Jazz   Roger Thomas's pick of recent releases, from polished originals to takes on rock   JUNE ROUND-UP

Jazz traditionally relies on collective interaction, yet paradoxically the music's development is always described in the terms of the innovative
statements made by individuals…

Saturday, 04 May 2019 17:10      Laurence Hobgood – tesseterra 
Written by  Matthew Ruddick 

Pianist and arranger Laurence Hobgood delivers a seamless blend of jazz trio with string quartet. 

Jazz and strings can make strange bedfellows; there are numerous examples of…

LAURENCE HOBGOOD at the Rubin Museum of Art (April 25, 7 p.m.). As a pianist and arranger, Hobgood may be best known for his two-decade collaboration with the vocalist Kurt Elling, which came to an end a few years ago…

By ROGER FARBEY 
April 12, 2019 

"Jazz with strings" is a phrase that sometimes invokes a heart-sink feeling amongst reviewers. Happily this is not one of those occasions. Laurence Hobgood has released a half dozen records under his own name…

Because Every Note Counts… Laurence Hobgood Trio at the Kahilu 

BY STEVE ROBY ON APRIL 8, 2019

Grammy-winning Jazz pianist Laurence Hobgood and his amazing trio — Jared Schonig, drums, and Matthew Clohesy, bass — made their Kahilu Theatre debut…

Laurence Hobgood is one of the most accomplished jazz pianists working today.  The talented musician is noted for his nearly 20-year collaboration with singer Kurt Elling, a combination that garnered 10 Grammy nominations…

Dec 3, 2018 | Howard Reich

Thirty years ago, a little-known pianist from Champaign-Urbana moved to Chicago and quickly aced a standing engagement in one of the city’s top jazz rooms, the Green Mill. 

Since then, Laurence…

It’s easy to hear similarities between Laurence Hobgood’s piano and that of Brad Mehldau, who shares primary influences (Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans). But Hobgood, known for his years as Kurt Elling’s musical director, differentiates himself via another cluster…

April 22, 2017 | Howard Reich 

For two decades, pianist Laurence Hobgood was best known as accompanist and primary arranger for singer Kurt Elling. 

When the two abruptly parted company in 2013, one wondered how Hobgood would…

When the British singer Barb Jungr was growing up in Manchester, she recalled on Saturday evening, the images on an album cover of “South Pacific” gave her the illusion that a tropical island was a safe, paradisiacal refuge. At…