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Alexander Claffy: Alive in Philadelphia, Vol. 1 (At Chris’ Jazz Cafe)
by Jack Bowers
Bassist Alexander Claffy, a pillar on the jny: New York City jazz scene since 2011, returned “home" in March 2025 to record Alive in Philadelphia Vol. 1 for an enthusiastic audience at Chris' Jazz Club, on whose stage he had performed since he was a teenager in the City of Brotherly Live. He did not return alone, bringing with him an able supporting cast that included a pair of well-respected saxophonists, alto Jaleel Shaw (another Philadelphian) and tenor ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer: Alternate Route
by Dan McClenaghan
A first impression as pianist Kerry Politzer's ninth album spins: This is an artist adept at bringing a band together for a one-day studio outing to play a bunch of her forward-leaning compositions to turn out a vibrant, crisp-sounding set. Obvious also, on tune # 1--"Before It's Too Late"--is that guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel has a special genius for pairings with pianists. He proved that with his contribution to Jo-Yu Chen's Stranger (Okeh Records, 2014), and he is in the mix ...
Continue ReadingKerry Politzer: Alternate Route
by Paul Rauch
Pianist Kerry Politzer had released eight albums before Alternate Route (Whirlwind, 2025), though to many jazz listeners they essentially flew under the radar. Politzer is a Portland, Oregon-based musician on the faculty at the esteemed jazz studies program at Portland State. With this, her ninth offering, more attention and accolades are bound to come her way. The album of ten original compositions not only lends a strong focus on her adept compositional and instrumental skills, it also welcomes in a ...
Continue ReadingSam Dillon: My Ideal
by Jack Bowers
Any impartial assessment of My Ideal, Sam Dillon's second album for Cellar Music (following 2018's Out in the Open), should leave no doubt that the jny: New York-born and based tenor saxophonist has definitely hit his stride, punctuating an already strong and persuasive voice on the horn with ample self-confidence and and a bounteous wellspring of innovative concepts and ingenious phrases. In other words, Dillon is the whole package, swinging in the same league as such heralded ...
Continue ReadingThe Heavy Hitters: That's What's Up!
by Pierre Giroux
Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander head up a band called Heavy Hitters, which features a stellar cast of jny: New York's jazz elite, including trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, bassist Alexander Claffy and drummer Kenny Washington. They have released That's What's Up!, a live recording from Frankie's Jazz Club in jny: Vancouver, British Columbia in December 2023 that captures the authenticity, spontaneity, and emotive power of a band firing on all cylinders. The set list is an artful ...
Continue ReadingHeavy Hitters: That's What's Up!
by Jack Bowers
Heavy Hitters is a superb New York-based sextet co-led by pianist Mike LeDonne and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. Individually and as a team, the Hitters keep their eyes squarely on the ball, swing for the fences and, more often than not, slam the spheroid solidly out of the park. And on this typically upbeat session they do it in front of an appreciative audience at Frankie's Club in Victoria, British Columbia. A freewheeling groove permeates the concert, ...
Continue ReadingJihee Heo: Flow
by Paul Rauch
South Korean pianist Jihee Heo has been in New York City since 2009. She arrived to work on her Masters after studies in Amsterdam and has become a fixture on the Gotham club scene, often appearing with a trio or quartet sharing the bandstand with some of the city's finest players. Her new trio plus one effort, Flow (OA2, 2024), is in a way, a documentation of those club performances. Recorded by Maureen Sickler at Rudy Van Gelder's famed studio ...
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From: Alternate RouteBy Alexander Claffy
New Yorker Step
From: FlowBy Alexander Claffy
Alexander Claffy
Location: New York City
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
Born: June 9, 1992
