It's a happy state of affairs when a new band gels and the chemistry realizes, as far as is possible, the ambitions and intentions of the leader. {{Gary Husband = 11856}} must be reasonably delighted with the vibrant horn pairing of experienced saxophonist {{Julian Siegel = 11728}} and newcomer trumpeter Richard Turner, which brings such thrust and zest to Hotwired. He must be similarly thrilled with the empathetic partnership he has struck up with bassist Michael Janisch, which swings the session mightily...

British reed player Courtney Pine began his professional life in reggae bands, and reggae's "conscious" music tradition has since been a defining feature of his work. Pine plays conscious jazz, in that many of his compositions and recording projects have held a focus on social rights and justice as seen through the prism of the black experience. Sometimes the story has been told with the aid of vocalists; sometimes, as on the exuberant Transition In Tradition, instrumentally--through track titles, liner notes, sleeve art, and a general referencing of black history...

Had this CD been received in 2008, it would surely have made my personal top-ten list. Canadian reed man Quinsin Nachoff aligns with French modern jazz artists, including the co-leader and drummer Bruno Tocanne. Sans a bassist, the four-man horns section generates an excitable string of musical notions, sparked with adventurous shifts in strategy. As Tocanne's resonating drum parts generate a heavy and vibrant bottom end...

While Farmers By Nature is the debut of the year-old trio featuring Detroit-born drummer Gerald Cleaver, New York City bassist extraordinaire William Parker, and in-demand keyboardist Craig Taborn, it is by no means its first performance as a unit. Together the trio has fuelled the flights of saxophonists Rob Brown on his acclaimed Crown Trunk Root Funk (Aum Fidelity, 2008), and Roscoe Mitchell as part of his Note Factory ensemble as well as violist Mat Maneri's small group on Sustain (Thirsty Ear, 2002), among many others...

In connecting composition with improvisation, players inherently manifest their awareness on levels from the technical to the spiritual. If no investment goes into the development of this consciousness, the spark and sense of direction within the music are left behind. Nowhere are these elements more evident than in Shakti, saxophonist David Spencer Ware's studio recording, long-awaited since the dissolution of his well-known quartet...

Multi-instrumentalist Sam Sadigursky has released the second of his Words Projects, wherein musicians and like-minded vocalists present poetry in a beat-cum-back to the future manner. This is not your grandfather's poems read over a bongo but is creative integration of vocals into an instrumental fabric...

Addressing the output of classical composers seems eventually to have become the dominant thrust of keyboardist Uri Caine's work. Schumann, Wagner, Bach, Beethoven and Mahler have fallen to sometimes radical re-posturing of their grand scores. Caine messes with the old assumed interpretations, deliberately distorting the usual expectations of performance by inserting elements of jazz, rock, funk, soul, blues, hip hop and electronica, always utilizing a cast of players from a broad range of backgrounds...

Jack Walrath not only displays tremendous trumpet playing, a rich and varied approach to composition and wonderful band, he also puts something into this fantastic CD that's missing from too much new jazz: a sense of fun and humor. That's not to say that it isn't sensitive and touching at times--"An Hour Blessed" is arguably as gorgeous as anything ever recorded...

The Lighthouse Singers is a Gospel group with an undeniable passion for James Brown and Al Green. Although its songs convey strong faith-based messages, even non-believers can appreciate and become awestruck at the vocal power and super-slick chemistry of this eight-man musical ministry. The soulful harmony of "Smooth Sailing" is intoxicating by itself; there is something so pure and cleansing about deep, passionate singing untouched by studio hands. "Smooth Sailing" directs listeners to a spiritual path, but there is nothing preachy or heavy-handed about the vocal performances here. Instead, there is unrestrained joy and life-affirming energy. The wonderfully slow-burning "Depending On You" delivers one of the record's few moments of respite. The Lighthouse Singers gets its groove on throughout much of the album, which is actually a recording of one of its explosive gigs. "Down So Long" is relentlessly funky with pumping organ; it recalls the vibrant R&b of the '60s and '70s. "great things for me" continues that danceable momentum. however, the lighthouse singers is not writing about love or sex; it aims for higher ground, which is communicating--and celebrating--the teachings of Jesus Christ through the universal languages of jazz and soul...

A dark vision of the world and this time is, perhaps, the most accurate one today. So when an account of artists' contributions to raising the world's level of awareness is written, bassist Roberto Occhipinti's fine A Bend in the River will rank as one with the clearest reflection of that vision. Of course none of this means that the record is not infinitely enjoyable. It is played in a continuously evolving idiom and, indeed, reveals something fascinatingly new with every listen...

It might seem that King Crimson co-founder/guitarist Robert Fripp's mail order-only King Crimson Collectors Club (KCCC)--an ongoing series of live performances in either CD or download-only formats-- might be overkill. But for the committed Crimhead, "enough" and "King Crimson" don't belong in the same sentence. Fearlessly and perennially looking forward with each new incarnation and taking risks each and every night, some shows are undeniably better than others. But every show made available has something distinctive to offer the committed fan. KCCC #39: Live in Milan June 20, 2003 captures the last commercially recorded incarnation early into its final European tour before Warr touch guitarist Trey Gunn's departure and, while it may have a few more warts than other KCCC recordings, they only serve to make Crimson more human...

Samo Salamon is an adventurer in more ways than one. As a guitar player he is constantly in search of the new, finding it in unexpected harmonic concepts and in the development and fulfillment of the themes. He also chooses to play with different musicians on his recordings, thus opening the doors to a fresh world of ideas...

A couple of saxophonists once demonstrated how different players get varying sounds from their horns based on their individual physical attributes. They explained that chest cavity, throat, and mouth shape all contribute to defining a musician's particular sound. Saxophonist John Butcher takes that concept one step further playing solo pieces in varying resonant spaces such as a cave, a reservoir, oil tank and a mausoleum...

Music performed by Paul Bley is always an event of great import--no matter where or when, or in what context it is performed. But with Barrage this was the roaring '60s. Charlie Parker, who had set the world on fire, had left a meteoric legacy and in the after-burn came the smoldering avant-garde. Ornette Coleman may have defined part of the leading edge of the harmolodic music of the day, but it was the rhythmic invention that bound the melody. Eric Dolphy and Don Cherry unlocked the rhythmic secrets that Parker had invented and a few--like Carla and Paul Bley, Don Pullen and Charlie Haden, among a handful of others--propelled the music forward. Bley was probably alone--although Walter Norris made the only appearance by a pianist on Coleman's Something Else (Contemporary Records/Fantasy, 1958), and Mingus' music also suggests otherwise--among pianists who bestrode the avant-garde music world leaving any lasting musical legacy...

Jerry Bergonzi, a Bostonian who has been plying his trade for more than four decades, often slips through the cracks when the names of accomplished post-bop tenor saxophonists are bandied about. Rather strange, as Bergonzi has had a notable career as a player/educator that has included quality time with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, among others, and Tenor Talk is the twenty-fifth recording he has made as leader of his own groups. In spite of this, Bergonzi is better known in Europe than in the States, perhaps because he prefers to hang out in his home town (where he teaches at the New England Conservatory) instead of New York City, Los Angeles or other better known jazz/media centers...

Led by trumpeter RJ Avallone and reedman Matthew Maley, the quartet sound and vibe conveyed by Search signals an air of maturity that's rather uncanny for such a young band. Partly inspired by the musical canon of Ornette Coleman, the artists project a distinct sound into these largely, memorable and astutely engineered compositions, teeming with gobs of depth and snaking movements...

With two tracks on Helping Hands, songwriter Robert Baitinger strikes gold. Andrew Gold, that is. Best known for his '70s AM radio smashes "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You For Being a Friend," Gold is a surprise guest on the CD, providing the vocals on "Did You Get What You Want" and "Tell Me." The jangling, aggravated "Did You Get What You Want" is not only the better of the two, but the strongest track on the record. Although Gold is most familiar to U.S. audiences with his Adult Contemporary oldies, he found another rush of success in Europe during the '80s with New Wave act Wax. "Did You Get What You Want" leans toward Gold's more rocking days with Wax; while highly melodic, it has rough edges both lyrically and sonically that steer it away from the Middle of the Road blahs...

The aptly named Farmers By Nature is a completely improvised live date that whispers "wait for it, wait... now, there it is." Just like farming, the seeds of improvised sound are scattered; some lay fallow and others bear delicious fruit. Bassist William Parker, drummer Gerald Cleaver and pianist Craig Taborn have worked together in numerous groups and countless styles from large ensembles to solo outings and from free jazz to hard bop. They were last heard on disc as the rhythm section for saxophonist Rob Brown's Crown Trunk Root Funk (AUM Fidelity, 2008)...

Czech guitarist Petr Zelenka brings an edgy warmth to jazz that isn't heard too often these days. There are occasions when the guitarist recalls Jim Hall, whose harmonically advanced yet melodically rooted lines not only quelled the abstractions of Chico Hamilton and Jimmy Giuffre but spiked the pretty sparkles of Paul Desmond and Bill Evans. And yet, Zelenka also brings an unpredictable European sensibility to his music that is reminiscent of many ECM productions--that sense of wandering off from the rhythmic, melodic and predictable path...

Drummer Ben Hall and cellist Hans Buetow have been frequent musical collaborators since their time at Bennington College in Vermont, USA, participating in various group settings that tread the boundaries between basement noise, free jazz and modern composition. Employing Oberlin graduate Chris Riggs' guitar work, the tandem has resuscitated Traum, a unit whose work sways from lower case experimental spaces to hyper explosions of free punk attitudes...