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Jazz Articles about Sherman Irby
Roy Hargrove: Bern
by Jack Kenny
Roy Hargrove was a unifying figure in jazz. He could move fluidly between straight-ahead bebop, hard bop, ballads, hip-hop, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and neo-soul without ever seeming to compromise his musical identity. This album, Bern, issued for the first time as a posthumous release, is a spectacular marker of a band playing at the highest level. A good band will always produce acceptable music; a great band will sometimes surpass even itself. One of the deepest pleasures in jazz ...
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 ReadingRoy Hargrove's Crisol: Grande-Terre
by Chris May
Increasingly and with growing momentum, right up until he died at the young age of 55 in 2018, Roy Hargrove was a standard bearer for a new kind of African American jazz. The recipe embraced a variety of styles--jazz, Afro-Cuban music, funk, hip hop and soul--and it influenced a generation of musicians in jazz and beyond. But Hargrove never abandoned jazz, the foundation stone of his style. Instead he regarded other genres as part of a rainbow ...
Continue ReadingGlenn Close & Ted Nash: Transformation
by Paul Rauch
Transformation is a multi-disciplinary work from saxophonist/composer Ted Nash, and iconic actress Glenn Close, exploring the multi-faceted and abstract theme of transformation. The works included examine the theme from both universal and individual conceptions. Music and literature at its best is clearly transformative for anyone experiencing it. Transformation is by essence, the highest and most illuminating expression of change. Nash embraced the project by creating a colorful and illustrative collection of pieces, embracing Close's curated literary selections recited by the ...
Continue ReadingGlenn Close/Ted Nash: Transformation
by Jack Bowers
When confronted by an album whose tracks include the names “Creation" (Parts 1 and 2), “Preludes for Memnon," “Wisdom of the Humanities" and “Reaching the Tropopause," among others, one braces for whatever may transpire, buoyed by the thought that with Glenn Close, Ted Nash and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on board, how displeasing could it be? The verdict: not at all displeasing—but it must be appraised on its own terms, as a series of philosophical and hopefully transformative ...
Continue ReadingSherman Irby, Count Basie, Karl Denson and More
by Joe Dimino
The pandemic goes on and jazz musicians keep on finding innovative ways to stay relevant and creative. This week we focus on some of those that are doing so by releasing new material and good thoughts into the world. We start the hour with a veteran of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Sherman Irby. We also hear new music from London-based Rick Simpson, Sara Serpa and The Radam Schwartz Organ Big Band. Enjoy! Playlist Sherman Irby ...
Continue ReadingSherman Irby Quartet: Live At The Otto Club
by Joshua Weiner
Live At The Otto Club is Sherman Irby's first live album with his quartet, and it would be hard to conjure up a more joyful example of seriously swinging jazz that sounds like a great lost classic from the heyday of hard bop. Though the liner notes seem to suggest that this was a bit of a pick-up quartet, it doesn't sound like it: the group, particularly Green on drums and Menci on piano, swing as one with Irby as ...
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