Miles Davis

Michael Wolff at Vitello's

2013-04-04 00:00:00

Influenced as much by Miles Davis as Herbie Hancock, pianist Michael Wolff joins his frequent collaborator Mike Clark behind the drums to celebrate the release of "Wolff & Clark Expedition," joined by saxophonist Bob Sheppard and bassist Tony Dumas....

Jazz's past and present will be celebrated this spring

2013-03-08 09:00:00

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra: Trumpeter and roving ambassador for jazz Wynton Marsalis brings his nimble big band to town with a wealth of talent and tradition in tow. Expect sharp suits and even sharper tunes delivered by a band dedicated to bridging...

Review: Rudresh Mahanthappa blows through barriers at UCLA

2013-03-03 15:23:00

"It's very rare," alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa said while back-introducing the song "Abhogi" at� Royce Hall on Saturday night, further describing the piece as a South Indian raga that was also performed in the Hindustani tradition. "And of...

Review: Chris Potter charts bold course at Jazz Bakery show

2013-03-01 12:45:00

When it comes to finding narrative inspiration, saxophonist Chris Potter could hardly have tapped a source that runs closer to the human DNA than Homer's "The Odyssey." Maybe best known for his work backing bassist-bandleader Dave Holland and even...

Review: Ben Goldberg shows many sides over two albums

2013-02-19 11:35:00

There are few instruments in jazz that seem so tied to a single period like the clarinet. The instrument of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and New Orleans hot jazz, the horn is a relative outlier these days with practitioners such as Anat Cohen, Ken...

Donald Byrd dies at 80; jazz trumpeter was a funk-fusion experimenter

2013-02-12 06:00:00

Jazz trumpeter and band leader Donald Byrd, whose clean, elegant phrasing made his reputation in the 1950s and '60s before he began experimenting in the '70s and '80s with jazz-funk-R&B fusions on discs such as "Black Byrd" and "Thank You ... for F.U.M.L....

Donald Byrd dies at 80; jazz musician and educator

2013-02-11 15:16:00

Jazz musician Donald Byrd, a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s who collaborated on dozens of albums with top artists of his time and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as "Black Byrd," has died. He was 80. He...

Review: Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding aim high at Disney Hall

2013-02-10 11:42:00

With Los Angeles steadily filling with music royalty for this weekend's Grammy Awards and the many parties and performances in its orbit, Wayne Shorter led a show that served as a celebration of its own at Disney Hall on Saturday night. Featuring the...

Jazz album review: Wayne Shorter's 'Without a Net'

2013-02-07 12:42:00

Wayne Shorter Quartet “Without a Net” (Blue Note Records) Three and a half stars There’s a moment during Wayne Shorter’s much-anticipated new album where someone, said to be a member of the string ensemble Imani Winds, lets out...

Album review: Miles Davis Quintet's exceptional 'Live in Europe 1969'

2013-01-28 18:25:00

Miles Davis had a raw, multi-syllable name for his group from 1969, and it wasn't one we can print in this newspaper. Known in various jazz-obsessive circles as the Lost Band, the powerful quintet of all stars Davis assembled between the release of...

Review: SFJAZZ Center makes a splash on opening night

2013-01-24 13:04:00

SAN FRANCISCO -- Los Angeles, did you hear that? Given the laws of physics and the roughly 400-odd miles of distance, it's unlikely this week's opening of the $63-million SFJAZZ Center could be heard on the opposite end of the state (apart from its live...

Critic's Notebook: Vince Guaraldi's 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' score is a gift

2012-11-24 07:00:00

It's here. The holiday season. And with it, an ever-creeping onslaught of music stuffed with enough synthetic cheer to weave a polyester overcoat for Dodger Stadium. Hearing such tidings of great joy seems innocent enough, but repeated exposure could...

Whenever contemporary jazzmen make jams full of melodic horn lines and bebop-type solos that reach back to Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, they're called "young lions." At least, they were.

2012-12-27 13:11:00

A meeting of generations in 72-year-old drummer and onetime Miles Davis sideman Hart, the Bad Plus' Ethan Iverson and understated saxophonist Mark Turner, this album connects beautifully with lush, thoughtful interplay and nods toward John Coltrane and Paul Bley.

2012-12-14 15:33:00

No other orchestra in America looks, sounds or acts quite like Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. For though various bands play Third Stream repertoire -- a term that loosely refers to jazz-meets-classical fare -- the CJP immerses itself in this exotic corner of the jazz tradition.

2012-10-18 12:10:00