Tom Moon

Pat Metheny And John Zorn: A Vivid Sound World

Tom Moon — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Guitarist Pat Metheny is revered for his bright, accessible modern jazz. Saxophonist and composer John Zorn is associated with much knottier, often dissonant experiments. Metheny's new Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol.

A 1969 Bootleg Unearths Miles Davis' 'Lost' Quintet

Tom Moon — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:27:00 +0000
After a slew of multidisc sets devoted to key points in the career of Miles Davis, you'd think Columbia Records would have unearthed every speck of consequential music by now. But not quite.
This week, Columbia brings out Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol.

Elina Duni: Love, Lust And Albanian Folk Songs

Tom Moon — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 18:58:00 +0000
The spread of formal jazz education has created a new breed of global musician: one who uses improvisation, and other devices associated with jazz, to transform folk and traditional music. The Albanian singer Elina Duni is part of this rising class. Her latest release, Matane Malit ("Beyond the Mountain"), offers a transfixing balance of old and new.
When Duni was growing up, the singer and composer says she didn't pay much attention to the folk music loved by her grandparents.

A Posthumous Masterpiece Adds To E.S.T.'s Legacy

Tom Moon — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:10:00 +0000
When the pianist Esbjorn Svensson died in a scuba accident in 2008, many fans of his group, the Swedish trio known as E.S.T., wondered if there might be some unreleased experiments lurking in a studio vault. There were. Just out is a disc called 301, which was recorded in 2008 during sessions for the group's final album.
Usually the posthumous album is a downer, a collection of scraps that don't add much to a legacy, but that's not the case with 301.