Spotlight

Matt Nelson CD Cover

MATT NELSON TRIO •
NOSTALGIAMANIAC

One of Downbeat Magazine's "Best CDs of 2011"

4 Stars! (“Excellent”)
“Nelson is looking forward, not backward. With chops, taste and an evolving repertoire, you can hardly blame him.”
– Eric Fine, Downbeat Magazine

“On his impressive debut, Chicago pianist Matt Nelson distinguishes himself as a tasty player with a penchant for uncommon lyricism..."
– Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times

#6 in Neil Tesser’s Top Ten Chicago Jazz Discs of 2010

“...compositions that cover a lot of ground stylistically, and improvisations that tower above those of most other twentysomething pianists... a glorious debut from a pianist worth watching.”
-Alex Marianyi, All About Jazz

“... the best piano-trio album to come out of Chicago in 2010... The real test of this album lies in throwing it into the deep end of the pool: comparing it with piano-trio projects from across the nation, where the competition is naturally fiercer. Even among those, I’ll place Nostalgiamaniac among the year’s top four or five, along with those of such well established players as Fred Hersch and Jason Moran.”
- Neil Tesser

Howard Levy CD Cover

HOWARD LEVY •
TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

One of Downbeat Magazine's "Best CDs of 2010"

4 Stars! (“Excellent”)
– Michael Jackson, Downbeat Magazine

“a marvelous piano-trio album featuring Levy's harmonica... Although he cites McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock as influences, Levy the pianist has a sunnier, more ebullient style than either, enlivened by an unfailing upward momentum... The trio interplay is first-rate throughout, as are the arrangements.”
- George Kanzler, Jazz Times

“With the excellent support of Gray and Adams, Levy moves through his own compositions – evoking the musical range from Sixties Hancock and Brazilian song forms to free jazz – all with energy and conviction. Nicely recorded, as is the label's habit, as well...”
- Michael Steinman, Cadence Magazine

“Larry Gray and Ernie Adams are ideal allies to complement Levy’s boundless range. As a pianist, his relationship with the instrument is so intimate and playful… Musically, it’s a feast.”
- Layla Macoran, JazzInsideNY

“When you combine this iconoclastic skill with his energetic yet lyrical approach to improvising, you get a style that has beguiled artists from across the musical spectrum – from newgrass banjoist Béla Fleck to post-bopper Ben Sidran, folkies Steve Goodman and Bonnie Koloc to the Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil, Cuban saxist Paquito D’Rivera to “word jazz” creator Ken Nordine, all of whom have featured Levy’s harmonica on their recordings. His harp playing can easily detract from Levy’s piano praxis, which he displays on many of the more than 200 recordings he’s made. The piano remains his first instrument, and he always greets it like an old friend, embracing it in his lanky limbs and long thin fingers, before putting it through its paces.”
- Neil Tesser (from the liner notes)

News

Shawn Maxwell CD cover

NEW RELEASE: The arrival of the URBAN VIGILANTE! SHAWN MAXWELL returns with his quartet: Matt Nelson on piano, Bob Lovecchio on bass, and drummer Brandon Dickert.

“...his timbre - with its keening bittersweet urgency and swirling overtones and nearly physical presence - these devices help mold an edgy and powerful improvisatory style.”
– Neil Tesser

Shawn Maxwell: Urban Vigilante

Urban Vigilante - Shawn Maxwell

Shawn Maxwell at Hinge

Matt Nelson at Hinge

Bob Lovecchio at Hinge

Brandon Dickert at Hinge

Larry Gray Trio CD cover

NEW RELEASE: The return of LARRY GRAY and his trio with THREE EQUALS ONE, with John Moulder on guitar and Charles Heath on drums.

“Gray’s trio has found a separate identity of its own, the product of an ongoing conversation among its three members... Streaming three crisply delineated instrumental lines into one river of sound, the album captures one of contemporary jazz’s great guitar trios, in full force and gorgeous glory.”
– Neil Tesser

Larry Gray Trio: Three Equals One

Purchase at Chicago Jazz dot com

Three Equals One - Larry Gray Trio

Larry Gray Trio photo 1

Larry Gray Trio photo 2

JANUARY 2012
CHICAGO SESSIONS WEEKEND
AT JAZZ SHOWCASE
Thurs Jan 12 - Sun Jan 15

Jazz Showcase 2012 details

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Chicago Sessions

is a record label featuring some of the best Chicago artists, from the established to the undiscovered. We produce exclusive, newly-recorded, high-quality albums, which showcase the original compositions of each artist.

“Chicago Sessions work proves first-rate, the compositions refreshingly unfamiliar, the possibilities endless. No wonder some of the city's best musicians jumped on board.”
–Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

Paulinho Garcia at Space

Congratulations to PAULINHO GARCIA, named "2010 Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz" by the Chicago Tribune. Seen here at SPACE, Evanston, for the CD Release Party of MY VERY LIFE. With Brett Benteler, Geraldo de Oliveira and Heitor Garcia. Photograph © John Broughton 2009.

Howard Levy at Music Institute

HOWARD LEVY on stage at the Music Institute, Evanston, with Larry Kohut and Ernie Adams, at the CD release show for TONIGHT AND TOMORROW.

Tony do Rosario

TONY DO ROSARIO performing at SPACE, Evanston, celebrating the release of NEW BEGINNINGS. Photograph © John Broughton 2009.

Zvonimir Tot in the studio

ZVONIMIR TOT at Studiomedia, recording ELOQUENT SILENCE. Photograph © John Broughton 2009.

Paul Wertico in the studio

PAUL WERTICO in the studio during the recording of IMPRESSIONS OF A CITY. Photograph © John Broughton 2009.

Larry Gray at the Green Mill

LARRY GRAY at the Green Mill, Chicago, celebrating the release of 1, 2, 3... Photograph © John Broughton 2009.

Aaron Koppel in the studio

AARON KOPPEL tracking his album FALLING TOGETHER FALLING APART at Studiomedia in Evanston.