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Chris Symer

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14
Album Review

Bill Anschell: Improbable Solutions

Read "Improbable Solutions" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Most fans of Seattle-based pianist Bill Anschell will not see this one coming. His comfort zone on his own recordings has been as a mainstream acoustic jazz artist, on albums like Shifting Standards (2018), a piano trio affair, Rumbler (2017) and Figments (2011), a solo piano outing. All of these were released on Origin Records. Anschell, who formerly worked as vocalist Nnenna Freelon's musical director, crafts his recordings with a high polish and does not generally rock the ...

8
Album Review

Bill Anschell: Improbable Solutions

Read "Improbable Solutions" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Pianist and composer Bill Anschell has made his mark in jazz as a distinctive pianist with a notable body of work. His time in Atlanta, and his extensive residency in Seattle, has produced ten recordings as a leader or co-leader, and a well-deserved following on live dates with two distinctive trios, plus his “Rumbler" band. His previous two recordings define the past decade of his career, with Shifting Standards (Origin, 2018) bearing witness to his trio prowess with partners Jeff ...

15
Album Review

Brent Jensen: More Sounds of a Dry Martini

Read "More Sounds of a Dry Martini" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Two decades have passed since alto saxophonist Brent Jensen recorded his debut album for Origin Records, Sounds of a Dry Martini: A Tribute to Paul Desmond, in 2001. To Jensen's surprise, the album became so enormously popular that the possibility of a sequel was envisioned. There was, however, one large stumbling block—by 2007, Jensen had sold his alto sax and switched to soprano. It was not until 2017, after he had moved to Seattle, Washington, and bought another alto, that ...

1
Album Review

Henry Robinett Quartet: Jazz Standards Volume 2: Then Again

Read "Jazz Standards Volume 2: Then Again" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Guitarist Henry Robinett is a patient man. In April 2000, when he was between gigs and bands, he brought together several top players from Northern California and, in two days, recorded two albums the first of which was called Jazz Standards, Volume 1: Then (Nefertiti 2019) . Now with the release of Jazz Standards Volume 2: Then Again we have the complete output from this aggregation which, in addition to Robinett, includes Joe Gilman on piano, ...

5
Album Review

Henry Robinett Quartet: Jazz Standards, Volume 1: Then

Read "Jazz Standards, Volume 1: Then" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Back in April of 2000, guitarist Henry Robinett convened a quartet in The Hangar, a Sacramento studio where he had been working as an engineer and producer. An intentionally casual session, it was all standards all the way. Over the course of two days, tracks were called, solos and some other specifics were sorted out, and the music just flowed. When all was said and done, Robinett left and put the material on the shelf...where it sat for nearly two ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Improbable Solutions

Origin Records
2023

buy

Live at Boxley’s

Records DK
2022

buy

Jazz Standards Volume...

Nefertiti Records
2021

buy

More Sounds of a Dry...

Origin Records
2021

buy

Jazz Standards,...

Nefertiti Records
2020

buy

KO Ensemble Live at...

self-released
2020

buy

Ambulator

From: Improbable Solutions
By Chris Symer

Take Ten

From: More Sounds of a Dry Martini
By Chris Symer

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