Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune Matt Ulery: “Sifting Stars” (Woolgathering Records). The mystical quality of Chicago bassist-composer Ulery’s music never fails to cast its spell, regardless of the size or character of the ensemble in question. Here Ulery leads a large group with strings, reeds and horns, plus the other worldly vocals of Grazyna Auguscik and the … Read More
Raul da Gama, Jazz da Gama Ilhan Ersahin has a background in which, clearly the fiery and lofty values of his Turkish heritage collide with the lofty values of his (other) Nordic side. This has helped him create a musical amalgam which drinks at the earthly fountainhead where the rhapsodic ululations of the voice raised … Read More
Ron Schepper, Textura Matt Ulery: Sifting Stars (Woolgathering Records) Bassist Matt Ulery’s a proud ambassador for Chicago’s ever-vital jazz scene, yet Sifting Stars, his eighth as a bandleader since his 2008 debut, is hardly a jazz recording in the conventional sense of the word; in fact, a listener coming to his music for the first time might be … Read More
Jack Bowers, All About Jazz In 1983, Art Blakey invited fellow timekeeper Ralph Peterson to perform with Blakey’s two-drummer big band at the Boston Globe Jazz Festival. It was a life-changing experience for Peterson, whose debut album with his Boston-based GenNext Big Band, I Remember Bu,honors Blakey’s memory (the late drummer’s Muslim name was Abdullah ibn Buhaina, and he was … Read More
Mike Greenblatt, Aquarian Weekly Chord-less jazz bands walk a high wire with no net. Without the glue of either guitar or piano chording, the musicians have to weave their notes in and around each other creating a cohesive whole. On the mystifying, circuitous, complex, satisfying and wholly entertaining Night (Fresh Sounds Records), Brazilian/Israeli New Yorker Eden Bareket plays a dazzling … Read More
Mike Greenblatt, Aquarian Weekly As the fourth installment of his esteemed “Istanbul Sessions,” Solar Plexus (Nublu Music) by Ilhan Ersahin, is one of the most adventurous, satisfying, eclectic, cinematic, far-out CDs of 2018. A fascinating individual — saxophonist, keyboardist, composer, arranger and the head of New York City’s hip room on Avenue C called Nublu — this guy’s … Read More
Steve Williams, UK Vibe Back in 2015, Bugge Wesseltoft released his ‘Bugge and Friends’ album into the world through Jazzland Recordings, recorded through Nublu, responsible now for a record label, club nights and a festival. The album featured several familiar artists; Beady Belle, Joe Claussell and Erik Truffaz (keep a note of that name), but also an … Read More
George Harris, Jazz Weekly Drummer and composer Henry Conerway III leads an impressive and versatile trio of Kevin Smith/b and Kenny Banks Jr/dr through a mix of team arranged covers and a handful of originals. Smith leads the way as Conerway guides with a sleek ride cymbal groove on “Sugar Ray” with his brushes coaxing … Read More
George Harris, Jazz Weekly Playing piano and Fender Rhodes, Alex Clough brings together David Smith/tp-fh, Steve Kortyka/ts, John Tate/b and Jay Sawyer/dr through some vintage Blue Note hard and post bop sounds. On piano, the team shows some nimble pulses with a hip front line on “ Swirl” and Kortyka gives off a big sound … Read More
Steve Provizer, The Arts Fuse Kelly Green and her trio are essentially mainstream players, but they explore a lot of challenging territory within that framework. Volume One is the first album release for vocalist and pianist Kelly Green as a trio with Alex Tremblay on bass and Evan Hyde on drums. They maintain a high level of group communication throughout this superb … Read More
