MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
How We Do by Triceratops + LINK
Bracing big band sound from quality quintet
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
THE TRIPLE-HORNED dinosaur Triceratops is also the name of a three-horn quintet led by 42-year-old Chicago trombonist John Yao.
First inspired by the trombone artistry of JJ Johnson, Frank Rosolino and Fred Wesley, after graduating from Indiana State University Yao played trombone in the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Triceratops is a very different proposition. “The alto/soprano sax, tenor sax and trombone formation allowed me to get a big sound with just three horns,” he says. “Altoist Billy Drewes inspires me with his freewheeling, open approach, while tenorist John Irabagon is such a creative musician who structures his solos with an unlimited vocabulary.
More from this author
CHRIS SEARLE wallows in an evening of high class improvised jazz, and recommends upcoming highlights in May
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to drummer Steve Noble
CHRIS SEARLE interviews saxophonist Chris Williams about the extraordinary electro-acoustic album LEDLEY - a bold fusion of Jazz, football, and community spirit
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to Rwanda-born jazz vocalist INEZA
