By Neil Tesser On eight previous albums, guitarist Tom Guarna has worked almost exclusively with…
By Neil Tesser Angel Bat Dawid — clarinetist, pianist, poet, vocalist — produces hard-to-categorize works…
By Neil Tesser The Art Ensemble of Chicago honors six decades of boundary-shattering creativity with…
An improvisational master marks his 65th birthday with three disparate releases. Powerful and protean, the…
At the top of this disc, you hear the enormous, singing sound of Rufus Reid’s…
Jeff Parker explores a variety of sonic possibilities, following only the compass of rigorous individualism.…
Chicago bassist Ethan Philion opens this album of Mingus compositions with the lesser-known “Once Upon…
The sunnily ferocious tenor saxophonist Frank Catalano is the subject of a recent film documentary…
I first encountered Charles Mingus in 1972, when he brought his band to the Brown…
A select group of guitarists gathered to honor Pat Martino, a treasured influence and mentor…
On Disparate Parts, her sixth disc, saxophonist Roxy Coss turns a corner and finds herself…
If you haven’t heard of pianist Adam Berenson, it’s not for lack of his trying.…
In the year leading up to his 80th birthday this past December, the ageless trumpeter…
In a career that spans seven decades, starting in 1967 when he moved to Chicago…
On his latest album, the celebrated pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill leads his Afro Latin…
Caroline Davis always does her homework. As a grad student at Northwestern University in the…
Many musicians have shown real talent in the visual arts: Tony Bennett, Miles Davis and…
This third disc from Alchemy Sound Project revels in flow, but it opens with a…
I’ve spent some time recently listening to vocalist Roseanna Vitro’s very first album, Listen Here…
The most striking thing about Alexa Tarantino is her alto saxophone sound — not because…
Tarantino’s slippery technique is impressive enough, but these tone adjustments constitute her calling card — along with the creative passion she imparts in her improvisations. (You won’t hear a rote note on Firefly.) Leading a quintet comprising fellow Posi-Tone leaders Behn Gillece (vibes) and Art Hirahara (piano), plus bassist Boris Kozlov and the masterly drummer Rudy Royston, she channels New York sheen on her fast stuff; aggressively pushes the mainstream envelope on the high-octane “Rootless Ruthlessness”; and leans into her excellent flute and soprano-sax work on several lightly Latin, California-cool tracks.
Tarantino has two previous albums under her name, having built her reputation as a member of the DIVA big band and Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. She’s also starred in three collectives organized by Posi-Tone, working with several of her label mates in quintet and sextet settings. Tarantino treats her own group as a sort of collective: Firefly includes a composition from each of her sidemen, and her own songs don’t appear until 20 minutes in.
The label’s mix-and-match of roster artists carries some risks. With many leaders sharing similar personnel, the lines can blur between albums, as happened on some of the less distinctive Blue Note albums of the ’50s and ’60s. Tarantino mostly avoids that trap with muscular compositions and a sure hand at the helm, as this easy-on-the-ears release confidently strides toward the breakout album that seems just around the corner. — Neil Tesser
https://youtu.be/_jDUmC-UHm4