by Adorjan Horvát In a career that bridges the bandstand, the conservatory, and the printed page, Bruce Gertz has long stood as one of jazz bass’s clearest thinkers and most quietly powerful architects. On Octopus Dreams, the bassist-composer offers a suite of originals that move fluidly through post-bop, modal lyricism, and Latin-inflected feel, with each … Read more
by Adorjan Horvát When Dr. Geoffrey Dean first emerged on the Washington, DC, jazz scene, his reputation was built on a blend of scholarly rigor and visceral improvisational flair. A prolific composer, author of the well‑received Kenny Kirkland’s Harmonic and Rhythmic Language, and regular contributor to Downbeat’s Masterclass series, Dean has already proven his capacity to translate theory into … Read more
by Steph Cosme LA LOM’s Live At Thalia Hall is a document of a sold-out March 2024 Chicago concert captured on tape and later issued worldwide on Verve. The album is an archival snapshot of a trio translating LA party-floor kinetics into theater acoustics without losing their dancer’s heartbeat. The official digital release lands on … Read more
by Steph Cosme Silvano Monasterios’ The River is a Latin jazz album created as a meditation on identity, culture, and the unbroken current of rhythm that ties one generation to another. Monasterious presents seven compositional structures for ensemble interplay. The result is The River vibrates with cultural resonance, textural storytelling, and the way its sound … Read more
by Adorjan Horvát Art Hirahara’s Peace Unknown is an integrated outing of compositional design with improvisational freedom. Hirahara’s writing has a meticulous concern for voice-leading, sectional interplay, and thematic motifs transformed over time. The pianist’s harmonic vocabulary that is expansive. Across the album, he leverages his septet as a palette, drawing from chamber-like jazz transparency … Read more
by Steph Cosme My Universe is the luminous jazz and Latin album from Argentinian-born vocalist Maria Puga Lareo. Lareo invites the listener into a program of ten songs where jazz, Brazilian saudade, and R&B-rooted colors coalesce in refined, cinematic arrangements. Co-produced with saxophonist Bob Sheppard, the album exudes polish and emotional honesty, carried by a … Read more
by Steph Cosme Words Fall Short, the latest offering from saxophonist-composer Joshua Redman, finds expression in the mysteries of music. Joined by a new generation of players of Paul Cornish on piano, Philip Norris on bass, and Nazir Ebo on drums, Redman convenes a quartet whose cohesion is built on present listening. Together, they craft a … Read more
by Steph Cosme Dom Cicchetti is a musician with many hats. He is a composer, orchestrator, keyboardist, guitarist, and sonic architect. On his latest album, Candy Apple, Cicchetti merges these roles into a seven-track expression of smooth fusion that is thoughtfully constructed and melodically irresistible. Drawing from decades of experience spanning jazz, R&B, Latin, and cinematic … Read more
By Adorjan Horvát Downhill From Here by guitarist Gilad Hekselman is eight tracks that lean into a lineage of melodic invention and rhythmic exploration while offering a sonic language that feels unmistakably of today’s modern jazz guitar style. With Marcus Gilmore on drums and Larry Grenadier on bass, Hekselman revisits the trio format with deep roots … Read more
by Steph Cosme Shiri Zorn, George Muscatello, and Mauricio Zottarelli, have released an album that thrives in a trio of voice, guitar, and percussion. The result is Looking for Light an album with an uncommon sonic palette that feels vivid and compositionally refined. The eight selections drawing from jazz, Brazilian samba, Middle Eastern modalities, and chamber-like … Read more