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Interview

Fernando Trueba & They Shot the Piano Player

Read "Fernando Trueba & They Shot the Piano Player" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba has long been a jazz fan, and has made several films with a jazz focus. Calle 54 (2000) is still a notable documentary on Latin jazz. The film primarily consists of studio performances by a wide array of Latin Jazz musicians. Artists featured include Chucho Valdés, Bebo Valdés, Cachao, Eliane Elias, Gato Barbieri, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, Chano Domínguez, Jerry Gonzalez, Dave Valentin, Aquíles Báez, and Michel Camilo. The film takes its name from Sony Music ...

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Film Review

They Shot the Piano Player

Read "They Shot the Piano Player" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


They Shot the Piano Player Sony Pictures Classics Director: Fernando Trueba Run Time: 103 minutes 2023 They Shot the Piano Player is an animated docudrama that explores the real-world 1976 disappearance of Brazilian pianist Francisco Tenório Júnior. Tenório was a gifted young pianist (34 years old at the time of his disappearance) who was on tour with Toquinho and Vinícius de Moraes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he went out on a ...

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Building a Jazz Library

Charles Lloyd: Defiant Warrior Still On Song

Read "Charles Lloyd: Defiant Warrior Still On Song" reviewed by Chris May


As fool's errands go, few compare with selecting a Top Ten Albums collection from Charles Lloyd's extensive top-drawer output. But here goes. Lloyd newbies could consider the list a launch pad, and seasoned fans can compare the choices with their own... Anyone going to jazz festivals in summer 1966, and lucky enough to catch the Charles Lloyd Quartet, will likely have one tune in particular imprinted on their memory. Not because Lloyd had already twice recorded “Forest ...

16
What is Jazz?

Back In The Groove: Material Matters

Read "Back In The Groove: Material Matters" reviewed by Tarik Townsend


An aspect of jazz that is often overlooked is the material. That is, the very tunes that the musicians are performing. Arguably more important than the key or the tempo, the song itself dictates where the musician's inspiration will go, and even that isn't always a sure thing. They're a launching pad and an indicator of an artist's imagination. The material can also lead the players into some fascinating places normally not tread by anyone else--including themselves. Some recent records ...

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The Big Question

What was the most memorable jazz concert you attended?

Read "What was the most memorable jazz concert you attended?" reviewed by Chris May


If you are an AAJer, you will almost certainly have some live performances filed under magic moments. My first came in 1966 when I saw Charles Lloyd at the Juan-Les-Pins Jazz Festival in Antibes, France. At the time I knew Lloyd only through his recorded work with Chico Hamilton's group and nothing had prepared me for the new look Lloyd Quartet other than a few tabs of Owsley's finest earlier that summer. The band delivered half an hour or so ...

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The Big Question

Which jazz records in your collection are most sentimental to you and why?

Read "Which jazz records in your collection are most sentimental to you and why?" reviewed by Michael Ricci


An old friend alerted me to a Reddit discussion entitled “Which records in your collection are most sentimental to you and why?" and I thought we should repurpose (ok, steal) it for our community but add “jazz" as a qualifier. Sentimental being key, for me it's the The Chuck Mangione Quartet (Mercury, 1972)--a live set with inspired arrangements and soloing by Gerry Niewood and Chuck, with congas and an electric piano heard throughout. Only five tunes, three of which are ...

8
Interview

Quinsin Nachoff: The Science of the Sublime

Read "Quinsin Nachoff: The Science of the Sublime" reviewed by Lawrence Peryer


New York-based tenor saxophonist and composer Quinsin Nachoff creates at the intersection of jazz and classical music--and his work history demonstrates he is equally at home in both worlds. From saxophone concertos, chamber music and string quartet to his stellar group Flux--featuring David Binney, Matt Mitchell, Kenny Wollesen and Nate Wood--Nachoff is obliterating genre divides. It is in the context of two projects, his multimedia live work Patterns from Nature and album Stars and Constellations (Adyhâropa ...

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Live Review

The Jazz Cruise 2024

Read "The Jazz Cruise 2024" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright


Celebrity Summit The Jazz Cruise Miami, Labadee, Puerto Plata, St. Thomas January 18-25, 2024 Founded by Anita E. Berry in 2001, The Jazz Cruise has been offering patrons a yearly action-packed weeklong jazz experience at sea with some 100 world-class musicians in 200 hours of programming for over two decades (with a hiatus during the COVID pandemic). The ambience of the cruise encompasses house concert, nightclub theatre, urban bar, rooftop ...

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The Big Question

Why Is Jazz A Big Deal Everywhere… Except In The US?

Read "Why Is Jazz A Big Deal Everywhere… Except In The US?" reviewed by Chris May


Dateline: London, February 20, 2024. A bewildered friend in Los Angeles asks: Why is jazz so under-appreciated in the United States when it is revered everywhere else? Lest we forget, jazz was born and spent its formative years in the US and is arguably the country's most valuable contribution to world culture. But the stats show its home-turf profile dimming. Here in Britain, by contrast, jazz grows ever more popular; it is still niche but less ...

9
Chats with Cats

The Jazz Photographer: Philip Arneill

Read "The Jazz Photographer: Philip Arneill" reviewed by B.D. Lenz


I always find it fascinating when art forms collide. In this case, photography and music. Of course, each has their commonalities but they also have their differences. And, when an artist of one medium can intersect with another medium, their perspective is going to be very interesting. In this case, not only is there a crossing of art forms but also of cultures. Philip Arneill is from Northern Ireland but, through his photography, has documented a dying Japanese institution known ...


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