So long, RVA!
Scott Burton and Glows in the Dark, along with Fight the Big Bull, will be hosting Matana Roberts for a performance on May 22, 2009, at MUSE Creative Workspace. Matana Roberts The Chicago Project Central Control International 2008 Within the first 90 seconds of The Chicago Project’s first track, at least three different themes are […]
by Tom Beekman RVAjazz contributor Beekman, in his first RVAjazz contribution since the website’s anonymous days, reviews last Saturday’s “Vine St. Rumble,” a backyard barbecue-styled all-day affair at which several up-and-coming groups performed. I need provisions. Getting me out of the house has been quite the task these last couple of weeks. For this quest, […]
by Joey Ciucci Cameron Ralston is the foundation of Richmond’s avant-garde scene. While drummer Brian Jones may be the patriarch and champion of the city’s movement towards a freer, more cohesive, more aware sound, Ralston–who plays bass for Ombak, Fight the Big Bull, Glows in the Dark, Boots of Leather, and Ilad–has emerged as a […]
Originally reviewed by Dean Christesen on Twitter: @RVAjazz I tried something new today with this newly released album from the Songlines label. While listening, I reviewed it in pieces on Twitter. Twitter users know that each entry can be no more than 140 characters, so each statement I made about the music had to be […]
by Roberto Curtis In their sophomore album, Alive in Richmond, NO BS! Brass Band ventures into a sophisticated territory few bands in Richmond tend go. Thoughtfully composed, recorded and mastered, the surgical precision of these songs set a bar that seems hard to clear. As if the technique of the 11-15 musicians involved (several members […]
Guitarist Lionel Loueke is capable of a plethora of tones and timbres with his instrumental combination of guitar, voice, and effects. Beginning the set at Jazz Standard on Saturday night with the title track from his latest release, Karibu, Loueke’s voice and guitar melded into an African herald. Singing bass in unison to a mixed-meter […]
by Dean Christesen Brightly dodging around the melody of “Jelly Roll,” the M.A.P. Trio abandons the original harmony of the first few lines, instead stating the melody in unison. And so goes the challenge of performing Charles Mingus’ music with a trio: sacrifices of the original composition must be made, but the ways that those […]
by Dean Christesen The most interesting instrumentation in a contemporary jazz album of 2008 goes to New York Electric Piano. Originally a trio of Fender Rhodes, bass, and drums, the group’s fourth record adds to it Leon Guenbaum’s unique Samchillian keyboard, acoustic piano, saxophones and flutes, male and female vocals, and “soundscape.” The same flame […]
The state of jazz is faltering. The Statesmen of Jazz, luckily, hope to change that. The organization, overseen by Mathew Domber, makes it its mission to spread jazz internationally with workshops and concerts. VCU hosted one of each today with the quintet of highly talented and experienced musicians. The group made up of Chuck Redd […]
by Roberto Curtis Saxophonist Tony Malaby–known for his ominously playful composition style–has teamed up with New York contemporary drummer John Hollenbeck and avant garde cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm to create Warblepeck, an album that is as experimental as it is fun. Billed as the Tony Malaby Cello Trio, the group’s virtuosity creeps up behind the obvious […]
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