Nasheet Waits

Two Rivers is jazz master Amir ElSaffar's debut album as a leader; he is a well-seasoned musician in both the jazz world and the classical one. He has performed as a member of pianist Vijay Iyer's celebrated group, and with Cecil Taylor's, he has also played on the front line with the brilliant -- if less widely known -- alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's group (who returns the favor here).

“He is sonic, he is time, he is gesture,” writes contrabassist Mark Helias about Tony Malaby in his liner notes for “Tamarindo.” Helias knows his stuff. Malaby’s reputation as a complete tenor and soprano saxophonist continues to grow and his modesty and absolute dedication to his music have become legend.

Since bursting onto the international creative music scene in 2004 with Interface (Clean Feed 22) and Artificial Light (Fresh Sound 186), Steve Lehman has quickly established a reputation for creating cutting-edge music, both as a fiercely imaginative saxophonist and as a young visionary composer.

Byzantine Monkey, bassist/composer John Hébert's long-awaited debut recording as a bandleader, documents his New York-based sextet of the same name featuring frequent collaborators Michaël Attias, Tony Malaby, Adam Kolker, Nasheet Waits and Satoshi Takeishi.

Ten celebrates the ten year life of the Bandwagon, pianist Jason Moran's trio with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits. The piano trio is a mainstay in the jazz tradition, and here the Bandwagon does a characteristically great job of being firmly in that tradition while also blazing a new trail.

Having a trio like the one founded by saxophonist Tony Malaby with the likes of William Parker and Nasheet Waits was enough motive to rejoy, and truth is the CD released by Clean Feed with "Tamarindo" as title caused a big wave of wonder.

Brass bands, like wild animals are best viewed in their native habitats. Watching a lion on the savanna is a much different experience than seeing it caged in a zoo. Likewise, hearing Dave Douglas' Brass Ecstasy live is superior to any studio recording.

“Inana avoids the sensationalistic and touristic in favor of the sincere and investigatory, searching for a common or at least consonant elements of the vocabularies of jazz and classical Arabic music…” ★★★★½” — John Corbett, Downbeat Magazine