Peter Manning Robinson - Phoenix Rising - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The mythical Phoenix speaks of reemergence and continual development, flying higher with each rebirth, riding on the winds of creation. So too does the man of this moment. A pianist of vast skill and experience, Dave Kikoski's eminence in serious jazz circles is beyond dispute. He's taken deep dives with everybody from Randy Brecker to Roy Haynes, served as the harmonic host for the Mingus Big Band, contributed to expansive cooperative enterprises like Opus 5, and pushed his own music to the limits and beyond. Kikoski has seemingly done it all during his three-plus decades on the scene, yet his playing somehow remains something of an underrated asset. The Phoenix metaphor, hyperbolic though it may be, proves apt in it's embrace of this monumental talent's steady surge. This exciting endeavor makes that case in inarguable fashion.

Danko Jones - Never Too Loud [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/29/2008

The Tony Award-winning play, written by Warren Leight, is set in New York City between the years of 1953 and 1985, and it chronicles the life and lifestyle of a jazz trumpeter, exploring the creative forces which drive a musician and binds him ever closer to his fellow jazzmen while tearing his own family apart. It's a wonderful play, and the cast and crew for this productions are all brilliant. The interesting thing about this production is the use of a newly-recorded score (as opposed to the Inchneedle dropInch scoring solution used in previous productions of the show in New York and elsewhere), and I was very lucky to get the call from director Andy Robinson to write the music. Be-bop lives! Peter Erskine scored the production with a jazz quintet. The WDR Big Band also makes a guest appearance.