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Continue reading →: Bruce Harris/Ehud Asherie: Thank You, Barry HarrisARBOR RECORDS 19492 (RELEASED JANUARY 17, 2025) To say that pianist Barry Harris left his mark on jazz would be an understatement. He not only played and recorded with legends such as Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins and Dexter Gordon, but issued more than 20 essential recordings under his own name,…
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Continue reading →: Rob Brown: WalkaboutMAHAKALA MUSIC 070 (RELEASED JANUARY 24, 2025) Ornette Coleman once said melodies could be improvised infinitely and that musical ideas could flow naturally without a predetermined structure. Saxophonist Rob Brown continues to lead the pack in advancing the musical concepts expressed by Coleman on Walkabout. With the creative and sensitive…
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Continue reading →: Kevin Hays & Jorge Rossy: The WaitCLAP YOUR HANDS RECORDS (RELEASED JANUARY 10, 2025) Chick Corea and Gary Burton introduced us to the sonic possibilities of a piano/vibraphone duo with their 1973 release of Crystal Silence. Those possibilities are further explored on The Wait from pianist Kevin Hays and vibraphonist Jorge Rossy. Despite the playfulness and…
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Continue reading →: Kenny Wheeler Legacy: Some Days Are BetterGREENLEAF MUSIC (RELEASED JANUARY 31, 2025) The compositions and arrangements of trumpeter Kenny Wheeler were just as modern in the late 1960s as they are today. Need proof? Listen to Some Days Are Better, The Lost Scores from the Kenny Wheeler Legacy. A native of Canada, Wheeler moved to the…
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Continue reading →: Satoko Fujii GEN: Altitude 1100 MetersLIBRA RECORDS 206-077 (RELEASED JANUARY 24, 2025) Altitude 1100 Meters is a first! Not only is it the first time in her nearly 30-year recording career that pianist/composer Satoko Fujii has written for a string ensemble, but it is also the debut of GEN, the string ensemble featured on the…
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Continue reading →: Booker T. Williams: Ode to BC/LYMAHAKALA MUSIC 057 (RELEASED JANUARY 17, 2025) If it were not for the release of Ode to BC/LY, the musical adventures of Seattle-based saxophonist Booker T. Williams would remain severely undocumented. Having recorded sporadically throughout the 1990s with free jazz players such as Saheb Sarbib, William Hooker and Dennis Charles…
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Continue reading →: Bill O’Connell: TouchJOJO RECORDS (RELEASED JANUARY 17, 2025) Every so often pianist Bill O’Connell shifts his focus from leading and recording with Latin jazz bands to recapturing the simplicity and naturalness of his 1978 trio recording Searching Trio. He returned to that format in 2017 with The Three of Us, and he…
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Continue reading →: Carl Allen: Tippin’CELLAR MUSIC 3262 (RELEASED JANUARY 10, 2025) I am not certain why drummer Carl Allen’s first recording as a leader in 20 years is titledTippin’? For me, a more appropriate name could be the title of an Irving Berlin classic included on this set — “They Say It’s Wonderful.” The…
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Continue reading →: THE BEST RELEASES OF 2025 (ACCORDING TO ABE)I was honored to be asked to submit my top ten recordings of 2025 to Cadence Magazine. I have reviewed many of these recordings on this blog. I hope you will continue to watch for 2025 releases in the months ahead. 01. Leo Genovese: Estrellro 2 (577 Records)02. Fay Victor:…
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Continue reading →: Dave Stryker: Stryker With Strings/Goes To the MoviesStrikezone 8827 (Recorded February & March 2024) It’s a case of jazz déjà vu. In 1965, a jazz guitarist with a string of critically acclaimed small group sessions to his name went into the studio with a larger ensemble and recorded an album that included several pop tunes. Sixty years…
Hello,
Welcome to Papatamus Redux
I started reading Cadence in the early 1980s. Since that time, I have come to respect editor and jazz critic Robert Rusch for his intelligent, succinct and unbiased reviews. Over the past twenty years, it has been my pleasure to get to know Robert and his family, making frequent trips from our home in Iowa to New York’s North Country. Several years ago, I was honored to be asked to help edit Robert’s Papatamus column.
I was equally honored to be asked by his family to keep Robert’s legacy of intelligent, succinct and unbiased jazz reviews alive with Papatamus Redux. You can view older editions of Papatamus at papatamus.com.
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