Live from Jazz at the Bistro - The young jazz veteran trumpeter Sean Jones believes passionately in championing the creative arc of artists who are committed to their life journey. I think the progression of the art form [jazz] comes with people being allowed to be themselves in their rawest form with no compromise, he has noted and added, My body of work is going to show a progression of who Sean Jones is in the most honest form. While he spoke these words a few years ago, they serve as a vivid manifesto for his new Mack Avenue Records album, Live from Jazz at the Bistro, his eighth for the label and arguably the most dynamic, playful and loose-limbed excursion of his career. Indeed, the 38-year-old Jones brings to the sessions a stalwart poise, the fire of ecstasy and a whimsy in motion. In a nutshell, I've been wanting to do a live album for a while, he says. I wanted to capture the band's energy live and record what it's like to go to one of my gigs. Granted, recording in a studio creates a polished sound where the music is all tied up. But this album, it's real raw.
Beautiful Life celebrated the life of Ana Marquez-Greene, his 6-year-old daughter who was murdered along with 19 other children and six educators on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Now, Jimmy Greene continues to honor and memorialize her spirit with Flowers - Beautiful Life, Volume 2, his second release for Mack Avenue Records. Greene again fulfills his stated imperative of "reflecting the way that Ana lived." Here, Greene hones in on Ana's love of dance with a kinetic, groove-filled program comprising ten original compositions-including two Greene-penned lyrics-and his arrangement of the "new standard, " "Something About You."
2020 release from the jazz saxophonist. The deluge of political divisiveness, horrific violence and hateful rhetoric that seem to have polluted our lives on a daily basis over the last few years have left many people across the country and around the world feeling angry, frustrated and hopeless. It would be more than understandable if that feeling was even more intense for Jimmy Greene, for whom the flood of outrageous headlines and social media missives play out against the backdrop of personal tragedy. Greene refuses to succumb to the negativity, however. On his heartfelt album, While Looking Up, the saxophonist was guided by the inspirational words of his pastor: "If I'm not able to find strength or peace by looking inward," he said, "or if I'm not able to do it by looking outward to my immediate surroundings, I have to look upward." On While Looking Up, Greene finds solace, support and inspiration from each of these directions, but in particular from casting his gaze heavenward. Looking inward, he's comforted by his faith and by the gift for moving, expressive composition that has marked his work for the last two decades. Looking outward, he has his family and his brilliant collaborators, culled for this project from a list of longtime favorites who haven't entered the studio together in at least a decade. And while looking up, he recalls the joyful spirit of his daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, who tragically lost her life in 2012, along with 25 other students and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Jimmy Greene's new release, Beautiful Life on Mack Avenue Records, is a celebration of the life of his 6-year-old daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, whose life was tragically taken, along with 19 other children and 6 educators, on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
“… Mark Turner, Don Braden and Jimmy Greene offer thoughtful and distinctive collaboration as they negotiate a bunch of great jazz originals, standard ballads and a couple of organic pieces from within this ‘band for a day’… ” (Mark Gardner)
On Jam Session Vol 6, Chris Parker of CD Reviews commented, “… this lively, vigorous album is as much a tribute to the liberating effect of the jam session itself as to the talent and commitment of its participants.”
Vol. 8 features three foremost instrumentalists Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Jimmy Greene on tenor sax and Jim Pugh on trombone on the theme of the 1960’s concept of modality. “The players assembled for a collective review of iconic pieces from that time were all attuned to the spirit of the music and familiar with the patterns and procedures best suited to it…” (Mark Gardner)
Derek Taylor of All About Jazz wrote of the previous volumes of this series, “The Danish SteepleChase imprint has long recognized the fertile dynamics of jam sessions, …Volume 5 and 6 in the continuing series offer up vernal combinations and surprises while upholding producer Nils Winther’s credo of “positively no rehearsal.”
Vol. 30 marks the last and completion of SteepleChase Jam Session series which started 12 years ago featuring talented instrumentalists of younger (and old, too) generation on the New York scene.
Derek Taylor of AAJ-NY sums up the significance of this series “As long as there is jazz, jam sessions will continue to be the glue that holds the art form together. It’s a dyed-in-the-wool tradition in the music and a primary means by which it evolves. These conclaves of like-minded players draw enthusiastically on the best traits of the practice. The days when giants like Bean, Bags, Jaw and Jug frequented after hours haunts, blowing just for the fun of it and honing their craft into a distinctly American art form are past, but the vernaculars they shaped live on in these men and show that the handed down torch is definitely still burning bright.”
Sacred music has long been a source of inspiration and creativity for the jazz musician. "Forever," Jimmy Greene's second release as a leader for Criss Cross, finds the tenor saxophonist continuing this rich tradition. Backed by the hard swinging rhythm section of Xavier Davis on piano, John Benitez on bass and Jeff 'Tain" Watts on drums, Greene combines modern arrangements of traditional spirituals with originals inspired by sacred themes. Greene's talents as an arranger and bandleader are in full view, as he gives classic spirituals a fresh, contemporary treatment.
Seldom heard since the days of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin, saxophonist Jimmy Greene joins forces with Marcus Strickland for a two tenor line on his fourth set as a leader for Criss Cross. Easily his best album to date, Gifts and Givers crackles with excitement on a program of originals and iconic standards such as Sonny Stitt's Eternal Triangle, John Coltrane's 26-2 and Kenny Dorham's Blue Bossa, taken here in 7/4. Supported by veterans Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland, the horn men are also joined by two-up-and-coming talents, guitarist Mike Moreno and pianist Danny Grissett.
On his third Criss Cross date, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene presents a recital of originals and standards as Evidence and My Ideal, with a band of young New York A-listers: Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Xavier Davis (piano), Reuben Rogers (bass), and Eric Harland (drums). Mixing an individual harmonic palette with an up-to-the-second rhythmic sensibility and an open mind, Greene and company produce a worthy follow up to 2004's Forever, a strong quartet session with Jeff "Tain" Watts.
