BY FRANK ALKYER
Bret Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, Bret Higgins’ Atlas Revolt
Bret Higgins is a take-no-prisoners bassist hailing from Toronto. He lays down rock-solid grooves, then sends his bandmates out to do the serious damage. In this case, it’s his new band Atlas Revolt, which includes Tom Juhas, a guitar superhero, Aleksandar Gajic, a crazy cool violinist, Robbie Grunwald, meteoric on electric and … More »
Bret Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, Bret Higgins’ Atlas Revolt
Bret Higgins is a take-no-prisoners bassist hailing from Toronto. He lays down rock-solid grooves, then sends his bandmates out to do the serious damage. In this case, it’s his new band Atlas Revolt, which includes Tom Juhas, a guitar superhero, Aleksandar Gajic, a crazy cool violinist, Robbie Grunwald, meteoric on electric and … More »
BY FRANK ALKYER Emiliano Sampaio/Mega Mereneu Project,Tourists
Emiliano Sampaio is an amazingly talented young Brazilian guitarist, trombonist, composer and arranger. He works out of Graz, Austria, having moved there to study with the likes of Ed Partyka, Michael Abene and Ed Neumeister at … More »
BY BRIAN ZIMMERMAN Will Herrington, Solace
Pianist Will Herrington is something of a musical director to the stars. He’s written songs for a veritable Hall of Fame of young pop singers, including tween idols Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas and Victoria Justice. But don’t let his celebrity status fool you: Herrington is a riveting jazz pianist and gifted jazz arranger. And despite his L.A. zip code, the Crescent City native has … More »
BY BRIAN ZIMMERMAN Johannes Wallmann,
The Town Musicians
Johannes Wallmann could write a great travel guide about the North American jazz landscape. German-born but raised in Vancouver, the Ph.D.-holding pianist has performed across the entire continent and lived on both of its coasts. In Oakland, California, he directed the … More »
BY BOBBY REED New West Guitar Group, Send One Your Love
The Los Angeles-based trio New West Guitar Group presents an appealing symmetry on its new album. The guitarists recruited five exemplary singers, each of whom performs two songs: Tierney Sutton, Gretchen Parlato, Sara Gazarek, Becca Stevens and Peter Eldridge. There’s an … More »
BY FRANK ALKYER Amir ElSaffar, Crisis
Great art is often born out of chaotic times. In this case, the great art is Crisis, the new album by trumpeter, vocalist and santour player Amir ElSaffar. And the chaotic times rise from the turmoil of the Middle East. ElSaffar was born in Chicago and lives in New York, but as a serious practitioner of Iraqi maqam music, he has studied all over the world. He spent a year in … More »
BY BOBBY REED Bill Warfield & The Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Many listeners would rather boogie than concentrate. On the new album with his Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra, trumpeter/bandleader Bill Warfield offers some tracks that would be irrefutable additions to a party mix, including hip-shaking renditions of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” (the Cannonball Adderley Quintet hit written by Joe Zawinul) and … More »
BY BOBBY REED Antonio Hart, Blessings
Following a relatively prolific period in the ’90s when he released well-received albums like It’s All Good, reedist Antonio Hart has been rather quiet as a leader during the past decade, focusing instead on his roles as an educator and as a member of groups such as the Dave Holland Octet, the Gerald Wilson Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. So Hart’s album Blessings is cause for … More »
BY BRIAN ZIMMERMAN Nick Finzer,
The Chase
Many jazz composers count Duke Ellington as a major influence. But for trombonist Nick Finzer, Ellington was more like an impetus. Finzer first became interested in jazz after participating in the Essentially Ellington competition as a high schooler, in which jazz ensembles perform Ellington compositions for adjudication. The competition sparked a lifelong infatuation with the art of … More »
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