James Zollar

Eyal Vilner Big Band: The Jam!

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 2022

Simply leading a big band in 2022 is cause for celebration. Leading a big band as sharp and talented as Eyal Vilner's New York- based ensemble is cause for far more than that. Vilner, an Israeli-born composer, arranger and woodwind specialist, formed the band in 2008, one year after arriving in New York City. He has been busy since then shaping its identity and refining its style, and his persistence pays off big-time on the band's second album, The Jam! ...

Andy Farber and His Orchestra: Early Blue Evening

by Jack Bowers
October 5, 2021

Saxophonist Andy Farber's New York-based orchestra came together and cut its teeth as the onstage band for three hundred performances of After Midnight, a Broadway revue that paid tribute to Jazz Age nightclub luminaries from Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie to Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. As one might presume from the orchestra's provenance, echoes of Ellington and Basie can readily be discerned on its first recording since After Midnight closed in 2014--but Farber, who wrote ...

James Zollar: Zollar System

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 17, 2010

It is an unfortunate fact that trumpeter James Zollar is nowhere near as well-known as he should be. But that may be about to change. Zollar Systems may be about to put Zollar in an orbit all his own. A genuine renaissance man of the horn, Zollar is a singular voice on the instrument that is jazz music's vanguard accouterment--the one that heralded the legend of Buddy Bolden and those of Joe Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Jabbo Smith and Bubber Miley, ...

James Zoller: Zollar System

by C. Michael Bailey
March 7, 2010

James Zollar is a musical treasure hidden in plain sight. He has played and recorded as a sideman for a variety of artists, including Cecil McBee, Tom Harrell, Weldon Irving and Sam Rivers, as a member of Wynton Marsalis' brass section in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and several of Don Byron's bands. While he leads his own mainstream-oriented quintet, Zollar has recorded only one collection, the very fine Soaring With Bird (Naxos Jazz, 1998).

Twelve ...

Dave Schnitter: Sketch

by Samuel Chell
August 27, 2004

Dave Schnitter Sketch Sunnyside Records 2004

Not only did David Schnitter have the longest tenure of any tenor saxophonist in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers but he was always present on the most exciting and memorable of Bu's sets that I was privileged to catch. His return to music and recording after a sabbatical of over 20 years is at once cheering and disturbing. There may have been more schooled and disciplined players preceding and ...

Bob Stewart: Then & Now

by Glenn Astarita
March 1, 2000

Bob Stewart is one of a select few who have catapulted the tuba into more of a prominent role within jazz and modern music circles. With that, Stewart enlists a mighty impressive cast of jazz musicians along with the legendary folk-blues singer/songwriter, Taj Mahal on Then & Now.

Stewart handles the bottom end without the utilization or perhaps, requirements of a bassist as he drives the band forward on “Hambone” which is a New Orleans style R&B/Funk number featuring brassy ...

James Zollar: Soaring With Bird

by C. Michael Bailey
July 1, 1998

Carvin' The Bird. James Zollar's Soaring With Bird leads the second wave of Naxos Jazz releases to the market place. It is unique among the Naxos Jazz offerings in that it is completely composed of standards. The object of the recording, obvious from the title, is Charlie Parker. What is not obvious from the title is Zollar's choice of compositions to address. Sure there are some of the old Parker standbys ("Donna Lee", “Parker's Mood", and “Moose the Mooch"), but ...

The Blue Room On Historic 18th And Vine Line Up For July 30th- August 4th

Source: C. L. Burnett, American Jazz Museum
July 30, 2012

Kansas City, Mo: The Blue Room, one of the Down Beat Magazine’s top ranked jazz clubs, has another week of great performances lined up. The Blue Monday Jam on the 30th featuring TJ Martley closes out July. Martley is a jazz pianist who is considered one of the best young pianists in Kansas City. Bring your instrument and help send July out with a bang. Thursday August 2nd will feature Langston and The Prototype. Lee Langston is the lead singer ...
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James Zollar - #40 at JazzWeek National Jazz Radio Chart

Source: Kari-On Productions
March 17, 2010

James Zollar debuts at #40 today on the national jazz radio chart Jazzweek. Zollar is enjoying success on the Jazzweek, CMJ and RMR national jazz radio charts with his new release Zollar Systems. The Zollar Systems CD contains a wide range of music for the musical palate, from swing, bebop and funk to avant-garde to bossa novas to sweet ballads. Add in soaring vocals on select tracks in different languages, it even has a bit of opera. Truly showcasing the ...
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James Zollar Debuts at #17 on the CMJ National Jazz Radio Chart

Source: Kari-On Productions
March 12, 2010

After a twelve year recording hiatus as a leader, Zollar re-emerges with Zollar Systems, a refreshingly sharp hard bop recital, bristling with energy and sonic acuteness. Tired of that old Blue Note '50s-'60s blowing session model? Think again. Zollar breathes new life into the old form, tightening it up and repackaging it for the 21st Century. This is apparent, right out of the chute with Daniel Jackson's “Chicago Preferred," in classic hard bop form: complex, rhythmically assertive head followed by ...
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