Email Author Jim Macnie

2012 Stories by Jim Macnie

• Spanish Fly

  published December 26, 2012

  Drummer Ben Perowsky curates a night of "reunions" that spotlights the always inventive guitar playing of Dave Tronzo, who helped make the local... More >>

• Tom Rainey Trio

  published December 26, 2012

  It's hard not to get a kick out of Rainey’s latest, Camino Cielo Echo, a disc that makes crossed swords generate the clangs of... More >>

• REBEL REBEL

  published December 26, 2012

  Jazz fans rarely think of the Bad Plus as traditionalists, but the most celebrated and scrutinized piano trio of the past decade certainly seems... More >>

• David Berkman Quartet

  published December 26, 2012

  The pianist’s Live At Smoke floated by during our recent Sandy flood, so I dried it off and spun it again: mainstream jazz with just... More >>

• New Zion Trio

  published December 26, 2012

  The way Jamie Saft funnels his piano visions through a dub filter is one of the most arresting variations on the trad trio sound that has come... More >>

• George Schuller's Circle Wide

  published December 19, 2012

  There’s a track on the newish Listen Both Ways called “A Map Would Help,” but the drummer’s sextet always seems to... More >>

• Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O

  published December 19, 2012

  His whimsical holiday album decked every hall in town last year—nice to see it has become an ongoing tradition. Helping with the fa la la las... More >>

• Jane Ira Bloom Trio

  published December 19, 2012

  It’s one of those ongoing joys the way Bloom’s lithe soprano sax parkours through the ever-shifting architecture of bassist Mark... More >>

• Roy Haynes

  published December 12, 2012

  You always figure he's going to start to wind down, but the eve-virile drummer's sense of attack is relentless. Of course, perpetual oomph could... More >>

• Medeski, Martin, & Wood

  published December 12, 2012

  Pliability has been their cornerstone since forever, and restlessness helps drive all their aesthetic shifts. So connecting with a series of... More >>

• Kenny Barron & Dave Holland

  published December 12, 2012

  Evidently they played their first duo date last summer, and have booked gigs intermittently since. That's a boon for anyone smitten with intimacy:... More >>

• Billy Drummond Group

  published December 5, 2012

  It’s all about feel with this drummer: He makes sure that his mainstream fare takes chances, considers the textural, and proffers pleasure.... More >>

• Miguel Zenón+Laurent Coq

  published December 5, 2012

  On the new Rayuela the saxophonist and pianist take their cues from the characters of Julio Cortazar’s novel of the same name, a tome... More >>

• Anat Cohen, Matt Wilson, & Martin Wood

  published November 28, 2012

  Between clarinet and tenor, Anat Cohen's got a full palette of sound covered, and her natural charisma was made for bringing an unmistakable... More >>

• Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas

  published November 28, 2012

  On stage, these two hunker down, focused on making the most out of the chemistry at hand, but they’re also glib—terrifically so—as... More >>

• Darcy James Argue's Secret Society

  published November 14, 2012

  The most discussed big band of the last five years is a coordination machine that blends ethereal with earth-shaking for a result that’s... More >>

• Russ Lossing

  published October 24, 2012

  If part of repertory's job is to cast a new look on established works, the pianist’s nod to the late drummer Paul Motian warrants kudos.... More >>

• Steve Kuhn Trio

  published October 24, 2012

  Recorded 30 years ago at the Vanguard, the recently released Life’s Magic captures all the aggressive swing that Kuhn has made his... More >>

• Jazz Composers Collective Festival

  published October 24, 2012

  Pooling ideas around shared interests worked wonderfully for a clique of young improvisers a couple of decades ago. Now this extended family,... More >>

• Bill McHenry

  published October 17, 2012

  The new La Peur Du Vide was recorded last spring at the royal basement, and it shows the tenor saxophonist’s yen for both measured... More >>

• Jacky Terrasson

  published October 3, 2012

  The pianist’s version of “mercurial” is guilty of very few contrivances, so as he connects the dots between Justin Bieber and... More >>

• Mike Baggetta & Jeremy Udden

  published October 3, 2012

  There’s every reason to expect the to-and-fro of this duo exchange to be ultra-lyrical. Both guitarist Baggetta and saxophonist Udden adore... More >>

• Jeff Davis Trio

  published September 26, 2012

  There’s lots of slipping n' sliding on the drummer’s new Leaf House. Davis’s tunes give pianist Russ Lossing and bassist... More >>

• Rob Garcia Group

  published September 12, 2012

  If you’re on the prowl for dangerous-looking bands, this new amalgamation might do. Garcia is a drummer with a yen for nuance, and... More >>

• Dave Douglas Quintet

  published September 12, 2012

  The trumpeter/bandleader gets noticed with every move, but the fact that the new Be Still features Crooked Still’s Aoife... More >>