New Jazz Bridges

After a summer-long hiatus, I returned to the pages of All About Jazz with a review of the Eric Revis Quartet's late August Jazz Gallery gig. Revis has become one of the most interesting musicians in jazz, working alongside the legendary German avant-garde reedman Peter Brötzmann in addition to his gig playing bass in the far more mainstream Branford Marsalis Quartet. Nasheet Waits, the quartet's drummer, is widely revered in New York and, like Revis, has been playing with Brötzmann a fair amount recently. Revis and Waits together form a kind of jazz bridge, linking camps of the music that haven't been on speaking terms since Coltrane's death (at least).

Jason Moran, the quartet's pianist, plays with whomever he damn well pleases, employing an angular, idiosyncratic pianistic attack that sounds equally at home (and equally alien) at the Blue Note and the Stone. Ken Vandermark, a musician I grew to love when I lived in Chicago, has an equally uncompromising and personal take on the music. He plays avant-garde jazz that, unlike a lot of "out" exploration, has a tremendous sense of groove. Vandermark is the de-facto leader of the Chicago scene, but I wasn't sure if serious New York players followed him. His inclusion in the Revis Quartet shows that my fears were unfounded.

I'm planning to continue my reviewing for All About Jazz, while I use this space for opinion, essay, and miscellany. There may be some crossover now and again, but that's the current plan for the two sites.