Diw Records

Craig Taborn's recorded debut as a leader showcases the talented pianist in a variety of settings ranging from post-bop and hard bop to free jazz and avant-garde jazz, with bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal providing strong support throughout the sessions. Taborn's furious opener is "David the Goliath," a turbulent number that blends a driving post-bop attack with an occasionally exotic Middle Eastern flavor. The pianist's "Uproot" is reminiscent of the flights of Cecil Taylor. He also delves into less familiar works by jazz giants, including Ornette Coleman's quirky "Compassion," Horace Silver's relaxing "Shirl," and a jaunty interpretation of John Coltrane's "Bass Blues," the latter showcasing Shahid.

Craig Taborn's recorded debut as a leader showcases the talented pianist in a variety of settings ranging from post-bop and hard bop to free jazz and avant-garde jazz, with bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal providing strong support throughout the sessions. Taborn's furious opener is "David the Goliath," a turbulent number that blends a driving post-bop attack with an occasionally exotic Middle Eastern flavor. The pianist's "Uproot" is reminiscent of the flights of Cecil Taylor. He also delves into less familiar works by jazz giants, including Ornette Coleman's quirky "Compassion," Horace Silver's relaxing "Shirl," and a jaunty interpretation of John Coltrane's "Bass Blues," the latter showcasing Shahid.

South of the Border is an album by the David Murray Big Band released on the Japanese DIW label. Recorded in 1992 and released in 1995 the album features performances by Murray, Rasul Siddik, James Zoller, Hugh Ragin, Craig Harris, Frank Lacy, Al Patterson, Vincent Chancey, Kalil Henry, John Purcell, Patience Higgins, Don Byron, Sonelius Smith, Fred Hopkins, Tani Tabbal, and Larry McDonald, conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris.

A great lost sleeper from pianist Rahn Burton - a set that's even better than most of the DIW trio material from the time, thanks to some extremely thoughtful work by Burton on the keys! The trio here features Walter Booker on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums - and the record has a warmly glowing sound, but one that's never too sleepy - a style that's a bit like some of the best soulfully expressive work by Ronnie Matthews or Michel Saradaby from the time, and done with a similar balance of modal energy and lyricism.

Swiss saxophonist George Robert is one of the top players of his generation, though he seems appreciated far more in Europe and Asia than in the U.S., probably because few of his recordings as a leader have been made for American labels. Known primarily for his brilliant work on alto sax, he opens this live duo date on soprano sax, with the phenomenal pianist Kenny Barron as his sole accompanist. The haunting ballad "Peace" is a superb opener, followed by a dancing "I Didn't Know What Time It Was." Barron launches the furious post-bop interpretation of "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," with Robert switching back to alto. The shimmering rendition of Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes" is absolutely breathtaking…

Tales of Captain Black first appeared in 1979 on the Artist House label in America. It was a label set up for the purpose of allowing visionary artists to do exactly what they wanted to do. They had issued a couple of records by Ornette Coleman previously, so it only made sense to issue one by his then guitarist, James Blood Ulmer. With Coleman on alto, his son Denardo Coleman on drums, and bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma on bass, Ornette's harmolodic theory of musical composition and improvisation (whereby on a scale of whole tones, every person in the ensemble could solo at one time and stay in this new harmony) was going to get its first test outside of his own recordings…

Lee Konitz is up to his old tricks on this engaging studio session made for the Japanese label DIW, coming up with intriguing melodies to familiar chord changes from various standards and additional compositions. Without a piano to restrain his musical adventures, the alto saxophonist is consistently inventive throughout the date, well assisted by bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Joey Baron. Sometimes the detective work is elementary, such as "A Noble Tune," which any jazz fan should recognize as being inspired by "Cherokee," while other tracks may prove to challenge the keenest ears. In any case, this incredible musician, who learned from the brilliant though difficult Lennie Tristano, continues to be one of the most distinctive sounding alto saxophonists in jazz.

One of several excellent hard bop pianists from the Memphis area, Harold Mabern has led relatively few dates through the years, but he has always been respected by his contemporaries. He played in Chicago with MJT + 3 in the late '50s and then moved to New York in 1959. Mabern worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet (1961-1962), Donald Byrd, Miles Davis (1963), J.J. Johnson (1963-1965), Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Joe Williams (1966-1967), and Sarah Vaughan. During 1968-1970, Mabern led four albums for Prestige, he was with Lee Morgan in the early '70s, and in 1972, he recorded with Stanley Cowell's Piano Choir. Harold Mabern has recorded as a leader for DIW/Columbia and Sackville and toured with the Contemporary Piano Ensemble (1993-1995).

For a time in the early 1990s, some of the CDs from the Japanese DIW label were made available domestically through Columbia. This trio date by pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette has Mabern originals dedicated to Sonny Stitt and Wayne Shorter, plus some offbeat standards and a pair of rarely performed John Coltrane tunes ("Straight Street" and "Crescent"). The interplay between the musicians is impressive and Mabern is heard throughout in excellent form. He closes the set with a piano solo that he titled "Apab and Others," after Art Tatum, Phineas Newborn, Ahmad Jamal and Bud Powell. This will be a difficult CD to find.

Pianist John Hicks recorded this trio date with bassist Walter Booker and drummer Idris Muhammad in Tokyo. He tackles Monk's pieces as a soloist; "Ruby My Dear" is lovely yet complex, while "'Round Midnight" is dramatic without overkill. His originals "Inc. 1" and "Avocja" are pulsating post-bop efforts. This is an enjoyable date worth picking up.