Sara Schoenbeck is cast against type in the world of bassoonists. The versatile double reed, broad-ranged instrument dates to the Renaissance and is commonly found in wind ensembles and chamber orchestras. But Schoenbeck has brought her classical-leaning instrument to creative music …
There’s a bittersweet quality that Sara Schoenbeck brings to any project. The way she channels a melody through her bassoon carries with it a little bit of melancholia, a thin ray of sunshine, a pervading sense of the blues. It …
As an improvising bassoonist, Sara Schoenbeck is definitely a rarity. She has also forged a singular style that reflects the extent of her diverse influences. Her eponymous release, on the Pyroclastic label, showcases her uniqueness with nine stimulating duets, each …
A host of outstanding duet albums emphasized musicians not only collaborating but truly listening to each other. The violinist and multimedia artist Laura Ortman stood onstage at the Stone earlier this month clad in a bejeweled paisley jacket with a bow under her arm. …
Here pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson come together for the second time on record in a set of amorphous, ever-changing music that combines their two distinctive approaches into something unique. The musicians’ individual sounds are very complimentary as Halvorson’s strums and swoops …
More than most, 2021 was a year of mixed results — an endless scroll of gains and losses, halting progress and hard retrenchment. For jazz musicians and the community of listeners around them, it brought confirmation that improvisation is a …
A review of the tenor saxophonist’s album inspired by live performances under the New Jersey Turnpike When COVID-19 quarantines put the kibosh on live performances, Tony Malaby took to the streets. To be more specific, the tenor saxophonist started hosting …
Tony Malaby, ‘Just Me, Just Me’ The pandemic has forced jazz musicians to become resourceful — in some cases, to the extreme. Before 2020, the tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby frequently hosted jam sessions at home that doubled as workshops. A few months …
For more than 25 years, Tony Malaby has been one of the most riveting saxophonists in jazz — a dauntless explorer who’s also at home with direct emotional expression. His ability to toggle between traditional and experimental modes has been …
While distinct in sound, two new jazz albums—’Interpret It Well’ and ‘Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space’—have much in common Read the article >>
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