Bill Frisell Trio

“Mr. Frisell can pen a tender ballad, and wring from it both complex musical ideas and straightforward emotion. He can thrash his way through distortion and feedback without losing his melodic thread. He swings playfully yet forcefully, then sounds as if relaxing around a campfire. And it all fits a single narrative.

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The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began its life as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966.The world-famous Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City booked the newly formed band for three Monday nights that February. Those performances were wildly successful and the engagement was extended indefinitely. The Village Vanguard’s owner, Max Gordon, told Mel Lewis, “We’ll keep it going until it tapers off.” Over half a century and more than 2700 Monday nights later, it still hasn’t. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra stands apart from all other modern ensembles of its kind and is still as strong and vital as ever.

“Mr. Frisell can pen a tender ballad, and wring from it both complex musical ideas and straightforward emotion. He can thrash his way through distortion and feedback without losing his melodic thread. He swings playfully yet forcefully, then sounds as if relaxing around a campfire. And it all fits a single narrative.

“Joe Lovano is a once-in-a-generation improviser whose sound seems to create its own atmosphere

“a bass virtuoso of exceptional warmth and vitality

“a lyrical, relentlessly swinging stylist

“a lyrical, relentlessly swinging stylist

“Miguel Zenón possesses rare talent, both for the level of his alto saxophone virtuosity and the ability to make complex compositions immediate and accessible.

“Anyone trying to tune into the present moment in jazz could do a lot worse than starting with Immanuel Wilkins, an alto saxophonist whose playing is at once dazzlingly solid and perfectly lithe.