Latest posts
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The Thumb of Genius: Wes Montgomery and the Velvet Revolution of the Jazz Guitar
The Midnight Factory Worker and the Calloused Thumb To understand the jaw-dropping virtuosity of John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery, you have to picture a young father in Indianápolis during the late 1940s, working a grueling six-day-a-week shift at a milk factory, only to practice his guitar for hours deep into the night. Because his neighbors complained…
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The Prophet of Plastic: Ornette Coleman and the Architecture of Absolute Freedom
The Texas Outcast and the Plastic Saxophone To understand the tectonic shockwave that Ornette Coleman sent through the jazz world, you have to picture a young, long-haired saxophonist in Fort Worth, Texas, being physically attacked and having his instrument thrown off a cliff by musicians who thought his playing was wrong. Ornette wasn’t playing wrong;…
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The High Priestess of Defiance: Nina Simone and the Alchemy of Classical Blues
The Fractured Dream of the Classical Concert Hall To comprehend the majestic, burning rage of Nina Simone, one must look at the heartbreak of young Eunice Waymon in North Carolina. A child prodigy who could play church organs by ear at age three, she was groomed to become America’s first Black classical concert pianist. But…
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The Bossa Ambassador: Oscar Castro-Neves and the Architecture of the Velvet Groove
The Prodigy of Carnegie Hall and the Birth of a Movement To fully map the global explosion of Bossa Nova, you have to look at a sixteen-year-old Oscar Castro-Neves in Rio de Janeiro, rearranging the geometric chords of his early masterpiece “Chora Tua Tristeza” (1957). Oscar wasn’t just a witness to the golden age of…
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The Celtic Minimalists: Ensemble Ériu and the Hypnotic Rebirth of Irish Tradition
The Metamorphosis of the Session: From Pubs to the Avant-Garde To understand the quiet revolution of Ensemble Ériu, one must first dismantle the stereotype of Irish traditional music as merely high-energy pub tunes. Founded in 2011 by concertina virtuoso Jack Talty and bassist/composer Neil O’Loghlen, the group set out to prove that the ancient melodies…
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The Rhythm Sorcerer: Tigran Hamasyan and the Volcanic Syncopation of the Armenian Soul
The Prodigy from Gyumri and the Sacred Folk DNA To fully understand the volcanic energy of Tigran Hamasyan, you have to look past the jazz clubs of New York and straight into the ancient, stone-carved churches of Armenia. Born in Gyumri, Tigran was a musical sponge from a toddler age, obsessed with classic rock riffs…
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The Pop-Rock Revolution of the Piano Trio: How E.S.T. Shattered the Jazz Glass Ceiling
The Garage Band Attitude in a Jazz Tuxedo To grasp the seismic impact of the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, you have to throw away any preconceived notions of a polite, acoustic jazz ensemble. Childhood friends Esbjörn Svensson and Magnus Öström grew up in Sweden playing in rock garage bands before falling in love with classical music…
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The Sound of the North: Jan Garbarek and the Frozen Poetry of the Saxophone
The Metamorphosis of the Coltrane Fire To understand the ethereal, ambient majesty of Jan Garbarek, you have to look at the massive paradox of his beginnings. In the late 1960s, a young Garbarek was deeply possessed by the spiritual, incendiary fire of John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. He was playing furious, avant-garde free jazz in…
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The Cosmopolitan Tone: Till Brönner and the High-Fashion Reinvention of the Trumpet
The Prodigy of the Classical Academy To understand the flawless, crystalline tone of Till Brönner, one must first look at his immaculate training. Born into a family of musicians in Viersen, Germany, Brönner was raised on a strict diet of classical music before the virus of jazz caught him in his teens. He studied classical…