hear but not fully share. The result is a kind of envy: Mills and his band are clearly having a great time, and their camaraderie radiates across all twelve ...
Continue ReadingMartin Wind: Stars
by Pierre Giroux
A chamber-jazz glow hangs over Stars a sessions featuring renowned bassist and composer Martin Wind, with a quietly luminous quartet including legendary pianist Kenny Barron, exceptional clarinetist Anat Cohen, and imaginative drummer Matt Wilson. The album feels less like a blowing date than a late-night conversation among old friends, where each phrase is weighted with warmth and meaning. The opening track is Aaron Bell's “Passing Thoughts," which conveys a blue-tinged melancholy told through a few carefully-chosen phrases. Cohen's ...
Continue ReadingAnat Fort: The Dreamworld of Paul Motian
by Alberto Bazzurro
Pescando nel vasto songbook di Paul Motian, certo uno dei più ricchi (nelle molteplici accezioni del termine) che un batterista abbia saputo regalare al grande serbatoio del jazz, Anat Fort e compagni confezionano un album prezioso, muovendosi nelle trame tematiche create dal grande musicista di Filadelfia (notoriamente di origini armene, retaggio talora coglibile nelle pieghe della sua musica) con leggerezza e pertinenza. Un'operazione certo molto rispettosa che tuttavia non impedisce ai quattro musicisti (notare il raddoppio armonico pianoforte-chitarra) di dire ...
Continue ReadingAnat Fort: The Dreamworld of Paul Motian
by Dan McClenaghan
Borrowing a sentiment from the title of the 1959 Riverside Records album Everybody Digs Bill Evans, it is safe to say that pianist Anat Fort digs Paul Motian. Her The Dreamworld of Paul Motian says so. We can attribute a big part of Motian's career success to pianist Bill Evans (1929 -1980). Portrait In Jazz (Riverside, 1960) was the first Evans album that included Motian in the drummer's chair. More followed, including the groundbreaking Sunday At the Village ...
Continue ReadingAnat Fort: The Dreamworld of Paul Motian
by Kyle Simpler
Other performers inspire every musician to some extent, but for Anat Fort, the influence of drummer Paul Motian altered her approach to performing and thinking about music. Although Motian passed away in 2011, his presence remains a motivating force in Fort's work. With The Dreamworld of Paul Motian, she pays homage not just to the man but to the mystery, lyricism, and true spirit of his music. Motian elevated the role of drumming in modern jazz. ...
Continue ReadingDawn Clement: Delight
by Paul Rauch
Pianist / vocalist / composer Dawn Clement has appeared on plenty of recordings, both as a sideperson and leader, but she has perhaps never quite accomplished what she has here with Delight, on the Origin Records label. There are balances achieved with this record that fans of the long-time Seattle, now Denver-based Clement can eagerly wrap their collective arms around. Her intrepid curiosity and virtuosity have been a given in the jazz world for many years, playing with ...
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