Thursday February 07, 2013
from http://articles.mcall.com
Joe Lovano’s jazz: intense and cerebral
By: Tim Blangger
Jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano doesn’t make recordings. He crafts intense, cerebral, joyous musical projects, which sometimes get recorded.
The difference might seem insignificant, but in a mainstream jazz climate dominated by cookie-cutter originals and microwaved standards, Lovano’s prodigious output sets him apart from many of his peers.
Past Lovano projects have explored the music of Enrico Caruso and Frank Sinatra, two musical staples of Lovano’s Cleveland childhood and personal favorites of Lovano’s saxophone playing father, Tony “Big T” Lovano.
The younger Lovano’s projects have also examined the music of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman, whose quirky compositions aren’t often a first-choice for mainstream jazz musicians. If Lovano were a cliff diver, he’d get degree-of-difficulty bonus points.
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