Author: Mark Werlin
Mark is a videomaker and music reviewer who writes about jazz and new creative music, in DSD, for NativeDSD, HRAudio.net and All About Jazz. He has a special interest in new music produced by independent audiophile labels. His videos of solo musical performances were featured in a U.S. Library of Congress program.
Review of Gordon Grdina’s Jazz Bundle – Vol. 1
Save 20% on all three Gordon Grdina albums with the DSD Bundle The Art of the Oud For more than two decades, Vancouver-based guitarist and bandleader Gordon Grdina has been composing music that features the oud. The oud is a double-coursed string instrument with a bowl-shaped back that is prominent in Arabic and Persian musical […]
Multiple Album Review of Songlines Recordings
HRAudio jazz music reviewer Mark Werlin offers us a multi-album review of recent albums from Songlines Recordings. Mikkel Ploug: Alleviation On “Alleviation”, Danish electric guitarist Mikkel Ploug unplugs, and undertakes a set of solo acoustic guitar compositions with influences ranging from folk fingerpicking to traditional Danish church hymns, post-War European classical to American minimalist styles. […]
Songlines Recordings | Group Review #3
Group review of five albums from Songlines Recordings covering a unique jazz quartet, intimate solo piano works, modern jazz improvisation that evokes African percussion, and more! Dive on in and explore more sounds of Songlines. Tony Malaby – ApparitionsRecorded in DSD 64 An artistic milestone of New York ‘downtown’ creative jazz with an avant-garde edge, […]
Songlines Recordings | Group Review #2
Peter Epstein Group – Lingua FrancaAnalog to DSD 64 transfer A hybrid of jazz improvisation and Balkan rhythms where communication forges a collective sound that is consistent and personal From the opening bars of the album, a quiet invocation stated by the alto sax, sustained guitar and gentle touches of percussion, the trio of Peter […]
Songlines Recordings | Group Review #1
Music that transports the listener on a cross-genre jazz journey On “Train Song”, Aros, a multinational ensemble of Netherlands-based Austrian Marion von Tilzer (composer, piano), Canadians Rob Armus (composer, tenor sax) and John Korsrud (trumpet), Scots Anne Wood (violin) and Alan Purves (percussion), and German Sven Schuster (bass) performs a set of original compositions by […]
More About Mark Nodwell’s ‘Nemesis’
Historically, American jazz scenes coalesced within tightly-bounded geographical settings. Think of the clubs on 52nd Street in NYC in the 1940s, where bebop was incubated. In Los Angeles, the Central Avenue clubs, and a handful of venues in Hollywood and the beach cities played a similar part in nurturing West Coast cool and bop. New Orleans, […]
Review: Just Listen’s “Changing Landscapes” and “Dances”
As winter gives way to spring, the inner landscape opens to the reawakened natural world. Two albums from Just Listen form the perfect soundtrack for seasonal change. Changing Landscapes Music that crosses genres can be difficult to characterize in words. “Changing Landscapes”, an album by pianist Philipp Rüttgers and violist Oene Van Geel, draws on […]
Music for Two: Dark Fire, The Zoo, Silent City
Reviewer Mark Werlin returns to the NativeDSD Blog with three DSD reviews. Each of them features works for duos and they are all recorded and released by the TRPTK team. We hope you will enjoy the read! Joachim Eijlander: Dark Fire (TRPTK) Dark Fire”, TRPTK’s new DSD album of solo and duo works for cello, […]
Patricia Barber’s “Higher” belongs in your collection
Listen to Patricia Barber with an ear to the soul of the lyrics, and you’ll hear more than fine musicianship and superb audio recording. For more than 30 years, songwriter/pianist/singer Patricia Barber has occupied a unique space in American jazz. The character of her musical style suggests a Venn diagram showing the overlap of contemporary instrumental […]
Reviewed: The Coo, Carmen Gomes, Van Der Bent / Den Bakker
The Coo: Amsterdam Moon (Just Listen Records) In a time when distancing and division override our common human need for social contact, a musical collaboration that bridges the distance between England and the Netherlands delivers a message of hopeful optimism with a strong dose of emotional honesty. British singer-songwriter Matt Arthur’s encounter with Dutch singer-songwriter […]
Trumpet Treasures
Angelo Verploegen and Jasper van Hulten: The Duke Book (Just Listen Records) Jazz performance is sometimes compared to a tightrope walk. A dialogue between a horn player and a percussionist, with no piano, guitar or bass to provide the harmonic foundation, is like a tightrope walk without a net. On their recent album “The Duke […]
Two Audiophile DSD Jazz Reviews: First Meeting & Impromptu
Audiophile jazz listeners, take note! New music labels Just Listen and Sound Liaisons are recording and releasing the creative sounds of contemporary jazz from the Netherlands in DSD audio. Jazz music created and performed in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, France and Italy is widely reviewed in print media, books, and websites. But articles and news about […]