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by Scott Yanow Tenor and soprano-saxophonist Andrew Rathbun on Where We Are Now explores postbop jazz, which is music that falls into the large area of being more advanced than hard bop but not quite as free as avant-garde jazz. Rathbun, whose soprano sound (but not...

by Peter Hum Excerpt: Rathbun's CD, Where We Are Now, features a quintet tackling Rathbun's meaty, moody compositions. Guitarist Nate Radley, a notable post-Kurt Rosenwinkel player, is more a front-line member than rhythm-section man on the disc. Pianist George...

by Ray Comiskey ★★★★ The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings calls Rathbun a rising star and, on this evidence, that s spot on. The Canadian saxophonist/ composer is a gifted performer who writes challenging and complex pieces; their main raison d' etre may be harmonic,...

by Mark Corroto Excerpt: It is quite insouciant to categorize jazz musicians as either composers or players. But jazz devotees sometimes typecast artists as writers or interpreters of music. With a mature talent such as composer/saxophonist Andrew Rathbun,...

Poetry has played a significant part in the oeuvre of Andrew Rathbun, and this recording is no exception. In his past work, the poetry has on more than one occasion been a spoken accompaniment to the music (& vice-versa). Here (as is often the case on planet Earth...

A few notices about the new CD: Downbeat "With impressive tone and phrasing, Rathbun knows his way around the horn, as he shapes personable and expressive solos." Coda Rathbun's attractive sound and smart writing are ever present on nine originals composed for his own...

by David Adler Excerpt: Fiction could not create more colorful, ridiculous characters,” writes Andrew Rathbun in the liner notes to Affairs of State. He’s speaking of the Bush administration. A native of Canada based in Brooklyn, Rathbun is upset, like many, by...

by Ken Dryden Andrew Rathbun's Affairs of State is a collection of compositions that the tenor saxophonist considers as his musical impressions of the failures of President George W. Bush's administration. Joined by trumpeter Taylor Haskins, pianist Gary Versace,...

by Peter Hum Excerpt: Rathbun’s CD is called Affairs of State, and his liner notes are explicit: The disc’s nine originals are “abstractions” based on Rathbun’s last six years living in the United States, during which he clearly came to disagree sharply with the...