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Dominique Eade at Scullers

All about transparency
"I'm discontented with homes that I've rented/so I have invented my own," sang Dominque Eade slowly, over a simple bass accompaniment.
By JON GARELICK | February 10, 2012

Marissa and Charles Licata at Scullers

Full of surprises
I can't remember the last time I saw a costume change in the middle of a jazz show — if ever — but violinist Marissa Licata's performance with her father, saxophonist Charles Licata, and their band held all kinds of surprises.
By JON GARELICK | February 02, 2012

Ed Reed sings it his way

Life stories
It's almost cliché to describe the sound of a veteran jazz singer as "lived in."
By JON GARELICK | January 10, 2012

Old favorites and debuts make the scene

Rich choices
We have to wait for spring to see Charlie Haden's Quartet West and the Joshua Redman/Brad Mehldau duo, but there are still plenty of ways to keep an eye and ear on jazz in the winter months.
By JON GARELICK | December 30, 2011

Yoko Miwa's life cycles

ID check
When she was a 16-year-old piano student in her hometown of Kobe, Japan, Yoko Miwa decided it was time to see if she had what it takes.
By JON GARELICK | November 09, 2011

The top 10 jazz events in town this fall

Starting with the Beantown Jazz Festival, ensembles large and small mix it up
As usual, there's too much to choose from. Here are some highlights.
By JON GARELICK | September 14, 2011

Magos Herrera's cool moves

The Mexican jazz singer comes to Scullers
We like to say that live performance adds another dimension to music.
By JON GARELICK | September 15, 2011

Gerry Beaudoin 'returns' with Harry Allen

History lessons
My first encounter with guitarist Gerry Beaudoin was as a fellow judge at a long-ago battle of the blues bands at Harpers Ferry. The night had been kind of a slog, and after three bands, Beaudoin — who'd been withholding comment all night looked at me and said, "I don't get it, don't these guys listen to any blues records?"
By JON GARELICK | September 06, 2011

The Cookers' book

A "supergroup" maintains the standard
When does a one-off gimmick turn into a "real" band? On the face of it, the Cookers, who come to Scullers next Thursday, June 16, could easily have become a gimmick that outlived its usefulness — a handful of wily veterans egged on by a couple of younger cats as a way to trade on the collective power of their names and score some gigs.
By JON GARELICK | June 09, 2011

JCA orchestra performs during Jazz week in Boston

Eric Jackson and Jazz Week

Good waves
When he headed for BU from his home town of Camden, New Jersey, in 1968, Eric Jackson thought his ultimate destination was medical school and a career in psychiatry. But as a jazz fan from an early age — and the son of a fairly renowned jazz DJ — he found himself on the closed-circuit BU student station, WTBU.
By JON GARELICK | April 26, 2011

Ilona Kudina, Gretchen Parlato, and Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet

Magic flute and more
Although Ilona Kudina is a flutist, I'm hesitant to call her new Nothing But Illusion a wonderful jazz-flute CD, because it's really just a wonderful jazz album.
By JON GARELICK | March 30, 2011

Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Dan Tepfer, Jason Palmer, and Donny McCaslin front a busy week

Pleasures, simple and otherwise
Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Dan Tepfer, Jason Palmer, and Donny McCaslin front a busy week
By JON GARELICK | March 02, 2011

Young and not so old

Noah Preminger is effin great; plus, dynamic duos live
Noah Preminger is 25 years old. But close your eyes when he's playing - or talking - and you might think you're hearing a gruff jazz sage with 40 years on the road.
By JON GARELICK | February 16, 2011

The education of Grace Kelly

Hat tricks
Legendary 79-year-old alto-saxophonist Phil Woods laughs indignantly when I ask him how he knew 18-year-old alto-saxophonist Grace Kelly was special. "Come on, when you hear it, you know what it is! I've been doing this for 65 years!" Pressed for particulars, he at first says, "Her maturity." Then he demurs. "It's not any one thing. She's got the whole kit."
By JON GARELICK | January 19, 2011

Esperanza and Kenny

Spalding's chamber music; Werner's elegy
Spalding's chamber music; Werner's elegy
By JON GARELICK | September 28, 2010

Fall Jazz Preview: Blindfold test

Trying new flavors in the new season
A search for this fall’s must-see jazz revealed a lot of overlapping personnel — Jim Hobbs, Allan Chase, Joe Morris, Taylor Ho Bynum. Hey, you wanted to know what’s good , right?
By JON GARELICK | September 16, 2010

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Secret master

David Binney's many faces
Scratch below the surface of any number of hard-playing jazz musicians these days and you hear a common refrain: "I hardly ever listen to jazz."
By JON GARELICK | July 27, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

One night, one jazz trifecta

Taylor Eigsti, the October Trio, and the BC Quintet
True, there aren't enough paying gigs for musicians, but the live music is out there — and last Wednesday, I had to scramble to make three promising shows.
By JON GARELICK | June 29, 2010

By | January 01, 0001