Growing Into Yourself: Former Jazz Prodigies Joey Alexander and Nikki Yanofsky Mature
New mature albums by jazz prodigies Joey Alexander and Nikki Yanofsky demonstrate the potential and limitations of starting an artistic career as a child.
Will Layman
Will Layman is a writer, teacher and musician living in the Washington, DC area. He has been a contributor to National Public Radio and WNYC's "Soundcheck" as a jazz critic. He plays rock, funk, and jazz in the bars and clubs in and near the nation's capital. His fiction and humor appear in print and online.
JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of Autumn 2022
PopMatters jazz critic Will Layman rounds up the best new jazz albums of recent vintage, including some thoughts about the US festival season and the undersung virtuoso Warren Wolf.
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JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of Summer 2022
The best new jazz and creative music this summer features masters Charles Lloyd and Al Foster, experimentalist Tyshawn Sorey, and young cats DOMi and JD Beck.
JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of June 2022
PopMatters jazz critic Will Layman rounds up the best new jazz albums of recent vintage, including some thoughts on Paul McCartney and Ron Carter.
JazzMatters: Best New Jazz and Creative Music – May 2022
Critic Will Layman listens to jazz podcasts, muses on Charles Mingus, reads Jason Miles, and discusses the best new jazz recordings of May 2022.
New Charles Mingus LP From 1972 Connects the Dots of a Great Artist
In a brilliant body of work like that of Charles Mingus, The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s is more sinew than either muscle or bone.
Aaron Parks, Matt Brewer, and Eric Harland Conjure Form From Thin Air on ‘Volume One’
Volume One is a casual jazz trio session from Aaron Parks, Matt Brewer, and Eric Harland and offers surprising complexity and modern form.
JazzMatters: Best New Jazz and Creative Music – April 2022
Jazz critic Will Layman has been listening to classical piano and Afro-Cuban music in various forms. The best new jazz this month is also strong and extensive.
Tony Malaby’s Sabino Comes Out from Under the Turnpike with Sonic Power
Saxophonist Tony Malaby reconvenes his Sabino band, emerging from a set of concerts under the New Jersey Turnpike with an unfussy quartet date that’s wide open.
Spanish Pianist Marta Sanchez Faces Grief and Generates Beauty with Her New York Quintet
Marta Sanchez’s SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) is powerful without ever being loud, Spanish and American, complicated in its construction but clear as can be in its emotional power.
Esperanza Spalding’s ‘Radio Music Society’ Looks Like a Brilliant Pivot a Decade Later
Ten years ago, Esperanza Spalding reached for greater creative accomplishment while still holding an audience on Radio Music Society. It was a jazz record that got popular without pandering.
JazzMatters: Best New Jazz and Creative Music – March 2022
JazzMatters is a new monthly round-up of the best new jazz and creative music. March 2022 features Cécile McLorin Salvant, Melissa Aldana, and Ryan Keberle.