Gary Williams

What’s behind THE RED DOOR? For pianist Orrin Evans, that question has come to symbolize the daring path his life and music have taken over the course of his three-decade career. On his latest album, he once again flings that door open, delighting in the collaborators, friends, inspiration, and history that he finds inside.

Veteran alto and soprano saxophonist Gary Bartz's debut recording for the Dutch Timeless label is one of his finest efforts as he enlisted the services of pianist Benny Green, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Victor Lewis, and tenor saxophonist Willie Williams on three selections to perform an unusual program of one Bartz composition, three jazz classics, two movie themes, and one radio theme. Bartz's strong tone, sense of swing, and improvisational imagination place him within the ranks of jazz's finest saxophonists, and he proves it throughout this recording. Favorites include the title track, which is actually two Bartz compositions, one medium, one up, joined by an excellent McBride bass solo; John Coltrane's "Song of the Underground Railroad," performed up-tempo, in the spirit of Coltrane all the way down to a blistering sax-drums duet; McCoy Tyner's "Peresina," a medium Afro-Latin number with the melody played by the not-heard-enough combination of tenor and alto sax; and Wayne Shorter's "Children of the Night" where the melody is played over a hip groove by McBride and Lewis and features one of the best Bartz solos on record.

The New Chamber Opera Ensemble made an impact upon me a year ago with its first recording for ASV of Charpentier’s Le mariage forcé and Les fous divertissements. Now it follows that release with a two-disc set of Rameau’s complete cantatas – seven of them, with two versions of Aquilon et Orithie – and it is another fine effort that puts them at the very forefront of the youngest generation of practitioners of period-style performance.

The New Chamber Opera Ensemble made an impact upon me a year ago with its first recording for ASV of Charpentier’s Le mariage forcé and Les fous divertissements. Now it follows that release with a two-disc set of Rameau’s complete cantatas – seven of them, with two versions of Aquilon et Orithie – and it is another fine effort that puts them at the very forefront of the youngest generation of practitioners of period-style performance.

Gary Burton spent a great deal of his professional life juggling his duo careers as a bandleader and jazz educator. So it came as no surprise to see him form a brand new group of talented up and coming players in 2004, the eighth such new unit by his count. Burton's skill on vibes is a given, but his ability to find four impressive young men able to jump right in and perform at a high level also deserves kudos. The leader first heard guitarist Julian Lage on the 2000 Grammy Awards at the tender age of 12; he was just 16 at the time of these sessions and had already appeared with Burton on the earlier CD Generations. Lage, who shows incredible chops without overdoing it, also contributed the easygoing, infectious strut "Walkin' in Music" and "Clarity," a playful duet with Burton.

Gary Cooper is one of our foremost performers on the fortepiano, well-known for his wonderful series of Mozart Violin Sonata discs with Rachel Podger…

Considering the extraordinary talent assembled for Tony Williams' second Blue Note date as a leader, this could have been a landmark session. Unfortunately, it's not. Spring isn't totally forgettable; on the contrary, the fire expected by members of the Miles Davis Quintet (Williams, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter), all thoroughly influenced by "the new thing," were unleashed completely from Miles' tight rein. Add tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers and Albert Ayler bassist Gary Peacock into this mix and that influence thrived. However, the five Tony Williams compositions (including the drum only "Echo") often failed to provoke the musicians into reaching crucial unity, making Spring haphazard, falling short of the expected goal. Following Spring, Williams would not release another solo date for four years, returning on the Polydor label with the groundbreaking electric rock trio recording Emergency!