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James Farm Takes Seed as New All-Star Jazz Band

Jimmy Katz Yes, many will call James Farm an all-star band. Featuring drummer Eric Harland, bassist Matt Penman, pianist Aaron Parks and saxophonist Joshua Redman, the band certainly has some of the leading lights of today's jazz scene. But to hear Harland and Parks speak about the band's origins, James Farm seems something organically grown ...

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Moroccan Jazz Singer Malika Zarra Embraces Her Heritage on 'Berber Taxi'

Becca Meek Whether one is improvising, composing or even just playing songs, music is a declaration of self. This is never more apparent than with singer and composer Malika Zarra. Born in Morocco and raised in France, Zarra draws upon her roots to inform her jazz by adding elements of North African chaâbi and well as traditional ...

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Martial Solal Returns to the Village Vanguard for Intimate Show

Guy Fonck We're the first to admit that we don't follow the European jazz scene nearly as closely as the one here in the US. Part of the reason is that we live in the US and see the artists play more often. Another part of it is we generally like the music in the American jazz tradition better. Call us provincial. There are exceptions of ...

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Medeski Martin and Wood Celebrate 20 Years of Groundbreaking Jazz

Liz Penta Jazz bands have their own kind of dynamic. Usually there is a band leader who writes all or most of the tunes, and the group size is listed after the name, hence the Miles Davis Quintet or the Bill Evans Trio. It's jazz shorthand that tells fans more or less what to expect when they are scanning live listings, record bins and ...

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Alex Skolnick Incorporates Thrash-Metal Origins Into His Jazz Work

Tom Couture People have their own path to becoming a jazz musician. Sometimes a parent or other family member who plays. Sometimes a musician starts off in one direction and then goes in another. Alex Skolnick has to be one of the most unique examples of the latter. The guitarist joined the thrash-metal band Testament when his was 16, ...

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Gretchen Parlato Finds 'Peace of Mind' as a New Breed of Jazz Diva

David Bartolomi Gretchen Parlato is not your stereotypical jazz diva. You won't see this singer up on stage dressed in a prom dress, and her beautiful voice doesn't have the impressive range of some other singers out there. With a short asymmetrical haircut and a hip fashion sense, her look is her own. Nonetheless, it is Parlato's voice ...

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Kurt Elling Puts Jazz Spin on Classic Rock With Producer Don Was

Mark Venema, Getty Images The first time we came across Kurt Elling was in June of 1997 during a guerilla campaign of gigs in the Northeast over a six-week stretch. It was towards the end of that run and the singer was walking with crutches after a hiking mishap. His iconoclast reputation as a divinity school dropout (one credit short of his ...

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