★★★★★
Although the radical spirit of bebop has never really left jazz, it's interesting to observe how, amidst a pool of contemporary jazz musicians sometimes straining hard to avoid transparent historical references, others are restating the primacy of the great pioneers. The music of Charlie Parker, in particular, seems to be currently in vogue. Last year, pianist Django Bates made a characteristically mischievous but also highly respectful collection of Parker interpretations (Beloved Bird)...
- www.musicomh.com
2011-03-28
★★★★★
Buy it from Buy the CDDownload as MP3Joe LovanoBird SongsEMI Catalogue2011 Less capricious than Django Bates's tribute to Charlie Parker last year, but just as inspired and rich in references, Joe Lovano's Bird Songs is not just a stunning celebration of Parker's music, but a salute to the sax giants - Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Ornette Coleman and Wayne Shorter - who were liberated by it...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2011-03-21
★★★★★
Track Listing: Passport; Donna Lee; Barbados; Moose The Mooche; Lover Man;Birdyard; Ko-Ko; Blues Collage; Dexterity; Dewey Square; Yardbird Suite;Rhythm (At The Drop of A Hat). Personnel: Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone (1-4, 7-11), soprano saxophone (5, 6, 12);James Weidman: piano; Esperanza Spalding: bass; Otis Brown III: drums;Francisco Mela: drums...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2011-03-07
★★★★★
Sometime in the late 1990s, I lost touch with tenor sax giant Joe Lovano. It wasn't that I found his playing uninspiring; indeed, I continued to love his work with Paul Motian and others. But his tenure with Blue Note seemed to have become weighed down by concept album after concept album, which, while perhaps dear to Lovano's heart, weren't grabbing me like From the Soul or Sounds of Joy once had. It sounded too easy, too polished...
- dustedmagazine.com
2011-03-07
★★★★★
There is a very good reason why tenor and soprano, as well as sometime alto, saxophonist Joe Lovano is one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. It's because he has devoted his life to finding new ways to express improvised melodic conceptualizations, because his harmonic language continues to evolve and develop, and because he has found new means for elaborating on and breaking through rhythmic patterns...
- www.jazzreview.com
2010-12-20
★★★★★
Joe Lovano View Joyous Encounter Joe Lovano is a lucky man and he knows it. "Who would have imagined I'd start playing with Hank Jones when I turned 50, he told me recently after returning from a string of European gigs with the pianist. His respect and admiration for Hank serves as the catalyst for what is now a truly remarkable ongoing collaboration, most notably on the new Blue Note CD, Joyous Encounter...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
★★★★★
Joe Lovano Streams Of Expression Blue Note 2006 Saxophonist Joe Lovano's second collaboration with the estimable composer and arranger Gunther Schuller finds the two musicians navigating similar territory as their 1995 collaboration, Rush Hour (Blue Note). Boasting a similarly varied line-up and mix of compositions, the album consists of two extended suites and three shorter pieces...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
★★★★★
Track Listing: Powerhouse; Folk Art; Wild Beauty; Us Five; Song for Judi; Drum Song; Dibango; Page 4; Ettenro. Personnel: Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, straight alto saxophone, taragato, alto clarinet, aulochrome, gongs; James Weidman: piano; Esperanza Spalding: bass; Otis Brown III: drums, ankle bells, ascending opera gong, descending opera gong; Francisco Mela: drums, pandero, dumbek, Ethiopian drums, ankle bells...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
★★★★★
Joe Lovano Streams Of Expression Blue Note Records 2006 Forget those ill-founded accusations of conservatism. Joe Lovano is a genuine innovator. He's uninterested in novelty for novelty's sake and he's very, very ambitious for his music. He makes things more interesting for everybody, including himself, by (no apologies for the pun) digging foundations...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
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