Reviews « Misterioso

John Carter – Bobby Bradford Quartet – Seeking hatOLOGY 620

By Laurence Svirchev, on January 3rd, 2011%

I typically avoid the first person pronoun but this review is an exception, for my personal reaction to Seeking was particularly intense. I have a little drill I . . . → Read More: John Carter – Bobby Bradford Quartet – Seeking hatOLOGY 620

Charles Mingus: The Complete 1959 Columbia Recordings

By Laurence Svirchev, on January 3rd, 2011%

Mingus Ah Um CK 65512

Mingus Dynasty CK 65513

Alternate Takes CK 65514

©Laurence@Ssvirchev.com

Forty years after they were recorded, Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Dynasty remain fresh, bold statements. The songs swing hard, are compositionally concise, and have a huge range of dynamics and coloration. The musicians interpreting Mingus’ compositions . . . → Read More: Charles Mingus: The Complete 1959 Columbia Recordings

Randy Weston African Rhythms: Saga

By Laurence Svirchev, on January 1st, 2011%

Gitanes Jazz Verve 529237-2

©Laurence Svirchev

Randy Weston is a master pianist-composer whose left hand surges with the rhythmic power of the Nile River. His right hand glistens the key-board with both Ellingtonian love calls and Monkish dissonances. Weston has based his work for many years on an intense study of African music, particularly the . . . → Read More: Randy Weston African Rhythms: Saga

Randy Weston – Earth Birth

By Laurence Svirchev, on December 30th, 2010%

©Laurence Svirchev

Romance, beauty, and love are qualities not commonly extolled in contemporary art. Randy Weston takes a different course, however, and visits these very virtues in Earth Birth. The compositions date from Weston’s 1950’s repertoire when his writing (and playing with trombonist Melba Liston) concentrated on waltzes, some of them for children. . . . → Read More: Randy Weston – Earth Birth

TD Canada Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Schlippenbach-Guy Concert Review 2010-06

By Laurence Svirchev, on December 27th, 2010%

text & photos © Laurence Svirchev

For 25 years the Vancouver international Jazz Festival has endowed the community and the international music scene with an unsurpassed level of creative music. A most complete expression of this legacy was the meeting between Alexander von Schlippenbach and Barry Guy. The talents of these two unique . . . → Read More: TD Canada Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Schlippenbach-Guy Concert Review 2010-06

It’s About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record

By Laurence Svirchev, on December 17th, 2010%

A Review of Richard Cook’s Book

In the century-old form of music known as jazz, no one musician has been more enigmatic than Miles Dewey Davis (1926-1991). The key to his misterioso aura is certainly not his creativity and invention alone. Many musicians of any musical genre have those qualities. . . . → Read More: It’s About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record

Review: Charlie Mingus – Tijuana Moods

By Laurence Svirchev, on October 20th, 2010%

Review: Charlie Mingus – Tijuana Moods Bluebird Re-Issue Series

©Laurence Svirchev The back cover of Tijuana Moods, recorded in 1957 but released in 1962, boldly proclaims Mingus saying, “This is the best record I ever made.” Each re-issue has retained the quote, but alternate arguments could be made that the words were . . . → Read More: Review: Charlie Mingus – Tijuana Moods

Dexter Gordon: Nights at the Keystone

By Laurence Svirchev, on August 5th, 2010%

Mosaic Select MS-014, 3 CDs ©Laurence Svirchev Dexter Gordon loved to make inventively sweet introductions to concert audiences. They were short ditties, sometimes in rhyme, designed to set the audience at ease about the song to come. Deep-voiced and articulating slowly, here is how he introduces It’s You or No One:

“For me, It’s . . . → Read More: Dexter Gordon: Nights at the Keystone