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Continue reading →: Javon Jackson: Javon & Nikki Go to the MoviesPALMETTO RECORDS (RELEASED AUGUST 2024) Like the poem “Vegetable Soup” that Nikki Giovannni recites under the funky beat and soulful sax of Javon Jackson’s “Have You Heard,” Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies is a blend of tasty ingredients. Start with the trio of pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David…
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Continue reading →: Neta Raanan: Unforseen Blossom (sic)GIANT STEPS GSA 12 (RECORDED APRIL 2023) There is no question that saxophonist Neta Raanan, vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Simon Willson and drummer Kayvon Gordon are exceptional players. However, as evidenced by Unforseen Blossom (sic), they are simply not good editors. As I remember from my days in advertising copywriting…
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Continue reading →: Ed Neumeister: CoversMEISTEMUSIC RECORDS (RECORDED FEBRUARY & APRIL 2024) I was excited to hear Ed Neumeister’s Covers. Not because of the familiar tunes he “covers” on this release, but because of the saxophonists noted on the back cover —Caroline Davis, Ingrid Laubrock and Billy Drewes. Sadly, these musicians only appear on three…
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Continue reading →: Joel Futterman: ForeverMAHAKALA 078 (RECORDED DECEMBER 2022) If recordings came with instructions, “Go with the flow” is all listeners would need to know to experience Forever. The “flow” is Joel Futterman’s spontaneous and emotional approach to solo piano. Three improvisations flow from rhapsodic to rambunctious, light to dark, meandering to methodical and…
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Continue reading →: Ben Wolfe: The UnderstatedOUTSIDE IN A2418.1 (RELEASED AUGUST 2024) Ben Wolfe’s The Understated can best be described as cool, calm and collected. Cool, because it is reminiscent (but not a copy) of recordings from Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh, Lee Konitz and other modernists of the cool era. Calm, because the music Wolfe presents…
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Continue reading →: No Codes: Usual SuspectsSUNSET HILL MUSIC 142401. (RELEASED AUGUST 2024) The Montreal jazz collective No Codes continues to mine the territory they explored in their 2018 debut release — challenging the expected norms and conventions in jazz. Driven by the dynamic drumming of Louis-Vincent Hamel and the powerful bass lines of Sebastien Pellerin,…
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Continue reading →: John Zorn: BalladesTZADIK 9310 (RELEASED JULY 2024) Many of the ballads we cherish from the Great American Songbook were written by Jewish composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and others. So, it is no surprise that John Zorn, who introduced us to “Radical Jewish Music,” has turned his attention…
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Continue reading →: Greg Amirault: A Change of PaceSELF PRODUCED (RELEASED AUGUST 19, 2024) Montreal jazz fans are more than likely familiar with guitarist Greg Amirault. Since arriving in that city in 1987 from Nova Scotia, Amirault has made a name for himself as a busy player on the scene, the host of a weekly jam session (with…
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Continue reading →: AllianceSHIFTING PARADIGMS (RELEASED MARCH 2024) The debut recording from the cooperative Alliance starts with a bang — Mulgrew Miller’s upbeat “Wingspan,” with Sharel Cassity demonstrating why she was named Downbeat’s 2023 rising star on the alto saxophone. Her blistering solo and the support of a solid rhythm section suggest what…
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Continue reading →: Michael Wolff: MemoirSUNNYSIDE RECORDS (RELEASED AUGUST 2, 2024) It seems fitting that pianist Michael Wolff concludes Memoir with a heartfelt and evocative take on the classic ballad “You’ve Changed.” After all, his life has changed dramatically since growing up in the segregated South where he suffered from Tourette Syndrome, living through the…
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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