Jack Fuller

Samboa (Kenny Barron, Verve). Pianist Kenny Barron remains true to himself even as he attempts to discover the truth of Brazilian idioms on this quintet recording featuring guitarist Toninho Horta....

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...

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...

Thar They Blow (Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra, WM). The trouble with novelties is not only that they grow stale; they usually sprout into pure corn. So it is with the...

Quiet Song, Turning Point, Virtuosi, Pyramid, Jaco, Japan Suite, and Axis (Paul Bley, IAI). Pianist Paul Bley has been at his work steadily for decades, and the Italian firm called...

Shima Shoka (Aki Takase, Enja). Aki Takase takes seriously the idea that silence is a musical element. The pauses and elisions in some of her work are almost palpable, and...

A Look Inside (Kenny Drew Jr., Antilles). The best two cuts on this new CD feature tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman (son of Dewey Redman) along with Kenny Drew Jr. (son...

Art and Aviation (Jane Ira Bloom, Arabesque). The angles in soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom's new release sometimes get baffling because of the electronic reverberation she seems to favor. She...

Trust the Universe (Rachel Z., Columbia). Rachel Z. is no Kenny G. This young pianist really has something. It is not so much the maturity of her sound as it...

The Undaunted (Marlon Jordan, Columbia). One test of a jazz musician's sound is whether anybody imitates it. On this album by trumpeter Marlon Jordan, Wynton Marsalis passes the test. His...