Fred Kaplan

Matt Wilson's Gathering Call

Fred Kaplan Jan 31, 2014

Drummer-composer Matt Wilson's new album, Gathering Call (on the Palmetto label), is a lot of fun, as several reviews have noted, but don't hold that against him. This is, as the late Lester Bowie called one of his own later albums, "serious fun."

Fred Kaplan

Mary Halvorson’s Illusionary Sea

Fred Kaplan Jan 22, 2014

I first heard Mary Halvorson about four years ago, when she played with Jason Moran and Ron Miles at the Jazz Standard in New York City. I didn’t fully understand what she was doing (I still don’t), but she seemed to be painting some new colors in jazz, or at least in jazz guitarthe ice-crystal intonation, the off-kilter harmonies, the quasi-chords that seemed to dart nowhere till the neon lit up the path in the night.

Fred Kaplan

The Best Jazz Recordings of 2013

Fred Kaplan Dec 20, 2013

As usual around this time of year, I have a column in Slate (where I usually write about foreign and military policy), listing my picks for the 10 best jazz albums of the year and, in this case, the two best jazz reissues. Here’s the list, and regular readers might recall that I’ve reviewed almost all of them in this blog-space (or in Stereophile magazine) over the past twelve months.

Fred Kaplan

Turkey & Jazz in NYC

Fred Kaplan Nov 25, 2013

Maria Schneider, photographed by Jimmy & Dena Katz

Thanksgiving week is upon us, which means that two of the best bands in jazz are showcased at two of New York’sand possibly the world’sbest clubs. From Tuesday through Sunday, Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra plays at the Jazz Standard (though not on Thanksgiving Day), while Jason Moran’s Bandwagon Trio plays at the Village Vanguard. These gigs have become annual traditions. They sell out fast. Get your tickets now.

Fred Kaplan

Solo Piano: Marc Cary and Matthew Shipp

Fred Kaplan Nov 01, 2013

I would never have placed Marc Cary and Matthew Shipp in the same category of jazz pianists, but their superb new solo discsCary’s For the Love of Abbey (Motema) and Shipp’s Piano Sutras (Thirsty Ear)find them converging toward close points from different angles.

Fred Kaplan

John Zorn@60

Fred Kaplan Oct 23, 2013

It ranks among the most astounding turnarounds in American music. John Zornerstwhile bad-boy impresario of the downtown New York jazz scenespent last month touted as a modern master, and Manhattan's pride, by the city's most venerable institutions of high culture: the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim, Lincoln Center, Columbia University, and NYU.

CD Player/Transport Reviews Digital Processor Reviews

Audio Research Reference CD9 CD player/DAC

Fred Kaplan Oct 07, 2013

Now entering its fourth decade, the Compact Disc player seems to have reached a stage of maturity where the best models within a given price range will sound pretty much alike. The technology of the Compact Disc itself is set, its possibilities and limitations are well understood; and the designers of CD players who figure out how to stretch the former and finesse the latter wind up at about the same sonic place (again, for the same price), even if they've taken different routes to get there.

Music and Recording Features

Darcy James Argue and His Steampunk Big Band

Fred Kaplan Oct 01, 2013

The world is catching up with Darcy James Argue. Two years ago, he was known mainly for having the strangest name in jazz since Ornette Coleman. Now he's a double winner in Downbeat's 2013 Critics' Pollthe top pick for Best Arranger, and tied with Maria Schneider for Best Big Band Leader.

Fred Kaplan

Steve Coleman and the Five Elements

Fred Kaplan Aug 24, 2013

Alto saxophonist Steve Coleman's new CD, Functional Arrhythmias (Pi Recordings), is his best in many years.

Phono Accessory Reviews

Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner

Michael Fremer, Fred Kaplan Aug 22, 2013

Getting a review sample of this unique ultrasonic record-cleaning machine took me years; apparently, Audiodesksysteme Gläss, a small German manufacturer, couldn't keep up with demand. I've also heard from a few sources that reliability was not high in the company's early days, but that now all that's been sorted out, as has manufacturing capacity.