The Claudia Quintet – Royal Toast
The latest record from The Claudia Quintet — under the leadership of drummer and composer John Hollenbeck — continues to push the limits of what small ensembles are capable of.
Archives: CD Reviews
Little Women – Throat
Little Women set out to collectively write a suite that’s at once as tight as great metal and as sonically adventurous as the mind can possibly comprehend. Not only do they do it, but they set the bar insanely high for anyone wishing to do the same.
Introducing Justin Kauflin
Pianist Justin Kauflin’s personality comes out right away: unpretentious, creative, and assertive. This release marks the Virginia Beach native’s debut as a leader, and along with his remarkable abilities on his instrument, it’s his and his bandmates’ young ages that give Introducing life.
Thomas Savy – French Suite
Music that stifles has its place, but it’s not here. We often forget what it’s like to breathe along with music, since a lot of it out there is about filling space and not savoring it. But this: ah, music to breathe to.
Modlin Center for the Arts presents the Luciana Souza Trio
If Souza’s latest album, Tide, is any indication of how Souza works within small ensembles, the even smaller group of Souza, guitarist Romero Lumbambo, and percussionist Cyro Baptista at the Modlin Center on February 8 should be intimate and extraordinary.
Jimmy Ghaphery – Path
By complete coincidence after posting a review of Ghaphery/Bivins/Davis’s Impermanence on Monday, I learned today that saxophonist Jimmy Ghaphery just put out a new solo saxophone release. I gave a listen, really enjoyed it, and decided it might as well be Jimmy Ghaphery Week on RVAJazz.
Ghaphery/Bivins/Davis – Impermanence
Jimmy Ghaphery calls it “lowercase improv,” a term that loosely describes an improvised music that is restrained in activity and minimal in texture. It summarizes the general aesthetic of Impermanence well, but does little service to the interactions between the three musicians.
Christian McBride & Inside Straight – Kind of Brown (2009)
My first album review in 2010 is of an album released in 2009. Not just 2009. June of 2009. Ok, so I slept on this one a bit.
The Jason Jenkins Group – Synchronicity (2009)
Bassist Jason Jenkins’s newest album is a treasure trove for jazz heavies and an accessible intro to modern swinging jazz for the layman.
Snow Panda’s Ombak Mixes
Snow Panda has struck again, and this time it’s with material from Ombak’s Framing the Void. The man behind the project is Gabe Churray, ILAD keyboardist and mixing wizard. Using Ombak’s music, he has created six remixes that will all be released here one day at a time.
