Live at Jazz Standard

B.E.E.K. (Brotzmann/Ellis/Eneidi/Krall) - Live At Spruce Street Forum (2002) {Botticelli}
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© 2002 Botticelli | 1015
Jazz / Free Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Restraint is not why Brötzmann was asked to participate in Live at Spruce Street Forum in San Diego. Matched against altoist Marco Eneidi, bassist Lisle Ellis, pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Jackson Krall, the five untitled improvisations are brain bleeders in the best sense of the term. When a band fully believes in itself and is willing to follow a guy with as bloody a brain as Brötzmann, the results are ecstatic, if not fit for the fainthearted.

Ron Carter & Jim Hall - Live At Village West (1982) {Concord Jazz CCD-4245 rel 1992}
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© 1982, 1992 Concord Jazz | CCD-4245
Jazz / Post Bop / Bass / Guitar

The second live collaboration between bassist Ron Carter and guitarist Jim Hall follows their first recording together by a decade, but their chemistry together is every bit as strong, if not improved. Other than the occasional sound of the bar cash register, there is little in the way of background noise as the audience remains transfixed to the intricate improvisations of the duo, along with their solid comping for one another. The fare includes brilliant renditions of standards such as "All the Things You Are" and "Embraceable You"; classic jazz works like "Bag's Groove," "St. Thomas," and "Blue Monk"; along with originals like Carter's stunning "New Waltz" (with its very abstract improvised arrangement) and Hall's infectious "Down From Antigua," which deserves to become a jazz standard. Highly recommended.

Some 13 years into his recording career, jazz pianist extraordinaire Bill Charlap's first live album is, perhaps, his most exquisite release to date. While virtually all of his studio albums more than adequately showcase Charlap's virtuosity, good taste, and ceaseless imagination at the keys, it took the spontaneity of the live performance - at New York's fabled Village Vanguard - to give the first true indication of just what Charlap is capable of creating on the fly. The pinpoint accuracy and sophistication of his solos, whether at breakneck speed or in a ballad setting, are a marvel. Charlap's concentration never strays, and although he feels no compunction to strut, he lets it be known with each passage that he's among the most gifted pianists in jazz today…

Initially an inheritor of an abstract/expressionist improvising style originated in the '60s by such saxophonists as Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp, David Murray eventually evolved into something of a mainstream tenorist, playing standards with conventional rhythm sections. However, Murray's readings of the old chestnuts are vastly different from interpretations by bebop saxophonists of his generation. Murray's sound is deep, dark, and furry with a wide vibrato reminiscent of such swing-era tenorists as Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins. And his approach to chord changes is unique. Although it's apparent that he's well-versed in harmony, Murray seldom adheres faithfully to the structure of a tune.

Snarky Puppy are an American instrumental fusion band, known for the diversity and eclecticism of their instrumental approach. They were formed in Denton, Texas in 2004.

In August of 1961, the John Coltrane Quintet played an engagement at the legendary Village Gate in Greenwich Village, New York. Eighty minutes of never-before-heard music from this group were recently discovered at the New York Public Library. In addition to some well-known Coltrane material ("Impressions"), there is a breathtaking feature for Dolphy's bass clarinet on "When Lights Are Low" and the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane's composition "Africa", from the Africa/Brass album.

Trios Live was recorded during stands with two different trios: Redman and drummer Gregory Hutchinson with bassists Matt Penman (at Jazz Standard in NYC) and Reuben Rogers (at Blues Alley in Washington, DC). Trios Live features four original tunes by Redman and interpretations of three additional songs. Joshua Redman, one of the most technically accomplished saxists in jazz today, parades his powers on this live set," writes the Guardian's John Fordham. "Redman performs with a skill that sometimes justifies comparison with early Sonny Rollins—notably on the old Rollins vehicle 'Moritat (Mack the Knife),'" such that "the crowd goes wild.