JOE SANTA MARIA

21st Century Modern / Jazz Related Improv/Composition / Hard Bop • United States
Jazz music community with discographies, reviews and forums
JOE SANTA MARIA picture
Born in Austin TX, Joe Santa Maria has traveled the world performing in Jazz ensembles an for recorded studio projects. Drawing influence from heroes John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Henderson and others, Joe’s saxophone playing takes the essence of 50s and 60s Jazz performance and adds a modern flare by incorporating his own temporal influences. As a composer he has shown himself to draw from many genres and to combine forms both in the traditional Jazz sphere and in the experimental music genres, not only composing only for Jazz ensemble, but also minimalist orchestral music, and for brass ensemble.

Joe’s influences range from Jazz, to Electronic, to Javanese Kroncong, Mbira ensemble music and all steps in between. These varied influences have led him to be an unpredictable and

knowledgeable musical force on the saxophone as well as a composer. Joe’s multifaceted musical vision has led him to be involved with many artistic
read more...
Thanks to snobb for the addition

Buy JOE SANTA MARIA music

JOE SANTA MARIA Online Videos

No JOE SANTA MARIA online videos available. Search and add one now.

JOE SANTA MARIA Discography

JOE SANTA MARIA albums / top albums

JOE SANTA MARIA Introspection album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Introspection
Hard Bop 2014
JOE SANTA MARIA Creature album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Creature
Jazz Related Improv/Composition 2016
JOE SANTA MARIA Echo Deep album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Echo Deep
21st Century Modern 2023
JOE SANTA MARIA Joe Santa Maria & David Tranchina : Oblique Rhyme album cover 3.50 | 1 ratings
Joe Santa Maria & David Tranchina : Oblique Rhyme
21st Century Modern 2025

JOE SANTA MARIA EPs & splits

JOE SANTA MARIA The Illustrated Man album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
The Illustrated Man
21st Century Modern 2012

JOE SANTA MARIA live albums

JOE SANTA MARIA demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

JOE SANTA MARIA re-issues & compilations

JOE SANTA MARIA singles (0)

JOE SANTA MARIA movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

JOE SANTA MARIA Reviews

JOE SANTA MARIA Joe Santa Maria & David Tranchina : Oblique Rhyme

Album · 2025 · 21st Century Modern
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
js
Saxophonist Joe Santa Maria and bassist David Tranchina are the main composers and band leaders on “Oblique Rhyme”, but they get ample help from pianist Gary Fukushima and drummer Colin Woodward who both provide musical direction and a couple compositions of their own. Looking at the many musicians these four have worked with in the past, some big names include; Bob Mintzer, Mike Stern, Patrice Rushen, Bennie Maupin, Walter Smith III and many more. “Oblique Rhyme” reflects today’s current jazz with an emphasis on abstract rhythms and tonality. Many influences are at work here, but in their own stated reflections on their music, two names tend to show up the most; Ornette Coleman and Wayne Shorter.

Album opener, “War Crime”, is one of the best tracks on the album with it’s driving but fractured hard bop, very much in an Ornette style. “Hidden Lake” is a pastoral and almost gospel sounding ballad that reflects Tranchina’s childhood in a sleepy rural community. The three tracks that follow are not actually atonal or a-rhythmic, but they are very free and loose with a shifting feel for pulse that may remind some of Paul Motion. Maria’s choppy phrases on the saxophone also recalls Wayne Shorter’s work with Miles and the first more experimental version of Weather Report. The Weather Report comparison is furthered on “Ambient Ambience”, on which Fukushima backs Maria with electronic keyboards.

The album closes out with, “This Must be for You”, a Herbie Hancock styled post bop ballad, “Caricature”, which brings back the Ornette styled fractured hard bop and “Picking up the Pieces”, a Wayne Shorter composition in flowing three time. “Oblique Rhyme” presents a nice addition to today’s world of modern jazz, all the tracks are good, but quite possibly, a lot of jazz fans would like to hear more tracks like “War Crime” and “Caricature”, those are the two with the most heat.

JOE SANTA MARIA Movies Reviews

No JOE SANTA MARIA movie reviews posted yet.

JOE SANTA MARIA Shouts

Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Joe Santa Maria & David Tranchina : Oblique Rhyme 21st Century Modern
JOE SANTA MARIA
Buy this album from MMA partners
From One Path To Another Post-Fusion Contemporary
BASILE RAHOLA
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Poetry of Jazz : Live at Blue LLama Pop/Art Song/Folk
ALLAN HARRIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Dom Salvador JID024 World Fusion
JAZZ IS DEAD (YOUNGE & MUHAMMAD)
Buy this album from MMA partners
In The Beginning Hard Bop
SOMETHING BLUE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Where Do We Go From Here
ATLANTIC JAZZ COLLECTIVE
js· 3 hours ago
Mount Meander - Swung
MOUNT MEANDER
js· 3 hours ago
JUICE
BERNELL JONES II
js· 3 hours ago
Here's That Rainy Day
DANNY GRISSETT
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us