Monk’s Dream: Verve 543 090-2

Hooky, Solo in Montreal 1976: Emanem 4042

©Laurence Svirchev

It’s about time that Steve Lacy, that percipient nous of modern music, scored on a major label like Verve. He has been universally recognized among his musician peers for decades as one of the most articulate players of the soprano saxophone. . . . → Read More: Steve Lacy & Roswell Rudd: Monk’s Dream; Steve Lacy: Hooky

Mosaic Records #200

©Laurence Svirchev

Johnny Hodges, with a series of nicknames like “Rabbit” and “Jeep”, was a musical hero in his time. His alto saxophone sound and phrasing was inimitable. He enjoyed popularity both as leader of his own bands and as a long time member of the . . . → Read More: Johnny Hodges: The Complete Small Group Verve Sessions 1956-61

Tampere, Finland is located on about the same latitude as Whitehorse in the Yukon. A three hour train ride north of the capital of Helsinki, it is the last city one leaves before venturing into Finland’s true north. In November the climate is a transition into the sunless winter and is not the . . . → Read More: Tampere Jazz Happening, Finland: November 2-4, 2001

©Laurence Svirchev

There are only two ways to play the music of Thelonious Sphere Monk: the wrong way and the right way. Wrong-way musicians are generally from the Repertory School of jazz. They homogenize the music, blend the cream with the lean, and devoid it of its unique flavors and textural layers. But Monk’s compositions . . . → Read More: George Graewe, Marcio Mattos, Minchael Vatcher: Impressions of Monk