Ari Ambrose

Ari Ambrose Quartet: Jazmin

by Derek Taylor
April 8, 2003

So-called Young Lions seem pretty toothless these days. Wynton’s playing sideman gigs at the Village Vanguard, a venue he once lorded over (see the exemplary box set on Columbia), and cats like Nicholas Payton and Joshua Redman have largely fallen off the radar of public consciousness. The Zeitgeist seems ripe for new contenders and tenor player Ari Ambrose just might lead the pack. Rather than traffic in hard bop retreads, the saxophonist sets his sights higher. A reverence for the ...

Ari Ambrose: Cyclic Episode

by C. Andrew Hovan
November 1, 2000

That astute follower of new talent, Nils Winther, introduced us to up and coming tenor saxophonist Ari Ambrose in 1998 with a trio date sans piano that was as remarkable in its daring as it was in its pronouncement of a great new talent on the scene. Now comes along Cyclic Episode and we hear Ambrose in a more conventional line-up, but that electrifying sense of abandon and joie de vivre is still there, making this set another triumph.

Going ...

Ari Ambrose Trio: Introducing Ari Ambrose

by C. Michael Bailey
April 1, 2000

Youth is Wasted on the Young. Ari Ambrose is a precocious Tenor/Flute wunderkind who is debuted as leader on this Steeplechase release. Steeplechase has garnered the reputation of sponsoring the young players while maintaining a storehouse of older talent. In spite of his youth, Ambrose has performed most recently with Steely Dan and Tom Williams and now finds himself in charge on the present sides.

Ambrose chooses the challenging Tenor-Bass-Drums trio format and fares very well. This instrument combination fully ...

Ari Ambrose: Introducing Ari Ambrose

by C. Andrew Hovan
December 1, 1999

It takes guts to devote your life to playing jazz, not to mention the tenacity to make a living of it in the hustle and bustle of New York City. Obviously 26-year- old tenor saxophonist Ari Ambrose has more than enough gumption to give it a try, while also making his debut disc anything but the expected and ordinary. For starters, Ambrose, who has recently been seen gigging with Ryan Kisor, George Colligan, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, keeps fast ...

Ari Ambrose and Stephen Riley - Tenor Treats Two (Steeplechase)

Source: Master of a Small House
April 13, 2010

Resuming right where its companion volume left off, this disc delivers another stimulating hour-plus colloquy between its co-leaders. Tenorist Ari Ambrose gets top billing on the tray card, but it's very much an affair of equals, onset to finish. Stephen Riley is the more overtly mercurial and idiosyncratic of the two frontline partners. His lushly-conceived tone and phrasing are instantly recognizable, a post-millennial alloy of Lester Young disciples running from Don Byas through Teo Macero to Warne Marsh an on ...
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Ari Ambrose and Stephen Riley - Tenor Treats 2 (Steeplechase)

Source: Master of a Small House
April 10, 2010

Resuming right where its companion volume left off, this disc delivers another stimulating hour-plus colloquy between its co-leaders. Tenorist Ari Ambrose gets top billing on the tray card, but it's very much an affair of equals, onset to finish. Stephen Riley is the more overtly mercurial and idiosyncratic of the two frontline partners. His lushly-conceived tone and phrasing are instantly recognizable, a post-millennial alloy of Lester Young disciples running from Don Byas through Teo Macero to Warne Marsh an on ...
read more