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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…
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Continue reading →: Jake Noble: Letting Go of a DreamNO LABEL OR RECORDING DATE PROVIDED Much like Charlie Haden, one of his musical influences, Jake Noble’s bass playing is lyrical, strong and inventive. He demonstrates his command of the instrument as well as his composing and band leading skills on Letting Go of a Dream. Noble’s other sources of…
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Continue reading →: Luther Allison: I Owe It All To YouPOSI-TONE RECORDS (RECORDED MAY 2023) The “you” Luther Allison refers to on I Owe It All to You are the pianists who inspired him — Donald Brown (his mentor), Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern and James Williams. So, it should be no surprise that this recording is packed with hard-driving, gospel…
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Continue reading →: Eric Alexander & Mike LeDonne: TogetherCELLAR MUSIC 072023 (RECORDED JULY 2023) Together presents two familiar names in a not-so-familiar setting. Even though saxophonist Eric Alexander and pianist/organist Mike LeDonne have crossed paths on many recordings and club dates since their first meeting in 1992, this is the first time they have recorded as a duo.…
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Continue reading →: Livio Almeida: Brasilia SessionsZOHO 202406 (RECORDED JANUARY 2024) Don’t be fooled by “Sambasus,” the opening track on Brasilia Sessions. Although saxophonist Livio Almeida starts this tune with the chatter and clatter of a live jazz club, the music was recorded in a studio in his hometown of Brasilia, Brazil. If Almeida was trying…
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Continue reading →: Jerome Sabbagh: HeartANALOG TONE FACTORY 001 (RECORDED JUNE 2022) Saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh is a jazz environmentalist. What’s that, you might ask?For starters, it is someone who does not waste a note. Rather than polluting the air withextraneous flourishes and bravado, Sabbagh’s poetic and delicate tone embraces each selection with a sense of…
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Continue reading →: Harry Skoler: Red Brick HillSUNNYSIDE RECORDS (RECORDED AUGUST 2022) Clarinetist Harry Skoler has a story to tell, and he tells it with elegance and pathos onRed Brick Hill. It’s a story about reconciling with a traumatic experience from his youth —the death of a childhood friend. It’s a story he shared with the musicians…
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Continue reading →: Greg Skaff: Re UpSOULMATION RECORDS 001. (RECORDED OCTOBER 2023) Guitarist Greg Skaff has nowhere to hide on Re Up. Unlike some of his past recordings, there is no organist comping chords for him. Unlike his performances in the bands of Stanley Turrentine, David “Fathead” Newman and Bobby Watson, there is no saxophonist playing…
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Continue reading →: Brian Landrus: Plays Ellington & StrayhornPALMETTO 202301 (RECORDED AUGUST 2023) Brian Landrus brings a new richness to the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn on Plays Ellington and Strayhorn. Some of that richness comes from the lyrical and luxurious sound of Landrus’ baritone, whose style is much like Harry Carney, Ellington’s long-time baritone player…
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Continue reading →: Jill McCarron: GinJAZZ BIRD RECORDS (RECORDED MAY 2023) Jill McCarron is a tease and it’s not just because of the seductive CD cover, it’s because of how she seduces you with her prowess as a pianist. On Gin, she channels Horace Silver on “The Jody Grind,” brings Bobby Timmons to mind on Kenny Dorham’s…
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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