Troy Roberts is back and causing a ruckus with his buddies from Australia. The album is titled Best Buddies and is a co-project with guitarist Tim Jago. Both are a part of Roberts’ Nu-Jive Five ensemble that has earned a reputation for their hard-hitting live shows and messing of styles that has bucked jazz trends to push their music to new territory beyond mainstream jazz. With Best Buddies, the two are releasing a series of biting, creative, and celebratory songs based on well-known jazz harmonic progressions and forms with new original melodies, otherwise known as a contrafact. Roberts and Jago are joined by Karl Florisson on [...]
Pianist and composer Eric Lilley and his trio have an aptly titled release, Follow Up. The new album offers nine original compositions. Lilley is joined by bassist Mark Diamond and drummer Dru Heller. With a special guest appearance by Jose Espino on two tracks, “Bud Bop” and “Leanin’.”
“The Weston Walk” is a grooving swing that slinks along with a deliciously timbered melody. The trio is tight and snappy with its hits and synchronicity. Lilley has a deep sense of jazz swing in his playing with a mature, laid-back sensibility that oozes maturity and finesse. Heller also has a deep sense of swing as he locks tightly with Heller. A thoroughly [...]
Julian Lage is making his debut for Blue Note Records with his latest release titled Squint. The new album has eleven tracks that Lage has honed over the past few years, with his trio featuring bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King. “I felt like this was an opportunity to present new music born out of the Blue Note tradition as I’ve interpreted it,” explains Lage, who previously recorded for the label with The Nels Cline 4’s Currents, Constellations, and Charles Lloyd’s celebratory 8: Kindred Spirits. In the studio, Lage called upon two close musicians, both served as co-producers: guitarist and longtime collaborator [...]
Tal Yahalom is a Brooklyn, New York-based Israeli-born guitarist, and composer. His musical focus is to put together a wide variety of beautiful components into a definite musical language. His influences are hard-bop, alternative-rock, impressionistic classical music, free improvisation, and contemporary songwriters from various genres. Lights Out is his second solo guitar release and one that Yahalom presents four original compositions, which are performed on classical and acoustic guitars. A collection of music that organically came together was composed, recorded, and brought to life entirely during the pandemic between July and September. Yahalom [...]
