One of the reasons
jazz improvisation excites performer and listener alike is that it’s akin to
walking a tightrope—chances are taken, stakes are high. A musician can create
thrilling, in-the-moment art, or fall flat. Collective improvisation ups the
ante—it’s never a given that multiple players can be so attuned to one another
that they know when to listen as well as when to speak. The 3 Cohens—siblings Anat on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Avishai
on trumpet and Yuval on soprano sax—explore this concept fully on “Tightrope,”
their fourth album together. The material ranges from free improvisations and
fresh originals to classics by Ellington, Monk, Tadd Dameron, Art Farmer and
Gerry Mulligan, plus tunes associated with Joao Gilberto and Jo Stafford.
With the
much-awaited second volume of his “Unsung Heroes” project, Grammy Award-winning
trumpeter Brian Lynch extends his
salute to underappreciated trumpet masters in fine form. From the same sessions
as the original disc, “Unsung Heroes Volume 2” continues the mix of little
known or unrecorded compositions by ‘under the radar’ jazz trumpeters such as
Idrees Sulieman, Tommy Turrentine, and Joe Gordon, with original Lynch pieces
in the spirit of these masters. He and his crack band, including alto sax great
Vincent Herring, pay tribute ‘in the tradition’ while staying fresh, creative and
highly swinging. Lynch’s trumpet work shows why he’s considered one of “the
best and busiest trumpeters in jazz,” according to Jazz Times magazine.
Also this
week, Al Di Meola fulfills a
long-time dream of creating his own unique tribute to the Beatles with “All
Your Life,” recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London; for his eighth recording
as a leader, guitarist B.D. Lenz offers
up his first straight-ahead jazz record, “Ready or Not”; and San Diego bassist Ben Wanicur debuts with “The Excluded
Middle.”
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