Jack Fuller

Dancing in the Dark (Fred Hersch Trio, Chesky Records). What a wonderful recording! I hadn't paid any attention to pianist Fred Hersch, so in addition to the pleasure of a...

On the One (Ryan Kisor, Columbia). He's still a teenager, but Ryan Kisor plays the trumpet with a maturity that will fool you if you don't know his age. The...

Jelly (The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Columbia). The Broadway show in his name has made the strange character of Jelly Roll Morton a matter of fashion. He would have understood...

Unforgettable (Terumasa Hino, Blue Note). Terumasa Hino uses his cornet to take nostalgia's ballads forward in time, just as Miles Davis once used his trumpet. But Hino does not look...

Dexter Rides Again (Dexter Gordon, Savoy). Recorded in 1945, 1946 and 1947, these cuts by tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon have a timelessness that, along with the fine production quality of...

The Human Factor (Borah Bergman, Soul Note). Pianist Borah Bergman draws on the work of Cecil Taylor, even John Cage. But he also has affinities with Ornette Coleman. That, to...

Promenade With Duke (Michel Petruccianni, Blue Note). Doing Duke Ellington works on solo piano is an act of devotion, and it calls upon depths of conviction that many improvisers might...

Anatomy of a Groove (M-Base Collective, DIW/Columbia), Transmigration (Strata Institute, DIW/Columbia). One of the troubles with making jazz out of hip-hop idioms is that today's street beat refuses to swing....

To the Eyes of Creation (Courtney Pine, Antilles). Though of mixed quality and approach, this is gifted tenor saxophonist Courtney Pine's best recording in years. On the better cuts, Pine...

Secret Love (Vincent Herring, Music Masters Jazz). Alto saxophonist Vincent Herring's phrasing isn't unique. You hear Frank Morgan in it, even Charlie Parker. But that doesn't reduce the pleasure, because...