Dexter Gordon | Go [Classic Jazz]

Tags

African American, Jazz, Saxophone

Dexter Gordon

Just before heading off to a 15-year stay in Europe, the stately Dexter Gordon waxed a pair of records for Blue Note in August 1962: this classic and, two days later, A Swingin’ Affair. It’s been widely reported that Gordon himself considered Go! his greatest achievement, and (if so) it’s easy to hear why. Brimming with conviction and poise, Gordon’s gentle-giant sax carries itself with a sort of graceful edge that is difficult to emulate. He’s always quick with a humorous quote, yet it always seems to fit just right. He’s always languishing behind the beat, yet he never seems late. He possesses an enormous tone, yet he never overwhelms the songs or the listener. He sounds unhurried at any speed. His song selection is typically creative, holding little-known ballads close to his brawny chest like a big, cuddly bear. A stellar rhythm section of the elegantly funky pianist Sonny Clark plus Butch Warren and Billy Higgins doesn’t hurt either. –Marc Greilsamer/Amazon.com

Robert Glasper | In My Element

Tags

African American, Jazz, Piano, Robert Glasper

Robert Glasper | In My Element [Blue Note, 2007] | Music Review]

Robert Glasper

As jazz pianist come and go in the last few decades, I’ve heard my fair share of talented players. In recent years, I’ve been blessed to hear this amazingly gifted young jazz pianist from Houston, TX. – Robert Glasper. Since graduating from college, he’s played with the talented Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove and Hip-Hop artist Mos Def. Subsequently, my next encounter was back in 2005 with his critically acclaimed Blue Note Records debut entitled “Canvas.” In some jazz circles, the artistry of this poised musician has been compared to his colleagues Jason Moran, Bill Charlap, and Brad Mehldau.

Hiromi (Uehara) | “XYZ” [VOTW]

Tags

Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Keyboards, Piano

Are you ready for a mind blowing audio/visual experience? From the realm of fusionology 101, we’re enthralled to present pianist Hiromi Uehara captured live in Japan …

James Denmark | Natural Beauty [AOTW]

Tags

African American, Art, Culture

James Denmark, born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936, is part of an artistic family. He was exposed to color and form at an early age by his grandmother, a wire sculptor and quilt artist.

Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. During this period he was heavily influenced by the abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock, Clifford Still, and William deKooning.

Denmark’s collages, watercolors, woodcuts and reproductions are consistently and eagerly sought by galleries and collectors worldwide. James Denmark lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. – Grandpasart.com

James Denmark | Natural Beauty [Giclee]

James Denmark

Yaniel Matos | En Movimiento

Tags

Culture, Jazz, Piano

Yaniel Matos

En  Movimiento is a disc that shows a walk between the cultures of  two countries, Brazil and Cuba. Long  before living in Brazil, Yaniel already felt as a part of the excellent melody and harmony that the Bossa Nova brings to music, of the cults and indigenous rituals and of a city like São Paulo, where we find a wide variety of miscegenation. In this record Yaniel presents his sextet, giving us a summary of this Cuban experience in Brazil in a jazz language filled with colors and descriptive sounds, looking for new trends.

“Yaniel Matos can elevate the mind of the listener to the most noble dimension of pleasure in a context far from our ultra coded caged minds.” This is the critical set of Enzo Pavoni, from Jazz Magazine (Italy). – CDBaby.com