by David Whiteis, JazzTimes “Oscar Hernández, longtime pianist, arranger, and musical director for Rubén Blades’ orchestra and founder/musical director of the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, wears his prestige lightly. This … Read More
By David Whiteis, JazzTimes Trumpeter Derrick Gardner is an alumnus of the 1990s-era, Frank Foster-led Count Basie Orchestra—a connection that’s immediately evident in the voicings and blends he has devised … Read More
By: David Whiteis, Jazz Times Dream Shanti is the latest project to evolve under the aegis of woodwind player Jeff Coffin, a former member of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones … Read More
By: David Whiteis, JazzTimes “Serious play” may be a cliché by now, but it exemplifies the spirit that dances through this set. Apropos to the title, the emphasis is on … Read More
David Whiteis, JazzTimes If, as critic Larry Kart has postulated, jazz is “a form of self-enactment in sound,” then this “enactment” must become ambiguous, even contradictory, as the very concept … Read More
