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This is Topic: Reviews
Following are the News Items published under this Topic.
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CD Reviews: Kelley Suttenfield..Where Is Love?..Rhombus Records 2009
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, February 09, 2010 - 08:55 AM |
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By John Gilbert
Kelley Suttenfield - vocals
Michael Cabe - piano, Fender Rhodes
Jesse Lewis - electric guitar
Tony Romano - acoustic guitar
Matt Aronoff - bass
Brian Adler - drums, tablas
Kelley Suttenfield has a very cool and sensual vocal style. The opening
number "Sugar" displays her talents to the max. She treats the lyrics as
though she owns them. A swinging quality is apparent in this number as
Suttenfield takes the circuitous journey from tender to strong ideation.
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George Winston-Love Will Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2
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Posted by: muzikman on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 09:13 AM |
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Grammy Award Winning Pianist George Winston has released a new CD of solo piano music in a tribute to Vince Guaraldi: Love Will Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2. Vince Guaraldi will always be associated with the “Charlie Brown” television specials and the “Peanuts” characters conceived by Charles M. Schulz. He created the sounds of “Charlie Brown” that remain indelible in our minds. But, Guaraldi was also a successful jazz musician. He was part of the early Cal Tjader Trio and also had a hit of his own with “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.” Winston honors both facets of Vince Guaraldi with this new CD which is the follow-on to his first Guaraldi tribute recording in 1996, Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi.
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CD Reviews: Wadada Leo Smith “Spiritual Dimensions” 2-CD 2009 Cuneiform Records
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 - 02:38 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Trumpet legend Wadada Leo Smith offers an array of persuasive contrasts with his largely acoustic Golden Quintet (Live at Vision XIII, 2008, New York City) and electrified Organic band (Live at Firehouse, 2009, New Haven, CT). On disc-one, the Golden Quintet generates a sliding-scale view of song-forms and improvisational jaunts. With acoustic pianist Vijay Iyer’s, clustering chords and intermittent synth treatments, the musicians delve into broad soundscapes and climatically-oriented motifs. Smith’s resonating and often, yearning lines spearhead a free-form and thoroughly expressionistic gala, subdivided by highs, lows and power-packed movements.
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CD Reviews: Harry Allen, “New York State of Mind”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 09:21 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
It's often been stated that New York City is the capital of the world—obviously an overstatement—but in terms of jazz, the big Apple seems to be the center of the action. Inspired by the city he now calls home, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen uses the city as the theme for his latest release selecting a repertoire of music written with New York in mind. Borrowing the title from Billy Joel's signature tune “New York State of Mind,” Allen attempts to capture a slice and the essence of the great city with a straightforward approach to the music using his appreciable talents with fresh new treatments to oft recored standards. The result of course is one classic session of light and tasteful contemporary jazz with a measure of swing and a touch of elegance.
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CD Reviews: Kyoko Oyobe Trio, “Cookin' at Smalls”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 09:21 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Pianist Kyoko Oyobe from Okayama, Japan is a young lady whose love for jazz brought her to New York in 2006 for the opportunity to learn, develop and become a part of the jazz-rich environment in the Big Apple. This Oyobe has done by performing at various venues in New York while establishing her jazz credentials. Cookin' at Smalls is Oyobe's sensational debut album—recorded live in December 2008 at Smalls jazz club—a subterranean hot spot for jazz in New York's West Village—founded by Mitch Borden(Smalls and Fat Cat Clubs) who coincidently also provides the liner notes for the CD.
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CD Reviews: Wayne Escoffery “Uptown” CD-2009 Posi-Tone Records
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 09:19 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Saxophonist Wayne Escoffery transmits maturity beyond his years, and has been in the thick of things within modern jazz since the early 2000’s. He’s an impressive solo artist who has recorded and performed with trumpeter Tom Harrell, vibist Joe Locke and Ben Riley’s Monk Legacy Septet among other jazz luminaries. Here, Escoffery conveys assertive leadership via the democratic group-centric format. And he possesses a fluent mode of attack, which is abetted by his near-flawless phraseology and authoritative presence.
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CD Reviews: Charles Evans – Neil Shah “Live at Saint Stephens” CD-2009 Hot Cup Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, January 28, 2010 - 12:20 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Teenage friends who were reared in the Pennsylvania countryside evolves into a fruitful musical relationship that shines luminously, especially here on this duo effort recorded at Saint Stephens Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Baritone saxophonist Charles Evans, on the wings of his highly-acclaimed 2009 solo outing “The King of All Instruments,” snagged 5 stars in Downbeat magazine, for example. And pianist Neil Shah has performed with a top echelon roster of jazz legends, such as trombonist/arranger Bob Brookmeyer and bassist Eddie Gomez. On this exceptional duo outing, the artists integrate chromatic intervals, emotive improvisation and nuance into a comprehensive musical vista, teeming with bluesy passages, stoic musings and more.
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CD Reviews: Betty Bryant..No Regrets..Bry Mar Music 2009
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Posted by: editor on Monday, January 25, 2010 - 08:12 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Betty Bryant (piano, vocals) Robert Kyle (tenor, flute) Tomas Gargano
(bass) Kenny Elliott (drums)
Betty Bryant plays the piano like she invented it. This is an album that
all the cognoscenti will enjoy.
"Easy Street" Some blues make you swing and sway (not Sammy Kaye) Bryant
comps and sings her song with a bit of magic. The piano solo is both hip
and filled with ideas that only a skilled and well 'versed' singer/
pianist can employ. Robert Kyle is clearly inspired in his sax soliloquy
by Bryant's infectious influence.
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CD Reviews: Trio Reenactment, “What Once Was ...”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 09:22 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Coming off their self-titled debut of a couple of years ago offering a slice of Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and contemporary jazz, Trio Reenactment present their second album, “What Once Was...,”this time melding straight-ahead jazz with a touch of soul and rock rhythms in an intimate studio session that demonstrates the group's versatility. Led by bassist John Barron, this traditional piano trio--featuring Sven Anderson on piano/keyboards and veteran drummer Rob Emanuel—together have been a a fixture in Detroit's rich musical community for some time. This friendly outing covers eight originals and the Smokey Robinson cover tune “Get Ready,” popularized by the pop group The Temptations.
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CD Reviews: Charlie Apicella& Iron City, “Sparks”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 09:21 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
Jazz guitarist Charlie Apicella and his Iron City combo follow up their recent debut “Put The Flavor On It” with “Sparks,” an energetic collection of soulful, R&B and jazz music inspired by the many organ groups that pioneered the sound. Apicella—who studied with organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith and guitarist Dave Stryker—a leader of his organ trio—revives the classic organ trio sound made famous by Jimmy Smith and promoted by saxophonist Lou Donaldson and Dr. Lonnie Smith among others. With his core trio comprised of organist Dave Mattock and drummer Alan Korzin, Iron City explores a new sound by adding Stephen Riely on tenor saxophone and violinists John Blake, Jr. and Amy Bateman to the mix.
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CD Reviews: Holland/Rubalcaba/Potter/Harland “The Monterey Quartet: Live At the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 08:53 AM |
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Glen Astarita
CD-2009 Monterey Jazz Festival Records
Many historic performances were captured at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Surely, this meeting among modern day jazz champions should be considered a crowning achievement within MJF’s ongoing legacy. Other than pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Eric Harland have performed with legendary bassist Dave Holland’s small group ensembles, where each musician brings a distinct stylistic component to the forefront. Placing technique aside, the musicians spawn a near flawless mix of harmonically attractive works that are thoughtfully balanced at various levels.
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New CD Reviews and music samples at JazzworldQuest.com
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Posted by: jazzworldquest on Monday, January 18, 2010 - 12:27 PM |
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JazzWorldQuest.com just added new CD Reviews:
- Roberto Magris Trio: Kansas City Outbound
- Anthony Ocaña: Solo
- Bruskers : Guitar Sketch
- George Koufogiannakis : Generations
- Haftor Medbøe Group: A Box of Monkeys
You can read the reviews and listen to samples at
http://www.jazzworldquest.com
comments? 
597 Reads |
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DRUM! Demos Diversity For NAMM 2010
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Posted by: burroughs40 on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 04:44 AM |
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San Jose, Calif., -- Enter Music Publishing, publishers of hip/drum percussion magazines worldwide, has published, maybe, its most diverse, insightful issue to date. And how apropos that Issue 168 is being displayed at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers trade show) 2010.
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CD Reviews: Lew Woodall..Simply Cooking..2009
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Posted by: admin on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 04:44 AM |
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By John Gilbert
Lew Woodall (guitar) Tom Harbeck (bass) Joel Lubliner (drums) Hod
O'Brien (piano)
Simply swinging is the byword. This quartet has the Old Dominion driving
in the fast lane. Lew Woodall's soliloquy on "Softly As In The Morning
Sunrise" is a study in real jazz, his ideation and O'Brien's solo are a
joy to listen to.
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CD Reviews: RG Royal Sound Orchestra, “Impact”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, January 08, 2010 - 05:29 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Miami-based Cuban-born music producer Recaredo Gutierrez combines his obvious cultural affiliation with Latin music and his love for the big band sound into one musical project of big band swing with a decidedly Latin twist. The new album “Impact,” is the debut recording of Gutierrez's 20-piece RG Royal Sound Orchestra presenting several familiar tunes from the Great American Songbook of the 60s and 70s and, with new and creative arrangements, transforms these popular oft recorded standards into a dazzling and brassy session of Afro-Cuban rhythms fused with a Spanish flamenco foundation. The fusion of a traditional jazz band sound with the flamenco influence is accomplished in part with the addition of eight musicians from Spain essentially augmenting the personnel to create a twenty-eight-piece ensemble on selected pieces.
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CD Reviews: Masters of American Music Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
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Posted by: editor on Friday, January 08, 2010 - 09:31 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
DVD 2009 Medici Arts: Distributed by NAXOS
It is well-documented that alto saxophonist Charlie Parker’s tragic addiction to heroin served as a prominent and unfortunate sidebar to his musical brilliance. This fifty-nine minute DVD originally issued in VHS format, was written and co-produced by award-winning jazz journalist and author, Gary Giddins. The film chronicles Parkers upbringing in Kansas City and obsession with music at an early age. Hence, Parker asked his mother to buy him an alto sax when he was twelve, yet at the time, music schools didn’t allow blacks. And he grew up admiring early tenor sax giants such as Leon “Chu” Berry, Lester Young, trumpeter Louis Armstrong and big band leader/alto saxophonist Jimmy Dorsey.
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CD Reviews: Stefano Bollani “Stone In The Water” CD-2009 ECM Records
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Posted by: editor on Monday, January 04, 2010 - 09:54 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Recorded in New York, this 2009 album by Italian pianist Stefano Bollani is the first ECM Records date featuring his Danish Trio. With original compositions to complement Jobim’s “Bringas Nunca Mais,” and classical composer Francis Poulenc’s “Improvisation 12 en la Mineur,” the band transmits a distinct musical aura throughout. Essentially, Bollani generates levitation-like theme building motifs, where ascension and meditative melodies reside as core factors.
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CD Reviews: Katie Eagleson..On The Other Hand..Walking Path Records 2009
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, January 02, 2010 - 09:14 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Katie Eagleson with a 10 piece band and 16 tunes demonstrates her
absolute pitch and the ability swing. The tunes are well thought out and
the arrangements are apropos to the singing style of Eagleson.
"I Concentrate On You" is a song that touches the heart with lyrics that
are an example of the poetry of the American love song. Katie Eagleson
pays homage to this superb work of Cole Porter in fine fashion.
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CD Reviews: Tony Foster “In Between Moods”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, December 28, 2009 - 09:34 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Originally from North Vancouver and currently based in the Seattle, Washington, Canadian pianist Tony Foster offers his debut trio recording with an ambitious repertoire of tunes that includes music from George and Ira Gershwin, John Clayton and Oscar Peterson among the mix of light jazz that features four sparkling originals. Along with bassist Russel Botten and drummer Joe Poole, the trio tackles Billy Strayhorn's classic “Take the A Train” in the opening track, inspired by the Ahmad Jamal arrangement of the tune, provides an upbeat perky rendition in contrast to the slow laid back style adopted by the Ellington band. Speaking of “perky,” wait till you sample Oscar Peterson's “Cakewalk” another lively piece of music that Foster admits was “CERTAINLY NOT a cakewalk to play!
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CD Reviews: Beppe Crovella “What’s Rattlin’ On The Moon? – A Personal Vision of the Music of Mike Ratledge”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 05:14 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2009 Moonjune Records
Beppe Crovella’s hallmark of ingenuity becomes prominent during this prismatic endeavor, where he covers the works of influential Soft Machine keyboardist Mike Ratledge. Decades have passed, yet Soft Machine’s legacy is irrefutably impressive amid various personnel changes and resurgent bands such as Soft Machine Legacy, to complement a consortium of vital reissues. Here, Crovella personalizes his approach while imparting a semi-retrospective spin, mainly due to his choice of ancient, yet beloved analog keys such as, Farfisa organ, mellotron and the Wurlitzer electric piano. The artist also emulates Ratledge’s signature, fuzzed-out Lowrey organ sound and integrates the acoustic component as well. Crovella does not use analog or digital synths on the album, which seems rather remarkable, due to the polytonal frameworks he conjures up throughout the program
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CD Reviews: Seamus Blake “Bellwether”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 08:00 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
In 2008 Seamus Blake toured Europe with his quartet and came back with his first live recording as a leader with the a dynamite double CD set titled, “Live in Italy” released by the Italian label, Jazz Eyes. Blake returns to the Criss Cross Label, where he has produced the majority of his recordings, releasing a scintillating post-bop album of primarily original compositions. On “Bellwether,” the saxophonist features his creative improvisational skills and his knack for hard-driving solos presenting seven lively and challenging pieces that touch on styles from bop, Brazilian to the classical genre. With the exception of the Ivan Lins inspired Blake original, “A Beleza Que Vem” (The Beauty That Comes), where Blake takes on the soprano, and the ten-minute plus classical-tinged “String Quartet in G Minor, Opus 10,” from French Impressionist music pioneer Claude Debussy—the remaining repertoire is essentially all sizzling hard bop.
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CD Reviews: Noel Webb, “Give It All”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 10:05 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Considered one of the most popular pop violinist on mainstream radio today, Noel Webb has been praised by Jazz Times magazine as a “Violin prodigy [who} brings a unique voice to smooth jazz” and a sampling of “Give It All” certainly affirms that assertion. Though he is billed as “An innovative Rock violinist” on his credits,Webb graces jazz music with his five-string electric violin providing a modern fusion-like take to the smooth jazz music one is accustomed to hearing. Keeping it simple, Webb limits the music on this new recording to five carefully chosen songs preferring, as he put it to “create something that was easily accessible for fans, yet reflected the intensity of my live performances.” Unfortunately for those who may like the music, as this appraiser humbly endorses, “five easy pieces” falls woefully short of a full album session serving as perhaps the only detraction from the project.
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CD Reviews: The Bill McBirnie Duo/Quartet “Mercy”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 10:04 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Toronto-based flautist Bill McBirnie is recognized as one of Canada's premier jazz musicians performing straight-ahead and Latin jazz and comes out swinging on this mixed duo and quartet
format featuring the unique talents of jazz pianist Robi Botos of Hungarian Roma descent—who together with McBirnie—craft a diverse selection of sparkling contemporary jazz commanding serious attention. Showcasing a repertoire of several jazz standards presented in entirely new light, Mercy contains the music from legendary artists such as Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Charlie “Yardbird”Parker, John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie just to name a few.
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The Flip Side
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 13, 2009 - 10:22 PM |
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Karl Stober
Jazz Skat Gumbo/Kat Walker (2009)
Jazz Skat Gumbo is a blend of the “feel” that only New Orleans can deliver. Vocalist Kat Walker is the guide through the French Quarter back streets of sound. Ms. Walker’s new CD, Jazz Skat Gumbo, is a collection of select traditional compliments, if you will, performed with gifted New Orleans jazz musicians that grace this honored stage we call New Orleans.
Kat’s gritty vocals are unique and very inviting and when she adds her attitude by scatting, it brings each track to its true vibrancy.
Saxophonist, Dominick Grillo respects Kat’s adventurous vocal style. Pianist, Bart Ramsey bonds the mix with a yesteryear stride piano movement and its relevant overtone throughout the CD. You can sample the flavor on “I Got Rhythm.”
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Jackie Ryan-Doozy
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 10:20 AM |
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As with many words in the English language Doozy has a dual meaning. In the case of the new Jackie Ryan release with the same name it is without a doubt a positive connotation.
The one factor that I found amazing about this two disc set is that it was all recorded in just two days during three recording sessions at Tony Bennett’s studio! That is a phenomenal pace in any day and age. What is probably most important is that even though it seems like it was a “rush job” it does not sound that way. The final results are incredibly good in both production and by and large presentation.
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CD Reviews: The Flip Side
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 10:19 AM |
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By Karl Stober
Its Christmas Time/Sylvia Bennett Release: Out of Sight Music (2009)
Ms. Bennett drops a blizzard of holiday comfort with this package of vocal tinsel this season. Her voice is coated with that fireplace appeal on a winters evening. As for the impact on the listener, you just want to celebrate the Yule tide with her resonance.
Produced by Hal Batt, he affords Ms. Bennett the room to extend her range and focus, thus stirring the season’s energy, capturing for the listeners that “chestnuts and eggnog” effect.
Sylvia Bennett gift wraps this exceptional and rhythmically vocal jazz appeal throughout each cut, never compromising that traditional balance of heart and hope. Many encores spin with this gift of joy!
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John Mayall With Eric Clapton-Blues Breakers-24 Karat Gold Review
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Posted by: muzikman on Friday, December 04, 2009 - 10:50 AM |
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The Blues Breakers was Eric Clapton’s first step to his soon to be iconic status. People were writing “Clapton Is God” on walls already and he was just getting started. This album will help you understand why he ascended to this lofty status.
The John Mayall With Eric Clapton release finds itself remastered on the Audio Fidelity 24 karat gold disc in its original mono sound. I am certain blues enthusiast and Clapton fans will be gaga over this one. The gold disc version itself earmarks it as a collectable however with the addition of the mono tracks makes it an instant sought after item and soon to be rarity.
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CD Reviews: Eishin Nose, “Inside Out Dream”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 10:09 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
New York-based jazz pianist Eishin Nose continues his affinity for the free form style of jazz on his third album, “Inside Out Dream” where he delves further into the free style genre painting a musical canvas of intricate lines and sophisticated grooves. Somewhat of a free spirit in the jazz world, Nose's bent for pure improvisational music is evident from the two brief pieces simply titled “Nobody's in Particular” parts one and two, where perhaps only true aficionados of the genre will appreciate the unstructured sounds. This however, dose not define the entire work on this album for Nose does have a gift for composition and delivers several note worthy scores.
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CD Reviews: David MacKenzie/ Josh Johnston, “Notes Home”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 09:20 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Hailing from Ireland, violinist David MacKenzie and pianist Josh Johnston release “Notes Home,”their second album together and follow up to their 2004 recording of “A Minor Happiness,” essentially a concept album and duet of violin and piano. Unlike their first meeting, the duo enlist help from fellow countrymen guitarist Stephen McFarlane, bassist Andrew Csibi and percussionist Robbie Harris adding a bit more texture to the music. There are thirteen originals of light mellow and ballad-like pieces some drawing inspiration from the music Frenchman Stephane Grapelli and Joe Venuti, considered the father of the jazz violin.
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CD Reviews: Dave Rivello Ensemble, “Facing The Mirror”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 09:19 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
An educator at the Eastman School of Music and former student of legendary composer and arranger Bob Brookmeyer, Rivello's large ensemble has been playing regularly for the past eight years at the renowned Village Vanguard. Pared down from a 17-piece orchestra to a 12-piece light ensemble, The Dave Rivello Ensemble makes its recording debut performing eight original compositions and arrangements on the sparkling new CD “Facing The Mirror.” Not your typical big band sound, Rivello's music is modern mainstream material layered with sophisticated harmonies a-typical of traditional swing or classical big band music.
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CD Reviews: Timucin Sahin Quartet “Bafa”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, November 20, 2009 - 10:32 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2009 Between The Lines
Turkish jazz guitarist Timucin Sahin relocated to Holland in 1992, then sought higher education in Hilversum and Amsterdam, followed by studies at New York City’s Manhattan School of Music. But it’s not all about his clinical approach, and more about the unique technical and compositional style he brings to the forefront. Sahin performs on six and seven string electric guitars while incorporating live electronics to round out a superfine band, featuring alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher.
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VERTIGO THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2010 ACTORS’ FUND BENEFIT PERFORMANCE
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Posted by: editor on Friday, November 13, 2009 - 05:42 PM |
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CALGARY – Vertigo Theatre has announced that its 2009-2010 season benefit for the Actors’ Fund of Canada will be a benefit performance of Evelyn Strange on March 14th, 2009. The play, a film noiresque tale of a beautiful amnesiac who discovers a troubling secret, is by Alberta playwright Stewart Lemoine and has been performed across Canada to rave reviews since its creation in 1995.
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CD Reviews: Roni Ben-Hur “Fortuna” CD-2009 Motema
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Posted by: editor on Monday, November 02, 2009 - 10:50 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
History will dictate that you can count on guitarist, educator, and author Roni Ben-Hur to produce a quality product. A much-admired technician and idea-man, his seventh release as a leader presents a modern mainstream outlook, spiced with Steve Kroon’s buoyant and textural world-groove percussion treatments. Ben-Hur’s band signifies a jazz superstar conglomeration, including pianist Ronnie Mathews, who sadly, died of pancreatic cancer on June 28, 2008.
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CD Reviews: Lisa Hilton Twilight & Blues
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 12:42 PM |
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WaxTrenzz
Artists: Lisa Hilton (piano), Lewis Nash (drums), Larry Grenadier (bass), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) and J.D. Allen (tenor sax)
Tracks: Pandemonium, Woodstock, What's Going On/Extended, City Streets, Turbulent Blue, Twilight, Kozmic Blues, Blue for You, Moon River, What's Going On
Review: The music is an attachment of her soul. The arrangements are an extension of her vision. The performance is her heart injected into ours, and this is the legacy of pianist Lisa Hilton, as she again employs the ivories in 2009. Ruby Slippers Production surpasses its other projects with Hilton, offering Twilight & Blues, a new angelic instrumental articulation, chiseled by compassion, which escalates her degree of prominence in the global jazz hemisphere once again.
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CD Reviews: Eyal Maoz’s Edom “Hope and Destruction” CD-2009 Tzadik Records
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 02:23 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Israel-born guitarist Eyal Maoz pulls many tricks out of his bag for his second release on Tzadik Records. With traditional Jewish music underpinnings here and there, the artist morphs a wild concoction of avant-garde expressionism with retro hard-rock and apocalyptic type opuses. And in spots, the quartet renders what might be considered new-wave psychedelic music, featuring bone-shattering bass and guitar lines amid pulsating straight-four rockers.
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CD Reviews: Edmar Castaneda, “Entre Cuerdas” (Between the Strings)
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 08:56 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
When it comes to jazz music, the first instruments that come to mind are the saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, the piano and drums, but never the harps! Well,Columbian-born harpist Edmar Castaneda has successfully forged a place in the jazz world by fusing traditional Latin jazz with Columbian folk music using the harp as the lead instrument in producing an enchanting genre-bending sound. With “Entre Cuerdas,” the harpist continues his exploration of jazz and his audacious transformation of the “jazz harp,” into one of the most exciting, innovative and unique sounds in jazz today. A technician on the instrument, Castaneda provides a remarkable performance at times sounding like a classical flamenco guitarist and at other times plucking bass lines and melodies with feverish passion.
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CD Reviews: Graham Dechter, “Right On Time,”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 08:53 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
The youngest member of the renowned Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, 23 year old guitarist Graham Dechter makes a elegant entrance in the jazz world with one of the most impressive new releases from CAPRI Records this year. Essentially a session of delicate soft jazz, Right On Time is a timely and beautiful collection of lesser-known originals and classic jazz standards bathed in new light featuring the crisp guitar work of Dechter in the lead role. Dechter, who wasn't even alive when Joe Cocker sang it, takes a cue from the singer's major hit “A Little Help From My Friends,” and smartly enlists the help of his fellow band mates in the orchestra by employing bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and pianist Tamir Hendelman to record a gem of an album making this debut far more than a showcase for the leader, but a masterful group effort that shines all over.
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CD Reviews: Slivovitz “Hubris” CD-2009 Moonjune
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 09:41 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
This Naples, Italy based septet derives its group moniker from a popular Slavic brandy, that perhaps corresponds to its exquisite fusion of jazz-rock, prog-rock, Middle Eastern modalities and Mediterranean folk derivations. But it’s not an unruly or wanton morphing of disparate styles. The band does indeed carve out a fluent and colorful program, featuring strings, horns, brash guitar parts and polyrhythmic fury on its second album.
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CD Reviews: Eddie Harris/Ellis Marsalis, “Homecoming,” The Reissue
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 09:42 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Late saxophonist great Eddie Harris and Ellis Marsalis had a history of performing together in various different configurations, after a duo performance at the now defunct Tyler's Beer Garden in New Orleans, pianist and producer David Torkanowsky encouraged them to go into the studio. In 1985 the two went to Dallas, Texas and recorded three covers and four original tunes on the original and now out of print album, “Homecoming.” The youngest of the Marsalis clan, drummer Jason Marsalis recovered the original master tapes and encouraged his father to record five new tracks and add them to the 2009 re-issue of that original classic.
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CD Reviews: Ted Kooshian, “Underdog and Other Stories...”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 09:41 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Jazz pianist Ted Kooshian follows up his well received self-titled “Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet” (Summit Records 2008), with another unique recording inspired by Kooshian's love for movies and television program theme songs. As the press clippings accurately states, Underdog and Other Stories... “takes the listener on a 'jazzy-trip' down memory lane” turning theme songs from cartoon shows like “Underdog,” and “Popeye” into striking motifs of contemporary jazz with stellar play from such players like saxophonist Jeff Lederer who wields the tenor and soprano with assertiveness, drummer Scott Neumann and bassist Tom Hubbard with Warren Odze sharing duties with Neumann on several tracks.
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CD Reviews: Ramsey Lewis - Songs From the Heart - Rmasey Plays Ramsey
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Posted by: editor on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 12:21 PM |
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By Bill Donaldson
When The Ohio State University Marching Band plays Ramsey Lewis’ “Hang On Sloopy,” the entire stadium reverberates as it’s sung; it’s a song that the band keeps alive. Ramsey Lewis would rather move on to other pursuits. Not that he doesn’t appreciate the income stream and the name recognition that his hits from the sixties afforded him. It’s just that the depth of Lewis’ talent led him to a broader output than the popularity of those songs suggest. His Chicago radio audiences know that as he has performed various pieces on his show. But Ramsey Lewis’ new album, his first with Concord Jazz, in effect makes an unmistakable statement about his under-appreciated talent as a virtuoso pianist, his diverse influences and, surprisingly, his wide-ranging compositional abilities.
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CD Reviews: Charles Rumback “Two Kinds of Art Thieves” CD-2009 Clean Feed
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 07, 2009 - 04:50 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
On his debut solo effort, drummer Charles Rumback and fellow proponents of Chicago’s fertile progressive-jazz and improvisational scene bypass conventional norms throughout this curiously interesting endeavor. Somewhat animated in scope, the music iterated here features the dual sax attack of Joshua Sclar (tenor) and Greg Ward (alto), all firmed up by bassist Jason Ajemian’s loose and pliant bottom-end.
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CD Reviews: Jesse Elder “The Winding Shell” CD-2009 Off
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 - 11:34 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Here, forward-thinking pianist Jesse Elder employs tenor sax titan, Gary Thomas along with talented jazz saxophonists Chris Cheek, Logan Richardson and Jeremy Viner. But Elder varies the program and finalizes the album with four piano duets, featuring Aya Nishina. Simply stated, Elder offers a bit of mind candy for the average jazz enthusiast, as the album title does indeed, parallel the content of his multifarious compositions.
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CD Reviews: Benny Reid, “Escaping Shadows”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, October 04, 2009 - 10:50 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Benny Reid is a young up and coming alto saxophonist from New York who is impressing the jazz world with the quality of his compositions and style. In 2007, Reid released his critically acclaimed debut album, “Findings” (Concord Jazz) where his embrace of the Pat Metheny style was clearly evident. On “Escaping Shadows,” Reid does not totally escape the Metheny influence as the music will reveal, even including one cover tune from the guitarist (“Always and Forever”). However, this is not a Metheny project, Reid's approach very distinctly separates the saxophonist from the “shadows” of Metheny with exciting bites of fusion and containing elements of rock/jazz that imprint the album as a Reid's own effectively distancing himself from the master finally “escaping” his shadows.
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CD Reviews: The Jeff Hamilton Trio, “Symbiosis”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, October 02, 2009 - 07:42 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
One of the most celebrated drummers of our time, Jeff Hamilton borrows from the Claus Ogerman songbook for the title of his recording to describe the effects of a long-term close musical interaction and its results. Along with long-time members of his trio, bassist Christoph Luty and Tamir Hendelman, this musical symbiosis has produced one of the finest piano trio albums of the year. Containing motif's of swing, bebop, funky blues and a ballad, the very versatile trio captures the listener's attention from the get go and does not let up till the last note on “The Serpent's Tooth.” As the press notes state “Hamilton's brush and cymbal work embellishes Hendelman's piano as he slides up to the melody, then switching to sticks,...lays into an earthy swinging groove.”
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CD Reviews: Wayne Krantz – Keith Carlock – Tim Lefebvre - CD-2009 Abstract Logix
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 05:55 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
This trio kicks out the jams via gritty and loud jazz/progressive-rock stylizations complete with drummer Keith Carlock and bassist Tim Lefebvre’s guerrilla rhythmic tactics. Guitarist and famed New York City-based session and solo artist, Wayne Krantz employs odd-tunings and scorching crunch chords on this high-impact extravaganza; although, he doesn’t render a whole lot of dazzling, single note licks here. It’s more of a group-centric morphing of crafty harmonic episodes, punkish jazz-rock sequences, skronk, snappy backbeats, and other rebel-rousing inclinations.
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CD Reviews: Mike Irwin Johnson's 8 Legged Monster, “Vol. 2”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 03:08 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Billed as a unique “small-big band,” San Francisco Bay Area's 8 Legged Monster is a nine-piece ensemble dedicated to playing from bebop, swing to free jazz and has, through the past few years, become a favorite amongst the SF jazz community of musicians. Vol.2 is much more than an improvement over their self titled CD of two years ago, it is an evolution to a higher form of swing, a restatement of what the band is and an affirmation that this is one little big band that is now, prepared to hang with the best of them. With this sophomore effort, guitarist Mike Irwin Johnson, leader of the band, draws from the Duke Ellington influence in his approach to composing the eight originals on this project, adds his own creative arrangements and succeeds in crafting an appreciable big band album with stylish big band sounds—all coming from a light ensemble with a lot of heart.
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CD Reviews: Luis Bonilla, “I Talking Now”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 03:06 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
With his fourth album as leader award-winning composer and trombonist extraordinaire, Luis Bonilla strikes a different chord for sure on this departure from pasts recordings. On this very interesting “I Talking Now,”Bonilla presents a musical landscape filled with elements of Latin jazz, swing, rock, free jazz, a bit of funk, a taste of the avant-garde and a some ballads. The music may not appeal to the average jazz audience and especially those who search for soft defined melodies, jazz standards and prefer the lighter side of jazz. This project is sophisticated, challenging and certainly modern in every respect drawing on a host of genres blended in one cool package of jazz.
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CD Reviews: Moraine“Manifest Density” CD-2009 Moonjune Records
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 18, 2009 - 10:03 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
This vibrant Seattle-based quintet abides by a rather distinctive group-centric sound that draws upon the musicians’ influences, spanning electronics, jazz, jazz-fusion, progressive-rock and a consortium of styles. The beauty of it pertains to their multifarious aggregation of genres, all woven into a neatly packed program. They morph the best of various musical worlds here, amid turbulent strings passages, thrusting rhythms, and jubilantly executed melody lines.
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CD Reviews: Bill Ortiz-From Where I Stand
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 03:36 PM |
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Artist: Bill Ortiz
Title: From Where I Stand
Genre: Jazz-Urban/R&B-Neo-Soul
Label: Tangent Records
Website
CD Baby Link
Source Link
Trumpet player Bill Ortiz offers up a melting pot of jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, and a twist on rap that would convert any non believer in the genre.
Ortiz has been honing his chops with the Santana touring band for many years now so it comes as no surprise that his solo effort From Where I Stand turns out to be first rate material.
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CD Reviews: Ryan Blotnick - “Everything Forgets” CD-2009 Songlines
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 10:40 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Guitarist Ryan Blotnick is a forward-thinking jazz artist who has performed with a global array of musicians, including sax icon Lee Konitz, premier bassist Avishai Cohen and others of note. Reared in Maine, Blotnick has called New York City home base since 1994 and works within various jazz-centric configurations while touring abroad as well. This 2009 effort features an impressive band that takes its time developing ideas via slow to medium tempo backbeats and gradually climactic themes.
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CD Reviews: Panos Vassilopoulos, “The Acoustic Sessions” DVD/CD Set
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 09:08 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Panos Vassilopoulos is one of Europe's most respected drummers and producers with a history of producing educational drumming DVDs such as “Ostinato and Polyrhythms” and “A Step Further.” With this new project, Vassilopoulos marks a new course in his series of DVDs capturing a high-octane performance from his trio and guest vocalist that's far more than educational, it's down right electrifying, entertaining and extremely infectious. Filmed in high definition at one of Athens' top recording studios, “The Acoustic Sessions” takes the best of a twelve-hour recording session, filmed with four high-definition cameras from all angles, and records the group's creative interpretations of classic standards like “Autumn Leaves,”Cole Porter's “I Love You,” Horace Silver's “Nica's Dream” and Van Heusen's “Darn That Dream” to name a few.
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CD Reviews: Nina Sheldon..Harvest..Jazzed Media..2009
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Posted by: admin on Friday, September 11, 2009 - 04:47 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Nina Sheldon, Piano and Vocals
David Fathead Newman, Tenor
John Menagon, Bass
Bob Meyer, Drums
This album is as slick as a schoolboy's sleeve and as cool as the other side of the pillow.The first track "You'd be So Nice To Come Home to" is given new life as Sheldon makes it her own and hers alone. Some delicious scatting highlights matters.
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CD Reviews: CD Review: Alva Nelson, “Soul Eyes”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 11, 2009 - 08:47 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
New York-based pianist and composer Alva Nelson has served as a sideman, producer, musical director in theater and scored music for public television documentaries. Now, after several recording sessions between 1993 and 1997, this Texas-born son of a Pentecostal minister, has finally kept the faith and releases this long-awaited debut “Soul Eyes,” a self published eleven-track CD blending sparkling originals and four covers in a gem of a recording that deserves serious consideration. Beginning with the opening “Synonymous Dichotomy” original, Nelson's muscular piano chords sets the stage for this album. This fast-paced tune comes out swinging featuring hard piano lines, strong bass work from Chris White and a lively percussive background with Cecil Brooks III splashing the cymbals and pounding the drums as Larry Washington lends a touch on percussions.
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DRUM! Magazine Traps Travis Barker's Fly Kit
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Posted by: burroughs40 on Friday, September 11, 2009 - 08:43 AM |
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SAN JOSE, Calif., -- Travis Barker is receiving rave reviews for his new “fly” drum kit, which MTV described in a July 29 report as “gravity-defying and head-spinning.”
DRUM! Magazine, one of Enter Music Publishing's hip, drum/percussion magazines, however, had the scoop when DRUM! contributing photographer, Robert Downs, was invited to the Forum in Los Angeles on July 21 for a pre-drum premiere of Barker's new kit, which flies the friendly skies with ease. And then some.
“I had no idea what Travis was up to,” says Downs. “Then as I got a closer look at the riser to take photos, I was amazed.” Downs, who is no stranger to Barker, has photographed him three times before and his current shots will be used for the upcoming DRUM! cover story on Barker for the October issue, out September 14.
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CD Reviews: John Surman “Brewster’s Rooster” CD-2009 ECM Records
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 04, 2009 - 08:50 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
This all-world jazz quartet led by British sax great John Surman, rings like a new meeting with old friends. Surman, guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Jack DeJohnette have collaborated within various ensembles and projects spanning several decades, while this album signifies in-demand session bassist/solo artist Drew Gress’ debut appearance for ECM Records. The musicians’ distinctive musical gifts offer a multifarious viewpoint that mirrors the jubilant alliance, conveyed throughout.
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A Hummingbird Sang in Bushnell Park…Taeko Fukao Live
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 08:55 PM |
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Karl Stober
A fans artistic ingestion of a vocalist’s performance has, in some way, to do with the backdrop. For a rising vocalist, a live performance creates a technical and emotional euphoria that, in many cases, escapes the studio setting. Such is the case for jazz vocalist Taeko Fukao, as she pierced into the psyche of the crowds, adorning Bushnell Park in Connecticut. The pulse of that July performance warmed the masses and created a genuine compassion for her unique expression of an ever-evolving jazz interpretation. This is a common thread in the Taeko concert circuit.
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DVD Reviews: Jethro Tull - “Living With The Past”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 08:53 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
DVD + CD Collectors’ Edition
2009 – Eagle Vision
There’s always been multi-genre crossover appeal, primarily due to legendary rock band Jethro Tull’s blues and jazz assimilations. This combo DVD & CD package touches upon the band’s 40 year run amid various personnel changes along the way. The program includes performances from Tull’s 2001 British, American tours and an acoustic session at someone’s “stately” home, featuring a strings section assisting with “Fat Man,” “A Christmas Song,” and other familiar works.
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CD Reviews: Maki Watanabe, "Composition and Arranging 2005”
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Posted by: Jose_Garcia on Sunday, August 30, 2009 - 11:02 PM |
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Maki Watanabe is a bassist who also has outstanding skills of composition and arranging.
The first song is Maki's original composition “Three colors”. This piece demonstrates refreshing musical taste with advancement beyond the creative process associated with writing and the creation of lead sheet. Rather than creating a melody and chord symbols, the idea is to compose a piece that contains developed and varied musical textures based on specific and predetermined resources and motives.
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CD Reviews: John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble “Eternal Interlude” CD-2009 Sunnyside Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 10:39 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Grammy nominated composer/drummer/arranger John Hollenbeck has emerged as one of the more significant jazz artists of our time. Besides his “Claudia Quintet” and numerous solo and session activities, his large ensemble offers a rather all-encompassing glimpse into his craft, while marking his debut release as a leader on Sunnyside Records.
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CD Reviews: Joris Teepe Big Band “We Take No Prisoners” CD-2009 Challenge Records
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 10:34 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Dutch bassist Joris Teepe has called New York City home since 1992, and has been involved in numerous projects as a leader and session ace. However, this big band outing serves as his most ambitious exposition to date, following his acclaimed performances for the Radio Big Band in Bucharest, Romania.
Recently departed drumming great, Rashied Ali is featured on the piece titled “Almost Lucky,” amid other works supported by drummer Gene Jackson, who complements Teepe’s beefy and fluid lines on these multifarious comps. With blaring and impassioned solos by trumpeter Michael P. Mossman, saxophonists Mark Gross and Adam Kolker, among a festive band-centric gait, Teepe’s arrangements contain a fusion of disparate metrics. He lets the soloists’ breath sans any uncluttered accompaniment, while occasionally skirting the free zone via expansive arrangements and rocketing charts.
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CD Reviews: Misha Piatigorsky, “17 Rooms”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 08:36 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Russian-born pianist Misha Piatigorsky, one of the most prolific pianist and composers thriving in New York's vibrant jazz scene, presents his very latest piece of virtuoso piano playing with “17 Rooms” where the pianist returns to his classical roots. Comfortable performing in a variety of musical style from Brazilian, bebop to groove music, Piatigorsky draws from his classical music background and delivers a beautiful album landscaped with a large dose of classical-infused light jazz. Recording with bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Ari Hoenig, the Piatigorsky trio proceed to mesmerize the listener with intricate melodies and powerful harmonies on a delicate musical journey exploring new exciting terrain and providing new spins on Wayne Shorter's “United” and John Lennon's immortal “Imagine.”
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CD Review: Real Divas, “Cafe Society ”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 09:54 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Eight years ago, pianist, arranger and producer, Bill King created the Real Divas concept allowing young ladies of all ages, the opportunity to showcase their vocal skills on the second set after the performance by featured artists every Tuesday night in Toronto's RDs club. The Real Divas series lasted fourteen months and “Cafe Society,” represents the debut recording of a hand-picked group of singers from that experience that now features four of Canada's finest young and up and coming female vocalist. Kinga Victoria, Sophie Berkal-Sarbit, Josephine Biundo and Lauren Margison deliver a remarkable performance deserving attention and consideration as one of the best female vocal albums of the year.
These are four young women each with unique vocal instruments that come together blending their distinctly different sound to produce a stunning musical statement. Each one of the girls has a solo album to their credit or has one in pre-production. When commenting about the group King states, “Keep in mind one's seventeen and another is eighteen. A whole lot of talent here.”
King, who produced the album for 7 Arts Entertainment, leads the Divas' supporting cast of musicians playing the piano and Korg Synthesizer. Other members include Mike Murley on saxophones, Mark Kelso on drums, Duncan Hopkins on bass, percussionist Jorge Luis Torres and William Sperandei on trumpet. On Sammy Cahn's “Come Fly With Me” Diva Lauren is accompanied by Kelly Jefferson on the tenor, Sly Juhas on drums and Rob Sumerville on trombone.
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CD Reviews: Emilio Teubal & La Balteuband, “Un Monton de Notas ”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 09:44 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
New York-based pianist and composer Emilio Teubal presents his sophomore effort with “Un Monton de Notas” (a bunch of notes) and follow up to his critically acclaimed 2006 debut “La Balteuband,” continuing a musical journey of non-traditional improvised light jazz diced with elements of the Argentinean musical flavor. Though actually born in Spain, Teubal is of Argentinean descent which does influence his writing and musical style as was evident in his first album and continues here. There are no simple melodies found on this project, the music offers a blend of sophisticated intricate lines presenting a challenge to the listener and demanding a touch of concentration for full appreciation of the music.
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CD Reviews: Tine Bruhn, “Entranced”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 09:44 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Joining the crowded field of female singers to release new recordings this year, Tine Bruhn makes her entrance into the world of recorded jazz with an auspicious debut simply titled “Entranced.”Delivering a selection of unconventional mellow songs from such artists as Joshua Redman, Djavan, and McCoy Tyner as well as including three originals of her own, Bruhn eschews the template of providing yet another interpretation of oft recorded songs from The Great American Songbook in favor of a non-traditional approach that works well here. Gifted with a fine voice, the repertoire on this first effort tends to shackle the singer denying the listener the opportunity to experience the depth of her vocal reach.
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CD Reviews: Tony Malaby “Paloma Recio” CD-2009 New World Records
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Posted by: editor on Monday, August 17, 2009 - 05:24 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Saxophonist Tony Malaby and guitarist Ben Monder make for a potent frontline attack, and meet, or perhaps exceed the high expectations many of us progressive-jazz aficionados would surmise. Malaby’s latest solo jaunt is a marvel of contrasts and tension/release frameworks, where firepower, flexibility and nuance spark a symmetrical and thoroughly hip paradigm.
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Ana Popovic-Blind for Love Review
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Posted by: muzikman on Monday, August 17, 2009 - 10:10 AM |
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Netherlands-based crooner Ana Popovic can be best described not by genre or style label, but rather a single word – "smoky." The electric singer takes sex, pain, soul, and fury and blends them into a raucous offering on her new record Blind for Love, a hazy, slithering sort of album that channels equal parts Bette Midler and Joss Stone. Yet this is no hybrid or fusion effort that hopes to lay pop over a jazzy musical skeleton; Blind for Love is true to a pure kind of soul, opting for a solid punch rather than radio-friendly flourishes or other inane filler. In that regard, the release owes more to the sounds of funk rockers like the Black Crowes than the musings of a lounge diva, and is altogether a more refreshing album for it.
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CD Reviews: Toni Jannotta..Is It Magic?..Aerie Records
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, August 16, 2009 - 04:32 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Clearly the swingingest, hippest tune on this album is "Ventura" Miss Jannotta is as good a lyricist as comes along and I include them all. Jannotta's voice is clear with a no nonsense approach that is appealing. She sings in tune and can scat when the occasion demands. Most of the tunes on this CD are originals with the exception of a couple. The tenor solo on "Ventura" romped along in fine style adding much to the song.
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CD Reviews: Ed Palermo Big Band “Eddy Loves Frank” CD-2009 Cuneiform Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 03:19 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Bandleader Ed Palermo’s third release of Frank Zappa compositions is a persuasive and deeply personalized revitalization of the artist’s songbook, as he continues to spin a thoroughly hip vibe during the processes. With his sixteen-piece band, executing difficult charts, Palermo’s horns arrangements are teeming with polytonal layers, crisp accents and gobs of verve.
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Evan Parker Electro -Acoustic Ensemble “The Moment's Energy” CD-2009 ECM Records
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 - 11:02 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
When I listen to this ensemble, abstract connotations or thoughts of The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour album moniker come to fruition. Of course, musical similarities are non-existent, since this multinational aggregation is firmly entrenched within the avant-garde schema, led by free-jazz icon and saxophonist Evan Parker. No doubt, the ensemble does take you on a mysterious ride that seemingly changes on each subsequent listen.
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CD Reviews: Brian Woodruff, “The Tarrier”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, August 07, 2009 - 08:15 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Drummer Brian Woodruff, currently on the faculty of the Brooklyn Music School and Long Island Conservatory, offers an interesting session of hard-bop harmonies with his latest CD titled the “Tarrier.” The title track, which opens up with light bass line work from Matt Clohesy, quickly morphs into a hard-driving bop number featuring trumpeter Jacob Varmus and Alan Ferber on the Trombone. Saxophonist Lisa Parrott also weighs in with Nate Radley providing the supporting background on guitar.
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CD Reviews: Chick Corea and John McLaughlin: Five Peace Band “Five Peace Band Live” 2009, Concord (CRF-31397-02)
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 06, 2009 - 03:43 PM |
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Mark Hayes
It’s taken almost forever to return to the point where Chick Corea and John McLaughlin’s careers first intersected, but listeners can rest assured that the time between nothingness and eternity – actually, about 30 years – was well worth the wait. Corea and McLaughlin, joined by saxophonist Kenny Garrett, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, comprise the neo-fusion outfit called the Five Peace Band.
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CD Reviews: Arthur Kell Quartet “Victoria” - Live in Germany CD-2009 BJU Records
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, August 05, 2009 - 09:20 AM |
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Glenn Astaria
Bassist Arthur Kell derives inspiration from the brownstone rowhouses of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Styvesant neighborhood, constructed by largely unknown architects during the late 1800s and early 1900s. This quartet date was recorded at German music venues, as Kell transfers the essence of his artistry with buoyant undertones and melodic themes, featuring jazz luminaries, guitarist Brad Shepik and saxophonist Loren Stillman.
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CD Reviews: Kendra Shank Quartet
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 30, 2009 - 08:19 PM |
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JazzTrenzz
Mosaic (Challenge Records 2009)
ARTISTS: Kendra Shank: vocals, Frank Kimbrough: piano, Dean Johnson: bass, Tony Moreno: drums, Billy Drewes: saxophones, clarinet, Ben Monder: guitar
TRACKS So Far Away , Life’s Mosaic , Reflections In Blue/Blue Skies , Laughing At Life/Smile , The Shining Sea , Water From Your Spring/Beautiful Love , For Duke All Of You, Time Remembered , I’m Movin’ On , I’ll Meet You There
Review: From the songbook of Abbey Lincoln, the transformation of Ms Kendra Shank has been a notable accomplishment, acquiring new extremes on her trek by way of, at times, stoic jazz corridors. Under a new mark, referred to as the Kendra Shank Quartet, Ms Shank has taken life’s free-fall into emotion, and brought to the music populace – Mosaic, an open book to life’s defining moments. Released by Challenge Records, the project describes the pieces from her life, arranged in sequence and temperament, to create these chosen free of complexity expressions – baptized as the Shank tableau.
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CD Reviews: Gian Tornatore, “Fall”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 - 10:04 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
With the release of this third album as a leader, New York saxophonist Gian Tornatore reveals why in 2008 he was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. On this very fine recording, Tornatore delivers eight sophisticated composition of modern jazz proving once more why he should be considered a rising young star in the jazz world. The music is not only intricate in scope, but creative, challenging and offering a powerful message to those who choose to listen—no reason to be loud, let the soothing jazz relax and charm you.
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CD Reviews: Taylor Cook, “For Lilia””
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 - 10:03 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Saxophonist Taylor Cook may not be familiar to most jazz audiences and that is quite understandable considering he is only 19 years of age and is currently a sophomore in the Jazz Studies Program at the University of Toronto. However, Cook is by no means a “rookie” in the jazz world as his modest discography includes recording as a sideman on several albums as well as releasing his 2008 debut recording “Here We Go.” This new project is dedicated to the memory of his grandmother Lilia Passarini, not quite sufficient in the number of tunes and total time to qualify as a full-fledge CD, “For Lilia” is essentially an EP with only five pieces which includes the title tune from his debut album.
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CD Reviews: Jim Rotondi, “Blues For Brother Ray””
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Posted by: editor on Monday, July 27, 2009 - 05:22 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Trumpeter Jim Rotondi releases his second as album as leader on the Posi-Tone label adding to his credit of performing as a sideman on 70 recordings to date. This project takes on a special meaning for Rotondi as he pays humble tribute to his old boss and mentor, Ray Charles. Known in the jazz world as one of the better post-bop trumpeters around, Rotondi does not disappoint here producing one very fine session of jazz borrowing many standards and using a mighty quintet to pay due homage to “Mr. C.”
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CD Reviews: Ralph Bowen, “Dedicated ”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, July 27, 2009 - 05:20 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
An educator by profession who holds a position at Rutgers University, Canadian-born saxophonist Ralph Bowen is the latest Posi-Tone Records project producing a hard-driving dose of modern/mainstream jazz with his newest vibrant CD “Dedicated.” Bowen claims influences from many saxophone greats like Bob Mintzer, Pat LaBarbera and the legendary Stan Getz with which Bowen earns comparisons on to such tunes as “Canary Drums” and “Mr. Bebop.” Though only a handful of tunes grace this recording coming in at under 45 minutes, the all original selection delivers a “harmonic message with stunning lyricism” dedicated to several of his mentors(Pat LaBarbera, David Baker, Keith Blackley and Jim Blackley, William Fielder and Eugene Rousseau).
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Andy Rothstein-Wit of The Staircase
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Posted by: muzikman on Saturday, July 25, 2009 - 08:44 AM |
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Jazz is challenging to the people that create it and the fans that listen to it. I know you are probably thinking why would I want to be challenged as listener, after all isn’t it supposed to be relaxing and fun? Well Wit of The Staircase is all of that and then some.
The overall jazz experience is enjoyable in many ways and artists like Andy Rothstein allow you to discover and explore every facet of the genre by offering up a cross section of sounds through an all-instrumental expedition into jazz-rock-fusion.
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CD Reviews: Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet “Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner” CD-2009 Sazas
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Posted by: editor on Friday, July 17, 2009 - 10:20 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon has ingrained his signature style into the global jazz scene, witnessed by recordings with American jazz heroes, bassist Mark Helias, drummer Tom Rainey and here, saxophonist Mark Turner amid many European stalwarts. On this release, the musicians seamlessly morph a loose groove mode of attack with fiery improv segments and knotty unison choruses. They also incorporate complex bop vamps into the grand schema to complement a misty ballad titled “Night Thoughts”.
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Neil Peart's Powerhouse Percussion; 3rd Straight Drummies Victory
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Posted by: burroughs40 on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 04:33 PM |
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FOR IMMEDIATE, RHYTHMIC RELEASE
Neil Peart's Powerhouse Percussion Results In Third Consecutive Victory as Drummer Of The Year In Enter Music Publishing's Drummies Awards. Featured In DRUM! Magazine's August, 2009 Issue On Newsstands Now.
SAN JOSE, Calif., -- Neil Peart's lucky number may just be three. He can definitely play in three; he has been part of a highly successful trio, Rush; and, he has now garnered his third consecutive victory as “Drummer Of The Year” in this year's Drummies.
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CD Reviews: Frank Potenza Trio, “Old, New, Borrowed & Blue ”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 11:34 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
A protégé of the legendary Joe Pass, veteran jazz guitarist and educator Frank Potenza releases his eight solo album offering ten tracks of uncommon material drawing from the past, blending with the new, borrowing lines and providing a dash of the blue—all in keeping true to the title of the album. Potenza leads his LA-based trio, comprised of friends Joe Bagg (Hammond B3 organ), and Steve Barnes (drums) on a musical trek that treads over territory not usually associated with jazz through interesting arrangements of the “old” Bobby Gentry pop classic “Ode to Billie Joe,” and Carole King's “You've Got A Friend.”
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CD Reviews: Lainie Cooke, “It's Always You”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 10:40 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Better late than ever, is a phrase everyone is familiar with but takes on a special meaning for vocalist Lainie Cooke, a remarkable singer who has waited more than most for the opportunity to engage her first love of song. With “It's Always You,” her sophomoric recording, Cooke presents a mellow twelve-track set of wonderful standards bathed in new light and well accompanied by a finesse cast of players. No longer a youngster, this mature seasoned veteran of the arts, possesses powerful vocals allowing her to travel effortlessly from fiery passages to soothing cool terrain in graceful style.
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CD Reviews: Steve Maddock, “Memory Cafe”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 09:51 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Steve Maddock just happens to be, as the promotional one-sheet states “... one of Canada's most versatile vocal talents,” and one listen to the music in“Memory Cafe,” is more than sufficient to affirm this statement. Maddock let's it all hang out here whether singing solo, with a small combo or a 20-piece big band, the vocalist provides a shining performance on what turns out to be a gem of an album. Involved in jazz music, his first love, for over two decades, Maddock has been a soloist for an array of groups from the Vancouver Chamber Choir, The Pacific Baroque Orchestra, The Dal Richards Jazz Orchestra to credits in theatre and film.
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CD Reviews: CD Review: Ray Vanderby Hammond Combo, “Orange Not Blue””
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, July 05, 2009 - 12:01 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
All the way from down under, Dutch-born Hammond B3 organist Ray Vanderby scores his very first jazz album with the bluesy jazz bouncer, “Orange Not Blue” reflecting much of his previous work with some of Australia's top musicians. A self taught jazz musician who has performed all over Australia and New Zealand, Vanderby has over the years recorded original music in various genres but none in jazz until now. For this first jazzy effort, he assembled a group of local players with a varied level of experience and range forming an enticing organ quintet.
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Joseph Pernicano-Evolving Paths
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Posted by: muzikman on Sunday, July 05, 2009 - 10:06 AM |
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With close to 70 minutes of pure jazz bass player Joseph Pernicano’s solo album Evolving Paths lets instruments do the talking while the rest of the band add their excellent accompaniment.
The players are Harry Smallenburg (vibes), Scott Sadlon (drums),Ian Vo (alto & soprano Sax), Beth Schenck (alto sax), Danny Moynahan (tenor sax), Matt Carroll (tenor sax), Steve Creason (guitar), and Stuart Hambley (Trombone). While these fine musicians are not household names they certainly stand up as a unit while executing definitively, falling in complete sync with the band leader.
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CD Reviews: Pluto Junkyard “Lucky 7s” CD-2009 Clean Feed Records
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, July 04, 2009 - 08:33 AM |
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Glenn Astaita
This upbeat and nicely in-your-face and ears Chicago-based septet projects a thoroughly happening vibe. They flush out all the non-essentials, and get to matters rather expeditiously amid a buoyant group-centric mode of operations. Members of this band are frequent collaborators with cutting-edge Chicago reedman Ken Vandermark, as the ensemble conveys that hip and pulsating progressive-jazz aura amid treks into the free-zone.
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DVD Reviews: Diana Krall “Live In Rio” DVD-2009 Eagle Eye Productions
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 02, 2009 - 06:16 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Interspersed with still photos of beautiful Rio de Janeiro amid footage of the musicians discussing each other’s craft and related topics, jazz superstar Diana Krall augments her quartet format with the Rio De Janeiro Orchestra here. Krall’s cool, smoky and sultry delivery is embedded with poignant characteristics throughout this concert, performed in front of a zealous audience.
Her well-rehearsed band is in crack form, and rarely misses a beat or a mellow accent. And with Claus Ogerman’s arrangements, the orchestra generates lush toppings amid the interwoven jazz element on many of these pieces. Krall is a formidable pianist who noticeably derives influence from the late Bill Evans and other jazz greats. And on pieces such as “I Love Being With You,” she hammers out harmonic chord clusters atop the swinging pulse and temperate percussion metrics provided by guest artist, Paulinho DaCosta.
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CD Reviews: Sean Nowell, “The Seeker”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 02, 2009 - 06:09 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama and influenced by the southern tradition of blues, gospel and jazz, tenor saxophonist and composer Sean Nowell unleashes his second project for the Posi-Tone Records with a command performance in a fiery passion-filled eight-piece barn-burner of a recording with “The Seeker.” Playing with the sophistication of a John Coltrane and the grace of a Lee Konitz, Nowell unfurls the sax for intense tenor work dominating the band and delivering an excellent session of straight ahead contemporary jazz elevating “The Seeker” to an elite category.
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CD Reviews: Scott Reeves Quintet, “Shape Shifter””
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 09:36 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Recorded live at Cecil's Jazz Club in West Orange, NJ, trombonist and educator Scott Reeves borrows the rhythm section from his other group, Manhattan Bones, and adds the versatile saxophone voice of Rich Perry to produce a shape shifting modern jazz sound for this latest effort. Reeves, who is best know performing on the alto valve trombone, also plays the alto flugelhorn and on this album does so on the majority of the tunes. With pianist Jim Ridi, bassist Mike McGuirk and Andy Watson pounding the drums, this quintet at times seems to rumble through a selection of nine original charts in a bit of a free style fashion.
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Corina Bartra & Her Azu Project-Afro Peruvian Jazz Celebration
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Posted by: muzikman on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 09:35 AM |
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Corina Barta is an accomplished jazz composer, practitioner of Yoga and vocalist that delves into chanting and healing with her music.
Afro Peruvian Jazz Celebration is exactly what it advertises to be and Corina’s far reaching understanding of the human emotions and inner triggers for relaxation and meditation allow her to make the music a vehicle for her vocals regardless of the setting or style chosen for each composition. Her vocals are not simply a voice; they serve as bridge to another world musically and spiritually. With the unique combination of Afro Peruvian sounds and Jazz, this fusion of cultures, beliefs, music and spiritualism all come together to form the Azu Project.
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Kurt Elling, “Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music of Coltrane and Hartman”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 09:34 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
The historic collaboration between the great John Coltrane and baritone jazz singer Johnny Hartman—is remembered and celebrated in this special tribute album with Kurt Elling voicing standards from the Great American Songbook with the help of saxophonist Ernie Watts, the Laurence Hobgood Trio and ETHEL,a four-piece string section . Grammy-nominated vocalist Kurt Elling releases his eighth album overall and second on the Concord Jazz label with “Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music of Coltrane and Hartman.” Recorded live at the Allen Room in the Lincoln Center, New York as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, the album is a culmination of material commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival in 2006 originally designed to celebrate John Coltrane's 80th birthday.
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CD Reviews: Bobby Broom play Monk
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Posted by: editor on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 07:41 PM |
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Thelonious Monk's compositions and piano playing are declarative and often angular. On "Bobby Broom Plays for Monk" (Origin), Broom, a guitarist who plays regularly with tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, proves subtle and nuanced. With band mates Dennis Carroll (bass) and Kobie Watkins (drums), this is a pleasing alternate take on Monk.
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CD Reviews: All About Jazz review of No Worries
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Posted by: LarrySlezak on Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 11:34 AM |
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Music reviewer Edward Blanco wrote up my album No Worries on All About Jazz!
There are many words to describe saxophonist Larry Slezak’s debut, and two that apply are: delightful and memorable. Now that Slezak has decided to emerge from playing in a local arena to sharing his music on a national stage, making his next musical project better than this impressive beginning will truly be a challenge.
Hop on over to read the full review here:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=32812
Edward, thanks so much for the kind words.
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comments?
2389 Reads |
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Great review from This Is Book’s Music
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Posted by: LarrySlezak on Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 08:03 AM |
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A blog called This Is Book’s Music has some really nice things to say about No Worries.
Saxophonist Larry Slezak and his band play some nice jazz that gets to the bebop side of things without going overboard, not that it does but some people prefer for their jazz to be on the straight and narrow. This is just that type of album, and with a title like No Worries (Tierra Studios) you get more of what you want and a bit more.
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CD Reviews: Lisa Sokolov “A Quiet Thing” Laughing Horse Records
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Posted by: editor on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 10:25 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
New York City stationed vocalist and master improviser, Lisa Sokolov elevates jazz and pop standards to newer realms on her fifth solo outing. With these duo, trio and quartet frameworks, amid her solo vocal and piano performances, the artist’s multidimensional mode of execution combines off-center slants, traditional crooning and avant-garde propensities.
Sokolov spins “My One And Only Love,” into a bluesy, wily and emotive forum via abstract expressionism, augmented by her subtle piano phrasings. Here and throughout, she appears to be edgy, and playful while displaying an air of innocence among other real-life aspects.
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CD Reviews: Jimmy Greene, “Mission Statement””
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Posted by: editor on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 07:48 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Veteran reed man Jimmy Greene gives us his seventh album as leader completing a musical “Mission Statement” that captures in a musical format, a very personal journey which he states
conveys a “in a simple way, the joys, struggles, curiosities and discoveries personal to my life thus far.” He does this with a striking session of music that's all modern/mainstream jazz containing intricate changes and improvisations that is no easy listen. This is jazz music the educated and sophisticated aficionado will appreciate most. Winner of the 2005 Artist Fellowship in Music Composition, Greene is quite adept at writing interesting material and is so strongly displayed on this recording.
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CD Reviews: Big Train, “Travels”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 07:47 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Pianist Jeremy Bacon and saxophonist Justin Flynn, both from Brooklyn, New York, have a history of performing together and as part of larger groups, so it was only a natural evolution that the duo would decide to form their own group and take their collaboration to another level. Enlisting the musical talents of British-born, German-raised bassist Ugonna Okegwo and Santa Cruz, CA drummer Jeff Ballard, the group came together as the “Big Train” and now release their very first album “Travels”, though it was actually recorded back in 2006.
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CD Reviews: Mon David, “Coming True”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 07:47 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Musician, songwriter and world-class Filipino singer, Mon David launches his long-time in coming assault on jazz audiences in the U.S. with his American debut “Coming True,” a musical tribute to where he's been and where he's at right now. Born and raised in the Philippines, Mon David [pronounced MOAN da-VEED] served as the featured drummer for one of the country's major pop icons for seven years until he decided to pursue a solo singing career a while ago. He has four previous albums to his credit and was the winner of the 2006 London International Jazz Vocal competition.
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CD Reviews: The Naked Future “Gigantomachia” CD-2009 ESP Disk’
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 02:59 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
On woodwind artist Arrington de Dionyso’s MySpace site, it states that he’s the James Bond of free improvisation. That’s an appropriate analogy, since the artist, largely pursues free-form jazz and experimental music with a fearless and rather extreme outlook.
This is a mesmeric improvisational endeavor, rendered by four like-minded instrumentalists. Here, de Dionyso and pianist Thollem McDonas alternate antagonistic roles. With power-packed ostinatos and numerous metrics and slants, the quartet cycles through high-impact works that incorporates shifting tides and frenetic soloing jaunts. Moreover, Greg Skloff’s amplified acoustic bass transmits an ominous and steely edge, where his broad and prominent sound, coupled with John Niekrasz’ assertive drumming, casts a colossal bottom-end.
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CD Reviews: Hristo Vitchev Quartet, “Song For Messambria””
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - 08:37 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Not familiar with Hristo Vitchev? You're not alone, Vitchev is the newest guitarist to enter the national jazz scene and does so with a stunner of a recording in “Song For Messambria,” one of the finest debut albums I've had the pleasure of appraising this year. With music like this, Vitchev's musical obscurity will most assuredly be short lived. Born in Bulgaria but raised in Venezuela, in 1998Vitchev's parents moved to San Jose, CA and the Bay Area where the guitarist developed his musical talent,initially focused on rock music first but later morphed toward the jazz genre and thankfully so. Vitchev is a fine guitarist as are so many these days, however, it is the quality of his compositions that make this album so engaging.
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DVD Reviews: Hiromi's Sonicbloom Live in Concert DVD-2009 Telarc
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Posted by: editor on Monday, June 08, 2009 - 03:58 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Since her 2003 debut recording Another Mind, {{Hiromi Uehara}} has caught the attention of modern jazz and jazz-fusion aficionados. Her compelling arrangements, rhythmic faculties and expressive stage persona radiates luminously during this largely, up-tempo exposition captured live in December 2007 at the Tokyo International Forum Hall.
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CD Reviews: Gary Fields, “Sounds About Right”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, June 07, 2009 - 08:07 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
With the plethora of female vocals flooding the jazz market these days it is quite refreshing to hear a new male voice for a change and young twenty-seven year old Gary Fields breaks into the field with a knock-out debut that, dare I say it, “Sound About Right.”Originally from Pensacola, Florida, Fields now resides in the Big Apple, comes from a classical background and claims influences from idols Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Harry Connick. Interestingly enough Fields, possessing a sultry silky voice, seems to be cut in the same mold of young crooners like Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Buble.
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CD Reviews: L'Tanya Mari' - A Teardrop of Sun - Falconeye Records - 2009
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, June 07, 2009 - 05:17 PM |
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Writer: Geannine Reid
You have heard the term songbird referenced many times with regard to vocalists sometimes applying sometimes not. Songbird is defined as, having a melodious song or call. Singer L’Tanya Mari’ can certainly fit into this definition with ease. Her crystalline voice exhibits clear ringing falsetto and husky low mellifluous qualities reminiscent of Sarah Vaughn. Not to say that Mari’ is a clone of Vaughn, but it would be correct to say she has certainly studies and absorbed Vaughn in her phrasing and especially in her vibrato and low range interpretations.
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35th Annual Jazz Record Collectors’ Bash
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, June 07, 2009 - 02:58 PM |
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June 19th - 20th, 2009
http://www.jazzbash.net/
78s, LPs, CDs & memorabilia.
Hilton Woodbridge
120 Wood Avenue South
Iselin, NJ 08830
http://www.hiltonwoodbridge.com
Reservations: Call either the toll free number 1-800-HILTONS (800 445-8667) or the Hilton Woodbridge (732) 494-6200. Mention JAZZ RECORD COLLECTORS GROUP to get discount.
Email: reservations@hiltonwoodbridge.com
Rate with discount is $119.00 + tax per night. Please note: There are a limited number of rooms available at the discount rate. Reservations received after June 3, 2009 will be provided on a space availability basis.
Directions
By car: Hotel is immediately off Garden State Parkway exit 131A. Commercial vehicles are not permitted on the Garden State Parkway. If you have commercial license plates, please contact hotel for directions.
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CD Reviews: Tim Kuhl “King” CD-2009 WJF Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 04, 2009 - 05:11 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Brooklyn-based drummer Tim Kuhl has been busy supporting a who’s who list of jazz artists, and his work with the celebrated rock group “The Izzys,” amid avant-garde formats and other enterprising aspirations. With his second album as a leader, the drummer employs a dual guitar, sax, and trombone frontline for a hybrid program, consisting of progressive-jazz and jazz-rock, all underscored with a prominent groove quotient.
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CD Reviews: Diane Landry..I'ts A Lovely Day..With the Matt Lemmler Quartet
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 04, 2009 - 04:34 PM |
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BY John Gilbert
Diane Landry (vocals), Matt Lemmler (piano) Neal Caine (Bass) Matt Wheeler (guitar) Troy Davis (Drums), John Ellis (Saxes).
This album opens with Diane Landry swinging like the Flying Wallendas on "Lover Come Back To Me" John Ellis adds some nifty thoughts and Matt Lemmler responds in kind. LandrThis writer y grabs this tune and makes it her special Texas treat. This number gets off the ground in a hurry with Landry turning it into a jazz masterpiece.
"Isn't It A Lovely Day" shows Landry's provocative side as she gently prods the lyrics into a message straight to the listeners heart with a stop in the soul for good measure.
"You've Changed" This ballad is sung with all the warmth one could wish for, each word is caressed with all the love this jazz singer has in her vast repetoire.
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CD Reviews: Transit “Quadrologues” CD-2009 Clean Feed Records
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 03:38 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
The second offering by this New York City based quartet is largely assembled upon an abundance of intriguing tonal contrasts, where progressive and free-jazz translucently merge into a coherent group-centric sound. Designed with layers, and climactic theme building maneuvers, the hornists’ generate soaring and frenetic phrasings atop levitating motifs, tinged with minimalist exchanges and weaving lines.
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CD Reviews: Jack Wood, “Jazz And The Movies”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 08:56 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
A fixture in the Southern California jazz scene who has performed with the finest and best-known jazz artists in the Los Angeles area, jazz vocalist Jack Wood follows his highly acclaimed CD, “The Gal That Got Away,” with a homage to the music of the movies with the release of his third album titled “Jazz And The Movies.” Some of the music come from the pages of The Great American Songbook and were used in certain movies, other tunes were composed especially as part of a movie soundtrack.
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CD Reviews: Gary Burton, “Quartet Live”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 07:11 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Recorded live at the renowned Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland, CA, vibraphonist Gary Burton reunites with two original members of his legendary band, guitarist Pat Metheny, and bassist Steve Swallow and adds Metheny's long-time drummer Antonio Sanchez for a couple of evenings of progressive modern jazz captured for the release of “Quartet Live.” Burton contributes only one original with the semi-funk and perky “Walter L” featuring the jazz/rock riffs from Metheny's vibrant guitar. Though Burton's vibe voice is well pronounced throughout, Metheny is well represented through his performance and with his contribution of three compositions starting with the haunting “B and G,” “Missouri Uncompromised” and one of his most familiar tunes “Question and Answer” which is given an extended treatment here lasting over thirteen minutes.
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CD Reviews: Mike Clinco “Neon”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 09:20 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
One of the finest session guitarist in the Los Angeles area, Mike Clinco sculpts a sparkling modern jazz masterpiece with “Neon,” leading a stellar cast of artists that include saxophonist extraordinaire Bob Sheppard, Walt Fowler on flugelhorn, bassist Derek “Oles” Oleszkiewicz, electric bass man Jimmy Johnson and Jimmy Branly rounding out the cast on drums. Except for Henry Mancini's “Charade,” which Clinco treats with a measure of grace and style, the selection of music are all original compositions penned with a progressive modern jazz slant.
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CD Reviews: Gnu Trio - Self Titled - Gnu Town
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Posted by: editor on Monday, May 25, 2009 - 07:14 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
It’s good news from Italy, with the advent of this progressive-jazz and bass-less trio that executes within spatial metrics, as tenor and baritone saxophonist Marcelo Peralta often handles the lower register duties. They inject an edgy yet melodic overtone into these works, affording themselves gobs of room to expound on themes amid cunning dialogues and emotive contexts. Moreover, guitarist Guillermo Bazzola merges jazz licks with bluesy shadings while putting the pedal to the metal on occasion.
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CD Reviews: Joel Harrison “Urban Myths”CD-2009 High Note Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 03:03 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Guitarist, composer Joel Harrison convincingly dispels any perceived limitations concerning multi-genre elements fused into the jazz vernacular. Supported by an expert band, along with guest artists, Harrison translucently intertwines jazz-fusion, country-blues and other stylizations into a largely vibrant program. He’s a top-notch composer and arranger who presents a disparate outlook, as he combines distortion laced e-guitar lines with sinuous phrasings and bluesy extended notes.
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CD Reviews: Frank Wess Nonet "Once Is Not Enough' Independent
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Posted by: editor on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 07:15 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Revered saxophonist, flutist, and composer Frank Wess is a longtime member of the Count Basie Orchestra, yet leads a nonet for the first time on this 2009 release. Here, he imparts a largely, medium-tempo swing groove, featuring six original compositions and three standards. Nonetheless, the artist employs superior musicians, for this studio date, recorded in New York City.
Wess’ full-bodied tenor sax tone spawns a commanding presence. He seemingly applies vocal attributes to his phrasings throughout these radiant and uplifting works, abetted by layered horns and the frontline’s mood-evoking solo jaunts. The preponderance of these pieces are designed with zippy arrangements amid brisk soloing breakouts by Wess, trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Gerald Clayton and others. And while no one breaks any new ground, the program projects a classic swing vibe that is fitted with a modernist-type viewpoint.
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CD Reviews: Jade Synstelien's Fat Cat Big Band
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Posted by: editor on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 08:51 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, guitarist, composer and band leader, Jade Synstelien moved to New York in 2001 to forge a new beginning and it was Mitch Borden, owner of the historic Smalls Club in New York that gave Synstelien an opportunity to form, rehearse and perform his own band. Synstelien used the Fat Cat jazz club at 75 Christopher Street in New York and formed The Staring into the Sun Orchestra, an eleven-piece light ensemble that performed gigs every Tuesday evenings at the club. After years of developing the group, the band leader re-named the band the Fat Cat Big Band playing original Synstelien compositions and now performing every Sunday evenings at the club.
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CD Reviews: Paul Brown & Marc Antoine, “Foreign Exchange”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, May 17, 2009 - 06:16 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
As a producer and engineer, Paul Brown has garnished two Grammy awards marking his ascent in the music world, but it is his talents as a smooth jazz guitarist that jazz audiences appreciate most. Frenchman Marc Antoine is a classically trained guitarist whose worldly experience is evident delving into a variety of genres of which, smooth jazz has become his most natural landscape. “Foreign Exchange” brings two of the genre's most creative and popular musicians together for a dynamic collaboration of hand-clapping, toe-tapping cool jazz sure to top the charts and remain there for a while.
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DVD Reviews: John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension @ Belgrade Live
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 05:06 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
DVD-2009 Abstract Logix
Following up his highly praised and Grammy nominated 2008, Indo-jazz fusion release “Floating Point,” this DVD captures guitar god John McLaughlin’s “4th Dimension” fusion band live in Belgrade. Filmed by a Serbian film crew, the quartet format generates the unadulterated raw power and finesse, witnessed by the guitarist’s previous incarnations of the Mahavishnu Orchestra sans violinist Jerry Goodman. It actually translates into a modernist type context, where McLaughlin performs works from his songbook, tailored for his band-mates’ respective styles and mode of expressionism. In a sense, he persuasively reinvents his artistry, especially when we consider his vast discography and storied career.
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CD Reviews: Beaty Brothers Band - CD 2009 Independent
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 10:33 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Hailing from Beaumont, TX., the Beaty Brothers (Twins John and Joe) overcame the sad situation of growing up in a broken home, due to their parents’ addictions while eventually attending an arts academy in Michigan and settling in New York City. A success story that emphasizes the triumph of the will, the brothers obtained scholarships to the New School University in New York while mingling with the region’s jazz populous. However, in 2003 Joe developed a heart problem that developed into a five-year episode of life-threatening events. In effect, this album could have been the brothers’ last. Miraculously, a new surgery cured his condition in early 2009 amid all the daunting circumstances. Hence, the brothers are in full stride and continue to move forward.
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CD Reviews: Ronnie Boykins“ The Will Come, Is Now”CD-2009 ESP-Disk
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Posted by: editor on Monday, May 11, 2009 - 09:58 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Onetime Sun Ra bassist Ronnie Boykins’ 1975 session for ESP Disk is now reissued on CD and highlights his complex harmonic developments and deft leadership qualities. Boykins imparted a commanding presence and was an artist who delved into both the modern mainstream and free form arena during his legacy that came to an untimely end in 1980.
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CD Reviews: Mike Clinco-Neon
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Posted by: muzikman on Friday, May 08, 2009 - 10:20 AM |
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Mike Clinco has been hard at work for 25 years now as a composer and guitar player. On Neon, a nine track recording, Clinco firmly establishes his presence in the jazz community as a force to be reckoned with.
Neon is equal parts contemporary and smooth jazz sprinkled with rock and occasional Latin influences. All the tracks except “Charade” are originals. Clinco’s excellent leadership and infinite musicianship help to drive Bob Sheppard (tenor & alto sax, flute), Walt Fowler (flugelhorn), Derek “Oles” Oleszklewicz (acoustic bass), Jimmy Johnson (electric bass) and Jimmy Branly (drums and percussion) to high levels of execution with their instruments. Not to say they need a push, Clinco simply inspires them. All of them are excellent complements to the amazing guitar runs that he manages throughout this CD.
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CD Reviews: White Rocket - Self Titled - CD-2009 Diatribe
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:44 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
The debut release by the bass-less trio offers an open-air musical format, equalized by the artists’ climactic and impacting song structures that are often regimented with odd-metered lines. Therefore, the lack of a bassist affords the listener to zoom in on the intricately woven and intriguing jazz-based developments. In a lose sense, notions of trumpeter Dave Douglas’ legendary Tiny Bell Trio comes to mind, although this unit features a pianist and not a guitarist.
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CD Reviews: Richard Harris, “Songs From My Heart”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 09:15 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Jazz music comes in many forms and styles with a plethora of bebop, hard bop and swinging sounds designed to gyrate ones hips and produce involuntary snaps of the fingers to the beat of the rhythm. But once in a while, we all feel the need to mellow out and just relax with some nice soothing music and that's just the kind of jazz one will encounter with “Songs From My Heart.”
The debut release as leader from Washington D.C. Area trumpeter Richard Harris, the album offers plenty of gentle material that succeeds in touching the heart and appealing to one's softer side.
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CD Reviews: Ed Maly-Guitar Jock
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 08:56 AM |
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On his seventh release Guitar Jock, Ed Maly delivers a set of scathing blues-rock songs. Maly’s guitar playing on the album is a pleasure to any blues fan, and he is aptly backed by his band to create a smart combination of toe-tapping rhythms and inspiring guitar melodies. The guitarists’ raspy vocals on tracks like “That’s Just How Much” and “Seven Deadly” tops the sound of Guitar Jock off nicely, giving the album a classic blues feel.
Maly does a great job changing out guitar and rhythm styles on Guitar Jock to bring a level of diversity to his songs that keeps each track sounding fresh. The opening track “That’s Just How Much” and the title-song “Guitar Jock” are anchored by the impressive soloing of Maly. However, he adds in a second guitar line that makes the most of wah- wah pedal, giving the tracks an undeniable funk feel.
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Roy Rogers-Split Decision
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 08:55 AM |
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There is nothing like a good blues-rock album to get your blood circulating and if it’s good enough it can serve as aphrodisiac. In the case of the first Roy Rogers album with The Delta Rhythm Kings in seven years, all of the above are applicable.
Split Decision is well crafted for more than your typical hot blooded blues audience, this has some gripping songwriting and outstanding guitar playing, most notably some blistering slide with both acoustic (“Your Sweet Embrace”) and electric (“Patron Saint of Pain” and several others) that would appeal to a wide array of listeners.
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CD Reviews: Bob Albanese Trio with Ira Sullivan, “One Way/Detour”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, May 02, 2009 - 09:29 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
In January of 2008, pianist Bob Albanese had a two week engagement with Ben Vereen at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida and on his only two days off, he recorded “One Way/Detour” with bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Willard Dyson. To make things even more an interesting, Albanese includes five-time Grammy nominee and long-time Florida resident Ira Sullivan on the reeds. True to the press clippings, this album is “a masterpiece of intricate modern straight-ahead jazz in the Bill Evans tradition.”
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CD Reviews: The Complete Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Recordings
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, May 02, 2009 - 09:27 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
The pairing of one of the greatest singers of our time with one of the most influential pianist in jazz history, is available once again in for a new generation of jazz fans to enjoy for the first time. The due collaborated on two recordings, “The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album” recorded in 1975 and an encore performance in 1976 with their Album “Together Again.” This was an unusual setting for Bennett as he has always been more comfortable surrounded by a large orchestra. With Bill Evans being his only musical accompaniment, this was a pure duet of singer and pianist, no other musicians appear on the recordings, Bennett's muscular vocals featured to be the pronounced voice of the albums, but not always.
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CD Reviews: Fly - "Sky & Country" CD-2009 ECM Records
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Posted by: editor on Friday, May 01, 2009 - 09:14 AM |
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Fly
“Sky & Country”
CD-2009 ECM Records
The jazz sax/bass/drums format yields bountiful residuals with this prismatic 2009 release. Featuring musicians that reside among the crème de la crème of progressive jazz artistes, the unit’s methodology is acutely illustrated by drummer Jeff Ballard as “an intimate band with teeth.” And it’s a perfect match for ECM Record’s sterling production techniques, where ambiance and subtle studio processing treatments help ignite an open-air like underpinning.
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CD Reviews: Braff Blaser Duo "Yay" - CD- 2008 Fresh Sound New Talent
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Posted by: editor on Friday, May 01, 2009 - 09:12 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
I first became aware of trombonist Samuel Blaser with the advent of his superfine, progressive-jazz date “7th Heaven for the Germany-based, “Between The Lines” record label. Here, the artist aligns with the very physical Brazil reared pianist Malcolm Braff who is a musician that has performed with trumpeter Eric Truffaz and bassist Alex Blake. On this effort, the duo projects an acute balance, spanning structured song-forms and improvisation, largely topped off with memorable hooks.
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CD Reviews: Harrison Smith Quartet “Telling Tales”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, April 27, 2009 - 09:36 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
British saxophonist Harrison Smith may not be well known to American audiences but his latest CD tells a musical tale sure to convince those who dare sample it, that this album is well worth the spin. With Niam Noble on piano, Dave Whitford on bass and Winston Clifford rounding out the rhythm section, the quartet holds together in a very cohesive groove. Smith's tenor voice is rather unique, not coming across like a normal tenor saxophone would, instead sounding similar in tone to that of the soprano. Not to be mistaken for the soprano however, an instrument, along with the bass clarinet, that Smith also happens to play on this recording.
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CD Reviews: Yotam Silberstein, “Next Page”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, April 27, 2009 - 09:33 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
New York-based guitarist Yotam Silberstein may not be a house hold name in jazz at the moment, but he certainly has become one of the busiest jazz guitarist in New York's vibrant jazz scene and his first release for the Posi-Tone label, “Next Page” brings a tasty fresh new sound guaranteed to capture your attention. At the age of 21, Israeli-born Silberstein was named the “Israeli jazz player of the year” in 2003, the same year he also released his debut recording “The Arrival” (Fresh Sound Records) marking his arrival as a full fledged member of the jazz world. This album builds upon that first offering turning a 'new' page in this young man's career with a vigorous outing on “Next Page.”
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CD Reviews: Wynton Marsalis, “He and She”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - 07:58 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
A modern day jazz historian and admirer of W.B. Yeats, Wynton Marsalis continues his exploration and transformation of jazz as an art form with a new concept album that blends jazz and poetry to tell the timeless tale of the romantic interaction between men and women. To this end, Marsalis draws on his poetic skills honed on his previous Blue Note release “From the Plantation to the Penitentiary”to record this special album. “He and She” contains twenty-two tracks, many of which are just spoken words, snippets of poetry expressing certain feelings and all setting up the music.
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CD Reviews: Tiempo Libre - “Bach In Havana” - CD-2009 SONY Masterworks
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Posted by: editor on Monday, April 20, 2009 - 01:50 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Hailing from Cuba, and touted as the “first authentic all-Cuban timba band in the United States,” the players have since relocated to Miami, Fla. Recently signing with SONY Masterworks, the unit serves up a huge contrast via these remarkably fluid integrations of Bach with the Afro-Cuban element.
They’ve been creating a stir due to their recordings and energized live performances amid Grammy nominations and a wonderful release in support of world-class flautist James Galway on O’ Reilly Street for RCA’s Red Seal label. Moreover, this album served as my first introduction to the septet’s expansive vernacular and superior craftsmanship. Here, the musicians forge a cerebral musical mindset with the rhythms of life, and topped off with the Latin jazz component. In effect, they pack a resounding punch as they keenly splice Bach’s fugue’s and sonata’s into buoyant and emotive storylines, sparked by sassy horns choruses and their energized solo spots.
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CD Reviews: Radam Schwartz, “Blues Citizens”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, April 17, 2009 - 11:34 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Hammond B3 organ specialist Radam Schwartz grinds out another sparkling gem of an album with the buoyant “Blues Citizens,”propelled by a stellar quintet featuring the smokey tenor sax of Bill Saxton, alto supreme Bill Williams, guitarist Eric Johnson and drumming wonder Cecil Brooks III. New and vibrant rearrangements of two well known standards and five Schwartz originals, become the center pieces of the recording with the blues clearly the theme of the album.
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Philippe Saisse-At World’s Edge
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Posted by: muzikman on Saturday, April 11, 2009 - 08:48 AM |
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Philippe Saisse has released a masterpiece titled At World’s Edge. Saisse has been around the proverbial music block between guest appearances and his solo work. He has an enviable record of accomplishments by anyone’s high standards for excellence and consistency.
Saisse has many guests walk in the studio to assist in the recording process, notably the incredidbly talented Simon Phillps (drums) and Jeff Golub (guitars)
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CD Reviews: Rory Block Blues Walkin' Like A Man (Stony Plain Records 2008)
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, April 09, 2009 - 09:09 AM |
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WaxTrenzz
By K. H. Stober
Tracks: My Black Mama, Downhearted Blues, Preachin' Blues, Jinx Blues, Dry Spell Blues, Shetland Pony Blues, Death Letter, County Farm Blues, Grinnin' in Your Face, Low Down Dirty Dog Blues, Depot Blues, Government Fleet Blues,
I Want to Go Home on the Morning
Review: Blues has an extraordinary musical emotion, with an inner texture, dipped into a sixth sense, that opens a weathered journey for whoever chooses its dramatic passage. Every time I spin a fine grit of blues, life becomes focused. Such was the case with Rory Block and her new tribute project to Son House, Blues Walkin’ like a Man. Released by Stony Plain Records in 2008, and this blues storyline has escorted the audience in the direction of their own crossroads. This is the “glue” to the days when blues was the story of every man’s road. Block has set the flow, for an Americana time capsule in musicianship!
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CD Reviews: Old Dog (Louie Belogenis - Karl Berger - Michael Bisio – Warren Smith) “By Any Other Name”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - 09:49 AM |
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CD-2009 Porter Records
Glenn Astarita
Seminal progressive-jazz and improvisation artists align for a vibrant studio set that emits a prismatic musical mindset, spanning multiple song-forms on this 2009 studio date. With tenor sax ace Louie Belogenis’ deep and probing sax lines, contrasted by Karl Berger’s trickling piano and multihued vibes voicings, the quartet pursues tension building maneuvers and much more.
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Matt Skellenger-Parentheticals Review
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Posted by: muzikman on Friday, April 03, 2009 - 08:36 AM |
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Matt Skellenger’s Parentheticals pushes instrumental jazz to new unique levels with its experimentation. Skellenger proves himself to be among some of the elite bassists with his performance on the album. While you won’t find a single guitar track on Parentheticals, Skellenger still builds beautiful melodies with help from guest musicians Ron Miles, Dave Miller, and Andy Skellenger.
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CD Reviews: Seamus Blake Quartet “Live in Italy”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 29, 2009 - 01:13 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake is one of the finest sidemen in the New York jazz scene having never recorded live until now. In February 2007, Blake and his quartet took a tour of Italy recording sessions at Palermo, Senigallia and Cesenatico for the Italian jazz label Jazz Eyes. “Live in Italy” is a 2-CD set featuring pianist David Kikoski, drummer Rodney Green and Danton Boller on double-bass—laying down nine extended pieces of boppish jazz with compositions from Ellington, Van Heusen/DeLange, John Scofield, pianist Kikoski and Blake himself.
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CD Reviews: “The Very Best of Prestige Records”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 29, 2009 - 01:12 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Founded in 1949 by producer Bob Weinstock under the label “New Jazz,” later changed to Prestige Records, this jazz label holds an important place in the history of jazz music cataloging significant jazz classic sessions from artists now considered giants of jazz. Among Prestige clients were such legendary figures as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Oliver Nelson and Eric Dolphy just to name a few and all appearing on this 60th anniversary recording spanning 20 years of music from 1949 to 1969. The Very Best of Prestige Records is a two-CD set containing twenty-five tracks of some of the finest hard bop and modern mainstream jazz ever produced.
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CD Reviews: Avery Sharpe Trio, “Autumn Moonlight”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:21 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Inspired by “the gorgeous summer and autumn moonlight” that bassist Avery Sharpe enjoys at his home in the Berkshire foothills of Western Massachusetts, “Autumn Moonlight”provides a warm glow emanating from every track capturing a shining performance from Sharpe, Onaje Allan Gumbs and renowned drummer Winard Harper. If one's musical taste buds favors the standard piano trio format, this is one must recording delivering an enjoyable and delicious serving of light jazz. Quite content to allow pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs the pronounced voice on the album, Sharpe's bowed bass helps guide the music through ten engaging scores, of which, six are originals including the ethereal title track. Augmenting his performance on the bass, Sharpe also lends tasteful vocals on a couple of tracks along the way.
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CD Reviews: Marshall Vente Trio “Marshall Arts”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 22, 2009 - 09:08 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Long-time Chicago jazz musician Marshall Vente is a keyboardist, composer, arranger and band leader of several groups. When the Chicago Sessions record label, which specializes in featuring establishes as well as undiscovered Chicago jazz artists, approached Vente for this album, he decided to feature the music from his two trios, the straight ahead jazz combo with bassist Scott Mason and drummer Isidoro “Isi” Perez and three tracks with his Tropicale Trio propelled by Brazilian-born drummer Luiz Ewerling and Jim Batson on the electric bass.
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CD Reviews: Yutaka Uchida, “Living Together”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 22, 2009 - 09:08 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
The debut outing from Japanese-born, New York-based drummer Yutaka Uchida, “Living Together” is not a new album, in fact it was originally released in October 2007 receiving high marks from jazz critics. Listening to the melody-rich modern jazz material on this disc, combined with the flawless delivery from Uchida's New York crews, easily won this critic over whole-heartedly concurring with the previous appraisals of the music. Frankly, it is not Uchida's prowess on the drums that drew my interest, but the quality of his compositions. The drummer presents ten creative compositions every one of them unique in color providing a rhythmically-rich variety of a repertoire.
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CD Reviews: Ab Baars Trio & Ken Vandermark
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 10:25 AM |
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“Goofy June Bug”
CD-2009 Wig 15 (Holland)
Glenn Astarita
Touted as “Amsterdam meets Chicago,” this live date was recorded in Amsterdam after the ensemble’s 2007 European tour. Venerable Dutch reedman Ab Baars aligns with the younger, Chicago-based woodwind ace Ken Vandermark for a set that mimics the lighthearted album title, although they soar to the red zone on numerous occasions.
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CD Reviews: Lenore Raphael..Class Act.. Live At Steinway Hall
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Posted by: editor on Monday, March 09, 2009 - 07:05 PM |
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John Gilbert
Steinway has been making the finest pianos in the world for over 150
years and Lenore Raphael has lent her fabulous talent to this marvelous
instrument with ideation that is reminiscent of the prowess of Bud
Powell, Tadd Dameron and others of the bop era. Make no mistake it is in
no way imitation but a style that reflects a type of improvisation that
requires not only speed but a left hand that complements the right with
a perfect marriage of harmony and melody. Unlike Bill Evans who
sometimes strays into 'quo vadis' Raphael is always in touch with the
tune.
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CD Reviews: Theo Jorgensmann – Marcin Oles – Bartlomiej Brat Oles
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 11:28 PM |
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“Live in Poznan 2006”
CD-2007 Vol. 1 “Live Series Fenommedia
Glenn Astarita
This album launches the Polish record label and design studio’s initial entry of its live series, highlighting European jazz and improvisation artists. On this outing, highly revered German clarinetist Theo Jorgensmann steers a trio date through jazz minimalism, avant-garde and other jazz-centric stylizations.
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CD Reviews: Nathan Eklund, “Trip To The Casbah”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 11:26 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
If contemporary modern music is your preferred slice of the jazz world, then by all means take a detour to Casbah and let trumpeter Nathan Eklund be your guide. On his third release for the Jazz Excursion label, “Trip To The Casbah,” Eklund draws upon a reservoir of talent and crafts one very creative modern jazz album of intricate harmonies and sophisticated lines—all producing a treasure trove of refreshing new material deserving attention. An established horn man in New York's demanding jazz scene, Eklund is an educator by day and a high in -demand musician by night whose professional resume grows lengthier each day. Having performed with some of the best musicians in the business, for this recording Eklund calls on veteran saxophonist Donny McCaslin, guitarist John Hart, Bill Moring on bass and Tim Horner to pound the drums.
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CD Reviews: Bill Wimmer, “Project Omaha”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 11:25 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Recorded live in May 2008 at Kelly Liken restaurant in Vail, Colorado, Project Omaha brings together Saxophonist Bill Wimmer with a group of players who all shared a common bond, they all have a connection with Omaha with most starting their musical careers there. Project Omaha, which also refers to the band, presents an audacious post bop repertoire featuring assertive performance from Wimmer and the entire crew. Interesting enough it must be noted that the members of the band had not played together as a group before the opportunity to reconnect at the recording session.
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CD Reviews: Schumacher/Sanford Sound Assembly, “Edge of The Mind”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 11:25 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
David Schumacher and JC Sanford are two composers who collaborate as co-leaders of a cutting-edge seventeen-piece big band comprised of some of New York's finest jazz musicians among them drummer John Hollenbeck, trombonist Alan Ferber, pianist Deanna Witkowski and guitarist Andrew Green. Influenced in part by teacher/composer Bob Brookmeyer, who challenged the duo in “methodology for generating material” and in the “overall form and line development” as recalled by Sanford. Well with nine new compositions of non-traditional modern jazz orchestrations found on this CD, I believe the two meet the challenge with flying colors.
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CD Reviews: Dennis Day - All Things In Time - 2009 - D-Day Media
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 08:59 AM |
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Reviewed By: Geannine Reid
Dennis Day’s performances span four decades. His neighborhood church in his native East Chicago , Indiana , nurtured his earliest musical efforts. Early recognition came when Day’s R&B vocal quintet the Valiants, along with local sensations The Jackson 5, were signed to the Steeltown Records label in Gary , IN. and recording sessions began.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz’s Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 09:24 AM |
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Flat Planet (Owl Studios 2009)
Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble
The art of fusion is a marriage of sounds, style, and innovation, contained by a powerful surge of vision. This delicate craft, precisely executed, extends a dramatic, yet free-flowing outcome. Guitarist Fareed Haque has done this numerous times, reaching a personal opus, with every submission. Recently released Flat Planet, is just one more analysis, taken to another level, by this conductor’s baton.
A diverse weave of musical
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CD Reviews: CD Review - Roger Cairns
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 09:49 PM |
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Title - Let's...
Label - AHP Records
Year - 2009
Reviewed By: Geannine Reid
Los Angeles based jazz vocalist Roger Cairns was not always a west coast crooner. Roger was born in the small coal mining village of Gilmerton, a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1946. Roger’s talent and his penchant for music were neither nurtured nor welcomed by his family in a post-war Britain more concerned with survival than entertainment. So when he was 15 years old, Roger was sent off to complete a five-year mining engineering apprenticeship with the National Coal Board.
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CD Reviews: The Blue Note 7 “Mosaic” CD-2009 Blue Note Records
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 09:48 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
It's a celebration of Blue Note Records 70th anniversary set forth by a septet of jazz all-stars. Highlighted by occasional doses of pizazz amid a contemporary stance, the band revisits eight works penned by the label's revered artists. Among other positives, the sax duo of Ravi Coltrane (tenor) and Steve Wilson (alto, flute) loom as contrasting foils to assist with the ensemble's merging of classic Blue Note fare with a hip and enthralling string of arrangements.
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CD Reviews: Terrence Brewer, “Groovin' Wes”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 09:46 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Wes Montgomery set the standard for the modern jazz guitar and Terrence Brewer does his best to meet and exceed that standard with his warm tone and incredible imitation of the great guitarist paying homage on “Groovin' Wes” his fourth album for the Strong Brew Music label.
Brewer states that “Lots of guitarists can imitate Wes Montgomery, I wanted to pay tribute to him with my own voice.” Performing old standards and some of Montgomery's repertoire, Brewer lends his guitar voice in a Montgomery-like fashion laying down crisp firm chords with a Brewer twist.
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CD Reviews: Margie Notte, “Just You, Just Me & Friends—Live At Cecil's ”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 09:46 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
In April of 2008 at Cecil's Jazz Club in Orange, New Jersey, new jazz vocalist Margie Notte made her entrance into the national jazz scene with a strong debut recording supported by a stellar cast of musicians. Produced by saxophone great Don Braden, the personnel on Notte's first effort, features Braden on the tenor and flutes along with drummer Cecil Brooks III, Jason Teborek on piano and Tom Dicarlo on bass. For her very first album Notte makes a fine choice of material recording some time-honored classics and other jazz standards that showcase her vocal range.
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CD Reviews: Mark Winkler, “Till I Get It Right”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 09:44 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
An unconventional vocalist, veteran jazz singer Mark Winkler doesn't like singing the standards preferring originals instead and that's exactly what you get with his first release since his acclaimed 2003 CD,“Mark Winkler Sings Bobby Troup.” On “Till I Get It Right,” Winkler presents twelve breezy and swinging new songs sharing vocals with Cheryl Bentyne and backed up by the likes of saxophonist great Bob Sheppard, guitarist Anthony Wilson and trumpeter Ron Blake—all heavy hitters in the jazz world providing support for pianist Jaimie Trotter, Dan Lutz on bass and Steve Hass on the drums.
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CD Reviews: The Dorf - CD-2008 Leo Records
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 10:38 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
It’s a large ensemble that is akin to a collective, featuring up to thirty musicians who perform monthly at a jazz venue in Dortmund, Germany. Fueled by the leader and composer Jan Klare who is credited with providing “air movement,” the musicians triumphantly merge jazz-rock, progressive-rock, space music and a few nods to Frank Zappa amid the grand schema.
With blaring horns, punchy ostinatos and heavy rock pulses, the artists abide by a thoroughly in-your-face and ears type demeanor. Abetted by strong comps and sizzling solos, they rev it all up via distortion-based rock guitar lines, retro keys-synth opuses and a powerful impulsion. The instrumentalists dish out complex and multicolored choruses that are sometimes reverse engineered. As the majority of these works boast memorable hooks. Hence, they’re much more than a jam band.
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Oscar Responses
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Posted by: editor on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 07:49 AM |
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Jackman live (notice the panting and out of breathedness) beyonce completely canned. I think R&B female vocalist is now completely synonomys with Lip Syncing. I didn't hear it live, but my twitter buddies who are engineers here in Nashville are up in arms about the AUDIBLE AUTO-TUNING of Queen Latifa.
and gabriel watching a gabriel song....oy.
Don Donahue
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They have Queen Latifah on live Auto-tune...
Julian Fader
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Bob, how the hell did you neglect to mention that Beyonce lip-synched her performance?!
Sebastian Marbury
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CD Reviews: Marc Rossi Group “Hidden Mandala” CD-2008 Gravity Records
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 01:37 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
New England based pianist, composer and educator Marc Rossi imparts a worldly view into his progressive-jazz methodology. Yet it’s not overcooked or disproportionately leans toward one side of the prismatic spectrum. Unlike many others who sometimes instill only minor jazz elements into the world-beat panorama, Rossi’s compositions generate a rather seamless integration of various song-forms and Far Eastern modalities.
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CD Reviews: Aaron J. Johnson, “Songs of Our Fathers”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 09:14 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
If you favor Hard Bop jazz, funky grooves, and a touch of the blues with a focus on melodies and a good measure of swing, then “Songs of Our Fathers” is a must for your collection. Trombonist Aaron J. Johnson comes out swinging with a very impressive debut dedicated to his father and past masters of the music. A versatile musician, Johnson has previously recorded as a sideman on the trombone, bass clarinet and conch shells.
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CD Reviews: Jazz and Beyond: February 2009
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 09:49 AM |
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Reviews by John Stevenson
Don Cherry: Live at Café Montmartre 1966, Vol 3 (ESP)
A remarkably electrifying session, this is the third and final volume of Cherry’s 1966 set recorded at Copenhagen’s renowned jazz spot. Joining the pocket trumpeter is Argentine tenorist Gato Barbieri, German vibraharpist Karl Berger, Danish bassist Bo Stief, and Italian drummer Aldo Romano. Comprising a concatenation of mini-suits or â€cocktails’ clocking in at 20-plus minutes apiece, “Complete Communion” and “Remembrance” combine a strong hard bop front, together with nascent “multi-kulti” influences. Look out for the references to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Insensatez” and Ray Brown’s “Two Bass Hit”, amid the roiling and rollicking collective improvisation. A superb gem from a boutique label that continues to yield archival rubies and sapphires.
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CD Reviews: Jon Burr Band, “Just Can't Wait”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 08:10 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
Bassist Jon Burr has performed with some of the best musicians in the business ever since Charlie Mingus asked him to sit in at the famed Village Vanguard at the tender age of sixteen. He continues that tradition with “Just Can't Wait”, his newest album and self produced project of original songs nicely packaged in a CD/DVD set employing a host of vocalist, including his own thirteen-year old daughter, Tyler. Other singers appearing on the recording include Ty Stephens who performs on seven tracks, Yaala Balin, Hilary Kole and Laurel Masse.
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CD Reviews: Steven Santoro, “Whisper My Name”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 08:09 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Born Steven Kowalczyk from Milford, Massachusetts, Steven later changed his last name to Santoro after his grandfather, who was a saxophonist, inspired Steven to pursue music. Santoro is a vocalist and songwriter who radiates a certain appeal with his approach to the music whose previous recordings contain a repertoire of blues-pop-jazz. “Whisper My Name” is a self produced project that returns Santoro to his jazz roots which, except for the standard “I Thought About You,” features ten original songs plus the bonus track “Where I come From.”
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CD Reviews: Theron Shaw: Right Here, right now (Foreday Mornin Music)
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Posted by: editor on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 08:55 AM |
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Review by John Stevenson
“It was in conversation with one of my sons that I admonished him to seize the opportunity to strive to work to the best of his abilities, not later or tomorrow, but starting â€Right here right now!’ ”
- Theron Shaw
Every son - or daughter for that matter - should treasure and act upon this type of sagely advice.
Theron has no doubt followed his own counsel. One can only surmise that for Mr Shaw, there is a marked sense of urgency for Caribbean people to document their precious artistic heritage.
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CD Reviews: Peter Buck “Buck’s Vibe” CD 2008 Independent
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 10:11 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Southern California jazz, pop, rock session ace and educator Peter Buck’s debut effort as a leader is an enormously impressive statement within the modern jazz realm. It’s sort of atypical, since many of today’s well-educated artistes seem hell bent on rendering chops-heavy antics while dishing out overly complex charts that frequently drift off into an emotionless void.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 07:29 PM |
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"Live At Anna's Jazz Island" (Self 2008)
Vicki Burns Quartet
Some cuts of wax can be so smooth and wielding with unadulterated cool, the spin could be deemed illicit. That said Vickie Burns Live at Anna's Jazz Island should be prosecuted for excessive yet joyous jazz exploitation. Commencing with Ms. Burns scat allure to her blues demeanor, this classic jazz perspective, soars!
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CD Reviews: Organics: Liquid Sunshine (LRP Music)
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 02:31 PM |
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Review by John Stevenson
Liquid Sunshine is the sophomore effort of Ireland’s foremost jazz trio, the Organics. The group steers a steadily progressive course between the chitlin’ circuit inspired grooviness of folks like Lonnie Liston Smith and the more studied, cerebral textures of Larry Young. Guitarist John Moriarty, drummer Kevin Brady and Hammond C3 organist Justin Carroll, have again and again proven themselves to be among the most accomplished jazzmen of the Emerald Isle.
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CD Reviews: Linda Presgrave, “Inspiration”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 09:50 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
In 2003 pianist and composer Linda Presgrave attended the ControCanto:Donne In Jazz concert series in Frascati, Italy specifically to perform music written by women. This essentially became the “inspiration” for her third album, The Journey and the main reason for the release of this follow up recording. All of the music on this CD is composed by women with half of the ten pieces from Presgrave herself. For those who dig contemporary and mainstream straight ahead jazz, this album is a perfect fit. The performance from Presgrave and solos from her supporting cast, will have you tapping your toes and snapping your fingers all the way through.
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CD Reviews: Billet-Deux, “Deux”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 09:41 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
One of the most unusual albums I've had the pleasure of appraising, Deux is an interesting blend of gypsy-influenced contemporary jazz performed by a rhythm-based combo without a piano, reeds or other wind instruments. Billet-Deux draws on the music of Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappeli and the Hot Club of France to shape and reinterpret classic standards from the likes of Clifford Brown, Charlie Mingus, Rollins and Gillespie to produce a unique session of light and swinging jazz music.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Friday, February 06, 2009 - 10:28 AM |
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Krazy Love (Sunnyside Records 2009)
Luba Mason
Luba Mason's resonance spins a calming influence on the romantic psyche, as Sunnyside Records release of Krazy Love, drains the strains of everyday complexities, escorting in tranquility, it will be clear from the first notes the journey you are about to experience. From the feathery poetry of "Lovely" to attraction of a passionate duet by (Ruben) Blades and Mason, this disk has legs.
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CD Reviews: Darin Clendenin, “Revenir”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, February 06, 2009 - 08:55 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
Right from the opening “Monty's Calypso,” dedicated to legendary jazz pianist Monty Alexander, Darin Clendenin charms his way into you jazz space with an inspiring performance on the piano on his new breezy album, “Revenir.” The album symbolizes a return to significant times in his life that he expresses best when playing the music, ergo the title,“Revenir,” which is French for “meaning to return.” Clendenin may not be a recognizable name for jazz audiences from the East or the South but nevertheless, this musician is recognized as one of the finest pianist and keyboard artists in the Pacific Northwest area of the country. Based in Seattle, Washington, he records this album in cooperation with The Jazz Project, a 501 ( c ) 3 non-profit jazz support organization designed to promote jazz artists and music from the region and serves as the window to the jazz world for musicians hailing from Whatcom, County, WA.
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CD Reviews: Enrico Rava “The Pilgrim And The Stars” CD-2008 ECM Records (Touchstone Series)
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, February 05, 2009 - 06:40 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
This reissue of the 1975 LP on CD format helps launch ECM Records Touchstones Series, comprising forty titles of rereleases all sold at an attractive, under $10 price. Here, we trek down memory lane with the great Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava and his multinational band, enhanced of course by the fabled ECM aesthetic. Never before issued on CD in the USA, this outing skirts the fringes of jazz-rock and modern jazz amid ethereal overtones.
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CD Reviews: Matt Finley Brazilian Wish -2009 Kingsmill Music
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 10:23 PM |
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By: Geannine Reid
Matt Finley has been a professional musician for over forty-five years, bringing to the table a multitude of instruments, which he showcases on his latest release Brazlian Wish. Finley plays flugelhorn, trumpet, and flute and soprano sax.
Matt earned his master's degree from the College of Saint Rose and is permanently certified to teach music in New York State. He performed for many years with Grammy-winning baritone saxophonist Nick Brignola, and studied composition with Edgar Curtis, the founding Director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra.
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CD Reviews: Daniel Smith, “Blue Bassoon”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 11:09 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
If you're not familiar with the bassoon instrument, it's probably because you never hear it as part of a standard jazz combo or ensemble. Daniel Smith makes the bassoon his specialty and though recognized as a premier classical bassoon soloist, Smith now performs his instrument in the world of jazz and has already been tapped as finalist for Player of The Year of Instruments Rare in Jazz by the renowned Jazz Journalist Association. With the release of Blue Bassoon, Smith continues his journey towards making the instrument more acceptable to mainstream jazz audiences.
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CD Reviews: Eyran Katsenelenbogen, “88 Fingers”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 11:08 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Master pianist Eyran Katsenelenbogen has often been compared to Art Tatum in style and technique, though I may agree in part, I see Eyran as more of a classical pianist with a bent toward the music of jazz. An Educator at The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Israeli-born Eyran is a virtuoso pianist, innovator and a jazz improvisationalist at heart. Eschewing the company of other musicians when recording, 88 Fingers is the pianist's tenth solo recording and a convincing one at that.
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CD Reviews: Tony DeSare - Radio Show (Telarc 2009)
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 10:24 PM |
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JazzTrenzz
Radio has a firm policy for excellence...Tune it in and rip off the knob! Tony DeSare’s Radio Show has earned this respect!
Telarc Records entry into the 2009 race of recordings, holds a high ceiling for future entries to the New Year. Radio Show by Tony DeSare has the ambiance of the years gone-by broadcasts, attached with the silky sway of his performance. Radio Show proves an artist can exceed outside the realm of traditional execution and design. DeSare’s disc captures the stage characteristics of the old radio shows, by offering a long forgotten respect for the classic sound.
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CD Reviews: Randy Brecker “Randy in Brasil” CD-2008 Mama Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 04:06 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Revered jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker recorded this outing in Brazil and covers select favorites by Ivan Lins, Gilberto Gil and other prominent artistes. He also employs some of the finest musicians of the region, including guitarist Ricardo Silveira and saxophonist Teco Cardoso. Simply stated, Brecker fuses his enviable jazz chops with a radiant edge amid the ethnocentricities of the land. As the press notice infers, it’s a melodic date, where the pristine audio engineering looms as an added treat.
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CD Reviews: Marlene VerPlanck..Once There Was A Moon..Audiophile 2008
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Posted by: editor on Monday, January 19, 2009 - 08:49 PM |
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Marlene VerPlanck (v), Rich De Rosa (d), Steve La Spina (b), Ted Firth (p).
There are a handful of vocalists left that carry on the tradition of the great jazz singers and among them Marlene VerPlanck stands out like the aurora borealis in all it's glory. With clear articulation and a story to tell in each tune VerPlanck will start toes tapping, smiles will form and anyone with a cultured ear will dig the style nd substance of Marlene VerPlanck.
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CD Reviews: April Hall, “Fun Out of Life”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, January 17, 2009 - 10:21 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
Performing with some of New England's finest musicians for over a decade now, vocalist April Hall now releases a collection of soft ballads and reworked jazz classics in one nice package she gracefully titles “Fun Out of Life” taken from the Leslie/Burke standard “Getting Some Fun Out of Life,” the finale tune on this album. Having deep roots in the south, where she's from originally, Hall uses a soulful approach to her singing, which combined with a light sultry kind of voice, seems the perfect mix for singing songs like “Crazy He Calls Me,” “Please Send Me Someone to Love,” and the sensuous “I'm a Fool To Hold You” where pianist Joe Mulholland has free reign on a spacious introduction.
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CD Reviews: Christian Scott - “Live At Newport” 2008 CD + DVD Concord Music
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, January 17, 2009 - 10:16 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Like zillions of others, trumpeter Christian Scott’s appreciation for Miles Davis’ musical aura is evident although he does possess a signature sound, teeming with soaring and largely, soul-searching lines. Scott’s made a positive impression on the jazz scene and with his third release, carries the jazz torch at the Newport Jazz Fest while conveying great depth and a strong compositional pen.
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CD Reviews: Sonia Santos & Ana Gazzola
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Posted by: editor on Friday, January 16, 2009 - 11:49 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Sonia Santos and Ana Gazzola are two internationally recognized Afro-Brazilian jazz vocalists who put together a dynamite band called Brasil Brazil and with this release, provide their third album together. If you love jazz and favor a taste of Brazil, you would do right to put “Brasil Brazil 3” on your shopping list of music. The duo present a sizzling blend of jazz, samba and choro styles of Brazilian music that also incorporates elements of Afro-Latin rhythms in one dynamite package of shoulder-moving music.
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Book Review: DelightfuLee: The Life And Music of Lee Morgan by Jeffrey McMillan
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Posted by: larryrenithomas on Wednesday, January 07, 2009 - 10:07 PM |
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This is an excellent, well-written, abundantly-researched, scholarly book on the life and music of one of the great, unheralded heroes of jazz, who was shot and killed at Slug's Jazz Club in Manhattan in 1972, at the tender age of 33-years-old, by his 47-year-old, common-law wife, Helen Morgan. McMillan, a trumpet player and writer, is obviously smitten by Lee's music and his ability to always rise to the occasion. Morgan's short and resilient time on earth was troubled, drug-riddled and quite fruitful musically as McMillan documents quite superbly. McMillan, who was aided by Lee's brother Jimmy, has uncovered information that previous researchers have failed to come up with--like the precise itinerary of Lee; quotations from Helen Morgan and the fact that Mrs. Morgan's court records are missing. We also learn that Morgan was legally married once to Kiko Morgan and now we know who is probably getting his royalty checks.
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CD Reviews: Matt Criscuolo with Strings, “Melancholia”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, January 07, 2009 - 10:06 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Described as “an engaging soloist” by Cadence Magazine, New York saxophonist Matt Criscuolo presents his third album as leader containing a dark and dissonant musical theme offered with elegance. Inspired by pianist Larry Willis's recording of “Sanctuary,” which featured gorgeous compositions and string arrangements to enhance the music, Criscuolo attempts to duplicate the style by employing a serious string section to augment a first-rate rhythm group performing a supporting role to his high-pitched alto saxophone lead. The result is an almost classical jazz sound that floats over a layered arrangement of strings producing a superb musical experience.
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CD Reviews: Arild Andersen— â€Live at Belleville’ By Joe Bendel
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Posted by: editor on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 09:05 AM |
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ECM Records)
In 1905 Norway dissolved its union with Sweden, becoming the only country to ever democratically elect a sovereign monarch, Haakon VII, formerly Prince Carl of Denmark. To mark the centennial of Norwegian independence from Sweden , bassist Arild Andersen composed the “Independency” suite, which is now the centerpiece of his new trio recording, “Live at Belleville.”
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CD Reviews: Rob Mosher's Storytime
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Posted by: editor on Friday, January 02, 2009 - 10:13 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
“The Tortoise”
CD-2008 Independent (Canada Council for the Arts)
Twenty-eight year old composer and multi-reedman Rob Mosher’s mission statement entails a modern, large ensemble sound built upon layered charts and memorable melodies. It’s all quite impressive for this Canadian gent who relocated to New York City approximately four years ago. Yet, Mosher’s bio includes numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, segueing to this 2008 debut album as a leader.
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CD Reviews: Jay Epstein, “Long Ago”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 09:11 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
Originally released in 1997, “Long Ago” is a re-release of drummer Jay Epstein's debut as leader featuring pianist Bill Carrothers and bassist Anthony Cox on a twelve-piece session of rhythm-based music taking a couple of originals and some jazz classics to new interpretations. The repertoire consist of a fairly nice blend of classic standards like Miles Davis' “Solar,” Wayne Shorter's “Lost,” and the Kern/Gershwin tune “Long Ago & Far Away” from which Epstein draws the title for the album.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - 01:18 PM |
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Somewhere (Blix Street Records 2008)
Eva Cassidy
The repository of accolades will again intensify, for Somewhere, has Eva Cassidy's enchanting aura rekindled; never to extinguish. With each spin from her captivating songbook, Eva Cassidy's warmth falls from our eyes. No thought, script, or judgment can offer justice to the impact Eva Cassidy and her storyline has on each of us.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - 12:20 PM |
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Echo (Sunnyside Records 2008)
Alyssa Graham
Karl Stober
The many moods and expressions of the jazz vocalist is what ignites the fawning desire for the craft. Thus, this basic instinct necessitates the audio scrutiny of fine jazz, with lyrical compassion as its liberator.
With restless yet clinical arrangements; the aphrodisiac weight of Alyssa Graham's style is refreshing. Sunnyside 2008 release of Echo unleashes the delicate and seasoned vocals of this free-spirit.
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Tony Adamo Reviewed by L.A. Jazz Scene’s Jim Santella
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Posted by: rocarmani on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 05:13 PM |
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Tony Adamo Reviewed by L.A. Jazz Scene's Jim Santella
UrbanzoneRecords
Franki La Mantia
www.myspace.com/tonyrocadamo
Pop songs with R&B horns make Tony Adamo's STRAIGHT UP DEAL sizzle with excitement. He sings with the bold character of a man who knows how to entertain, recalling pop singers Tom Jones, David Clayton-Thomas and Brook Benton as well as jazz singers Al Jarreau and Mark Murphy. His program, however, goes well beyond the pop and R&B arena into Jazz interpretations of standards such as "Milestones," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Stolen Moments," "In the WineLight," and "Speak Low."
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CD Reviews: Brian Kelly, “Afterplay”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, December 22, 2008 - 09:30 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
Pianist and composer Brian Kelly features eleven new charts blending statements of mainstream with a primarily smooth jazz repertoire to craft a unique album of varied styles that works quite well. This is not your typical smooth jazz recording as Kelly, who is known to stretch the boundaries with his compositions, expands the music using elements of fusion and world genres to structure an interesting sound. For example,the up beat and lively “Celtic Fire” featuring Kelly's superb play on the piano, comes across almost minstrel-like in the beginning with the sound of the pennywhistle or flute.
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CD Reviews: Joani Taylor, “In My Own Voice”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 21, 2008 - 01:55 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
A fixture in the Vancouver jazz scene for some time now, Joani Taylor presents her sixth album with a dazzling performance of mostly original material setting herself apart from the majority of singers who prefer to voice familiar pop or jazz standards much like the plethora of vocal CDs on the charts these days. She does borrow from the great Paul Desmond and does an unusual rendition of “Take Five” collaborating on vocals with hip hopper Jay Kin. There's also a hopping, swinging version of Eugene McDaniel's “Compared to What” where the lady let's it all hang out and sounds a bit Janice Joplin-like.
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CD Reviews: Herb Harris, “Some Many Second Chances, Volume 1”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 12:15 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Not to be confused with the veteran drummer and percussionist of the same name, New York-based Saxophonist Herb Harris releases his second album as leader more than seven years after its original recording in late 2000 and early 2001. Some Many Second Chances is a collection of works from two separate sessions and represents volume one of what will eventually be followed by a second album containing the balance of the recording sessions. The liner notes mention a live gig at Washington D.C.'s renowned Blues Alley, which of course explains some of the live-recording audio quality you hear on the album though a portion was recorded in New York.
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CD Reviews: Laura Hull, “Take Me Home”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 12:14 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Jazz vocalist Laura Hull follows up her impressive 2006 debut of “Hullababloo” paying tribute to ten standards from the Great American Songbook with “Take Me Home”accompanied by a cast of New York-based first-call musicians including co-producer/arranger and pianist Pat Firth, bassist Jon Burr and drummer Tony Jefferson with Gary Oleyar's violin o the finale number, Tom Waits' “Take Me Home”. Laura Hull began her musical career as a club singer in and around the New York area, then took a 24-year hiatus to pursue business interest when she returned in 2004 and later releasing her debut album.
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CD Reviews: H-Alpha “Red Sphere” CD-2008 Skirl Records
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Posted by: editor on Monday, December 15, 2008 - 04:35 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Tracing the ionized hydrogen of gaseous formations is not necessarily a prerequisite for digging this 2008 release produced by Brooklyn, N.Y., based Skirl Records. Therefore, the implication of physics set forth by the band moniker does intimate a rather heady connotation. Then again, the subject matter provides an interesting backdrop for the New York City trio’s freaky, genre busting series of vignettes, comprised of EFX treated free-jazz and discombobulated rock pulses among other stylizations.
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Max Haymer, “Pickpocket Witness”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 08:00 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Los Angeles-born pianist Max Haymer may not be familiar to you, after all the young 22 year old musician does not have much of a discography. If the music on Pickpocket Witness is any indication of what we can expect from Haymer in the future, then prepare to brace yourself because you're for a treat. Offering a repertoire of original contemporary jazz presented in a dynamic straight ahead fashion, Haymer performs like a wild man on the keys pounding them into submission on the title tune and demonstrating his piano chops in style.
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CD Reviews: Peter Sommer, “Crossroads”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 07:57 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Tenor saxophonist Peter Sommer offers his second album as leader with the release of Crossroads on the CAPRI label and what a sophomore effort it is. Sparkling with sensational bebop melodies and harmonies this is one swinging session of exuberant jazz. Hailing from Fort Collins, Colorado, Sommer brings together a terrific group of players from the Denver and Boulder areas to form a core quartet that include Eric Gunnison on piano, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Tod Reid. For this recording Sommer augments the personnel by enlisting the help of New York tenorist Rich Perry.
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CD Reviews: Carol Fredette, “Everything In Time”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 07:56 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Veteran New York Jazz singer Carol Fredette hasn't recorded in over ten years and with Everything In Time, the lady makes a long-awaited return in perhaps her best recording to date.
Voicing a repertoire of American pop and Brazilian jazz classics that showcase her passion for Brazilian songs and confirms what Stan Getz once stated about her that “She's as good as they come,” Carol Fredette release one of the best jazz vocal recordings this year. Produced by colleague and celebrated bassist David Finck, Fredette is backed up by a host of first-call musicians from the New York area with a band that contains not only American players but a select number of Brazilian musicians as well.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 03:18 PM |
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Waiting for the Sun (Golden Thread Music 2008)
Lindsey Brier
There is just some spins that you must allow your soul to listen and be drawn into its attitude. Waiting for the Sun released by Golden Thread Records; showcases one of the more intriguing debut male vocals, I have spun in some time.
A velvet resonance showered by a very expressive tonality of foreplay. Lindsey Brier is an exceptional voice as well and gifted pianist, who by my measure, has the mechanics of pure groove.
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Marco Granados-Music of Venezuela
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Posted by: muzikman on Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 08:41 AM |
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Marco Granados states in the liner notes of his beautiful serenade to his country Music of Venezuela, that the music of Venezuela is one of the rare treasures of Latin America, it seamlessly combines cultures, musical traditions, rhythms and the spirit of a people in a joyful and innocent voice.
The artist very eloquently said this with deep thought and respect for his heritage. His flute playing embodies that very thought as Marco very precisely and exquisitely takes you on a trip through the land he loves in 15 tracks of fast-paced jazz tinged Latin-World music.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 06:14 PM |
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Women of Jazz (Putumayo World Music 2008)
"Guaranteed to make you feel good" is the catchphrase of this spin and it does not compromise that paved promise of emotional satisfaction!
Ten direct and sexy vocals emerge on this 2008 release from Putumayo World Music, as this compilation showcases the female psyche, draped in jazz appeal. The lyric-intense expressions of these fine tuned and silver-tongued sirens of American and Canadian pleasures… resonate, agile within their game exposed on stage.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 10:14 PM |
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Django Music (Hot Club Records 2008)
Hot Club De Norvege
Keeping it in the family does have its romantic appeal when that family is strings.
Conjure up such gifted manipulators as Jon Larsen, Finn Hauge, Per Frydenlund, and Sven Aarbostad and jazz seems to engage in a free-fall flow of fine compositions. Django Music by Hot Club De Norvege collects this free-fall and extracts the purity of Django Reinhardt string jazz methodology.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 06:34 PM |
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Oscar (Ella Productions 2008)
Serge Forte Trio
If jazz proves one thing throughout its historical journey, it's that the tragedy lies, when that which is unleashed, is not experienced.
Serge Forte is an experience one should grasp, and often. His ivory "Take the A-Train" is nothing less than meticulousness musicianship; for his implementation of his Oscar Peterson influence, has a very precise vision. Forte seeds the dramatic flair of his 2008 tribute release from Ella Productions Oscar, by offering an honoring perspective to jazz icon, Oscar Peterson.
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CD Reviews: Peter Sommer..Crossroads..Capri Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Friday, December 05, 2008 - 04:27 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Peter Sommer - Tenor Saxophone
Rich Perry - Tenor Saxophone
Eric Gunnison - Piano
Ken Walker - Bass
Todd Reid - Drums
"THe Fruit" Bud Powell again adds his magic through the auspices of this
fine group. The saxes have a field day with this tune as they blister
the airways with smoking bop magic. Eric Gunnison at the piano pays
tribute to Powell with a strong message. This is a superb rendition of a
superb song.
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Roger Kellaway-Live At The Jazz Standard
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Posted by: muzikman on Friday, December 05, 2008 - 08:18 AM |
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The most remarkable thing about Live At The Jazz Standard is how Roger Kellaway and his ensemble make this recording sound as if it was recorded right in the studio. This is a tribute to the excellence of Kellaway on piano, his exceptional accompaniment, and not to mention the high standard of recording a live performance for the pristine and perfect replication that this two CD set offers.
The IPO label continues their series of live recordings with Kellaway referred to as the “all wood” (drumless) trios. These sessions emulate the 1940s and 1950s extraordinary trios of Nat Cole, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson.
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CD Reviews: CD Reviews: Allison Adams Tucker, “Come With Me”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 11:26 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
On Come With Me, multi-lingual vocalist Allison Adams Tucker takes you on a musical journey throughout the globe singing in six languages taking part of the repertoire from the Great American Songbook. She starts her trek with the Koehler/Arlen standard “World On A String” voiced in English of course and demonstrating her more than capable reaching vocals in which she is wonderfully accompanied here on guitar by the great Peter Sprague. With one of the most unusual reads of Richard Rodgers' “My Funny Valentine” I've heard, Allison opens the song singing in the Sakura Japanese tradition before she emerges with the standard melody again singing in English. On the fourth track Allison provides sweet vocals in French on the beautiful rendition of “La Vie En Rose.”
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CD Reviews: CD Reviews: Jazz Arts Trio, “Tribute”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 11:25 PM |
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By Edward Blanco
Frederick Moyer is a classically-trained pianist who ventures in to the jazz world with this excellent recording recreating the music of such legends as Erroll Garner, Bill Evans, Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock in a way similar to how a classical artists would interpret Bach, Beethoven or Mozart. With friends Peter Fraenkel on th drums and Peter Tillotson playing bass, Jazz Arts Trio, one of many typical piano trios around, sounds anything but typical. The music is enthralling and captivating drawing you in with one compelling performance after another.
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CD Reviews: CD Reviews: Mark Masters Ensemble, “Farewell Walter Dewey Redman"
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 11:23 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
In the fall of 2006 Mark Masters had planned to record with Dewey Redman, one of the great tenor saxophonist of our time, as part of an American Jazz Institute project and had enlisted the help of drummer extraordinaire Peter Erskine, trumpeter Tim Hagans and bassist Dave Carpenter. In September of that Year Redman passed away and the project was forever altered transforming into a tribute album to Redman with the terrific Oliver Lake stepping in to assume Redman's role as the lead saxophonist on the recording now playing Redman's music. Masters realized the project recording with his very able 16-piece big band and the result here is one heck of a homage to Dewey.
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CD Reviews: Susie Arioli..Night Lights..2008
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 09:10 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Susie Arioli (vocals, snare) Jordan Officer (guitar, vocals) Bill
Gossage (bass, vocals)..Special Guests Michael Jerome Browne (guitar)
Cameron Wallis (saxes) Christopher Smith (tbone) Dany Roy (tenor) Aron
Doyle (Flugelhorn) Remi Leclerc (percussions)
Rich and warm is the byword for Susie Arioli's voice which can be
smokier than a speakasy.
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CD Reviews: Susie Arioli..Night Lights..2008
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 04:45 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Susie Arioli (vocals, snare) Jordan Officer (guitar, vocals) Bill
Gossage (bass, vocals)..Special Guests Michael Jerome Browne (guitar)
Cameron Wallis (saxes) Christopher Smith (tbone) Dany Roy (tenor) Aron
Doyle (Flugelhorn) Remi Leclerc (percussions)
Rich and warm is the byword for Susie Arioli's voice which can be
smokier than a speakasy.
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CD Reviews: Carol Fredette..Everything In Time..Soundbrush Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 04:44 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Carol Fredette's husky vocal message is loud and clear especially on
"The Way You Look Tonight" This tune has lyrics that are prime examples
of the beauty of American love song and Fredette treats it as such. A
tenor solo adds much to this track. The tempo sashays along in a jaunty
manner aptly suited to Fredette's sassy soliloquy.
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CD Reviews: The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me (Concord Records 2009)
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, November 23, 2008 - 12:35 PM |
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Jane Monheit
Oh, dear Jane, it's been far too long…
Out from the accolade-coated spin of Surrender in 2007, the jazz populace has awaited for this wonderful gift to exhume her vocal sensuality. Jane Monheit vocalizes from within; never digressing from her emotional path, with each single she executes. In 2009, Concord Records will release another moment of passionate "Monheit Moments," which when all is said and done, has her again placed into another unexplored dimension. The Lovers, The Dreamers, And Me is just that; for each cut is an offering to us, in order to feel the pulse of her inner ardor.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, November 23, 2008 - 12:34 PM |
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Play (Cakewalk Records 2008)
Project Grand Slam
New York City has a signature texture to its jazz sway, one which sets the bar very high with respectable innovative and an intense arena of players. The character of New York jazz is one that has never been mirrored. Unique beats, finely tuned arrangements, and tenacious visionaries make the music scene what it is. That formulation is capsulated with the virgin recording of Play by Project Grand Slam. This is a stylishly, intoxicating spin of jazz ingenuity and execution!
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The James Moody and Hank Jones Quartet- Our Delight
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Posted by: muzikman on Saturday, November 22, 2008 - 08:05 PM |
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With a mere 140 years of performing experience between them, James Moody and Hank Jones finally decided to sit down and bounce some ideas off each other and Our Delight was born.
The quartet along with Moody (tenor sax and flute) and Jones (piano) is Todd Colman (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). This quartet turns out some gorgeous compositions, 12 in total, and each one has their own distinct personality thanks to the consistency and all around excellence of every musician involved.
The band covers Gillespie to Stitt and beyond. The only original on the album is “Darben The Red Foxx,” an interesting and thought provoking title with the inference to deceased comedian Red Foxx.
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CD Reviews: The Leonisa Ardizzone Quintet..The Scent Of Bitter Almonds..2008
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 08:54 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Leonisa Ardizzone (vocals) Chris Jennings (guitar) Jess Jurkovic (piano)
Bob Sabin (bass) Justin Hines (drums)
Leonisa Ardizzone has a sweetly swinging vocal style and is ably backed
by a fine Quintet.
"Joy Spring" Ardizzone opens with some cool scatting on the hottest
track on this album. Jurkovic at the ivories solos brilliantly. This
tune has a message which in essence says that this is the format that
allows this group to express themselves most emphatically. This song
moves along gracefully without that incessant drum beat found on other
tracks.
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CD Reviews: Frank Macchia, “Saxolollapalooza”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, November 17, 2008 - 11:52 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Frank Macchia is a Grammy-nominated composer/arranger and one heck of a saxophonist who, eighteen years ago, birthed an idea to arrange music for a six saxophone section which he states “was to create a wacky kind of contemporary jazz band but with only Saxes and drums.” Saxolollapalooza is the realization of that idea coming to fruition with the help of some of the finest musicians in the world that happen to reside in the Los Angeles area. Macchia anchors a six-piece sax section that include Eric Marienthal and Sal Lozano on alto, Bob Sheppard and the leader on tenor, Gene Cipriano on baritone and Jay Mason on bass saxophones with the great Peter Erskine providing the drums and percussions.
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CD Reviews: Gene Bertoncini & Roni Ben-Hur, “Smile”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, November 15, 2008 - 06:53 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
More of a labor of love than a profitable musical project, Smile brings together two extraordinary jazz guitarist in a duet performance to benefit The Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund at the Englewood Hospital and Memorial Center in New Jersey as part of the â€Jazz Therapy’ series of charitable fund raising CDs produced in association with the Jazz Foundation of America. Ben-Hur was originally scheduled to do this particular album with bassist Earl May who unfortunately passed away in January 2008. The album is dedicated to May and Gene Bertoncini gladly stepped in to move the effort forward.
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CD Reviews: KJ Denhert - “dal VIVO a Umbria Jazz” (Live at Umbria Jazz)
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, November 15, 2008 - 04:11 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2008 Motema Music
Noted for her rousing live performances, New York City singer-songwriter KJ Denhert garners additional benefits from the pristine recorded sound and thrusting band on this album, which captures her at Italy’s Umbria Jazz festival. Per the press release, she’s been performing at Manhattan’s “The 55 Bar” and “Baz Bar” since 1998. And has purportedly built a loyal following, as this 2008 release signifies my initial exposure to her artistry.
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CD Reviews: Charlie Parker..Bird In Time 1940-47 ESP 4050
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Posted by: editor on Friday, November 14, 2008 - 04:26 PM |
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By John Gilbert
This is a spectacular 4 disc set of selected recordings and rare
interviews with Bird and his worthy constituents. The first thing that I
had to zone in on was the interview with the late Earl Coleman who was a
friend, roomate and band mate of mine in the 50's. I have to tell you
that it brought tears to my eyes to hear Earl's rich voice and Bird's
horn sweetly resonating in my ears. Earl often described his days with
Parker as his greatest moments in jazz. "This Is Always" and "Dark
Shadows" are a musical explanation of why this era in jazz is
unparalleled in its beauty and form. God bless Bird and Earl. Bird's
horn weaves its magic in no uncertain terms, the notes fly, the ideas
abound. It will never get any better than this. Everything has a message
and every passage has a purpose with never any cluttered crap, so often
prevalent these days.
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CD Reviews: Donna Deussen..High Wire..2008
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 07:55 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Donna Deussen (vocals) Mark Massey (keyboards) Anders Swanson (bass)
Aldo Bentivegna (drums) Eric Marienthal (sax, tracks 2 & 4)
With a cool and cultured voice, Deussen opens matters with "Skylark"
This treatment sticks to the melody. Mark Massey whom I have reviewed in
the past has a magical touch which is evident whenever he sits down at
the ivories. This is a nice adaptation of Hoagy Carmichael's classic.
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CD Reviews: Giada Valenti, “And I Love You So”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 01:54 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Italian-born singer and songwriter Giada Valenti, now based in New York, possesses the voice of an angel and the looks of a Miss Universe and with the release of And I Love You So, stakes her claim as a special vocalist who draws comparisons to being, as the press clippings state, “a female version of Michael Buble.” The album is primarily a collection of adult pop music containing some elements of contemporary light jazz but not really sufficient to categorize this as a jazz recording. If you favor beautiful love songs then you will be more than pleased by the repertoire Valenti puts together for this recording.
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CD Reviews: Vitaly Golovnev..To Whom It May Concern..Tippin' Records 2006
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 01:52 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Vitaly Golovnev (tpt) Jake Saslow (ts) Miki Hayama (piano) Boris Koslov
(bass) Jason Brown (drums)
The tunes on this album all have a Monkish feel. The musicians have
chops galore and that's for sure. Track 3, the title tune seems to swing
a bit more than the rest, that is not to say that the rest are not top
notch it's just that this particular number has that undefinable quality
that makes bop rise and shine so fine.
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CD Reviews: Jon Larsen, “The Jimmy Carl Black Story”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 03:33 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Inspired by the music of Django Reinhardt, jazz guitarist Jon Larsen from Oslo, Norway, is a musician who seems to dance to a different tune than most. His fascination with the music of Frank Zappa has led him to develop an unusual project featuring various former members of Zappa’s legendary Mothers of Invention group. Last year he showcased keyboard genius Tommy Mars on his critically acclaimed “Strange News from Mars” (Zen 2001) album. With this recording Larsen pays tribute to the former drummer of the Zappa band, Jimmy Carl Black, the Indian of the group who sadly, passed away recently in Siegsdorf, Germany at the age of 70.
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CD Reviews: Barbara King, “Perfect Timing”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 - 10:08 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Barbara King is a New York native with amazing Sarah Vaughn-like vocals who makes one very impressive debut with Perfect Timing presenting jazzy interpretations of some well known pop standards along with several originals making this one of the better jazz vocal albums released this year. Making this album a promising success is the fine cast of musicians King uses to produce this gem. Included here are pianists George Colligan and Arturo O’Farrill as well as Dorsey “Rob” Robinson, flautist Dave Valentin appears as special guest and there’s trumpeter Eddie Allen and Jay Branford on reeds just to name a few.
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CD Reviews: Cynthia Hilts, “Second Story Breeze”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 - 10:07 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Presenting her second album since the 2000 release of “Stars Down To The Ground” (MAR Records), New York-based pianist/vocalist and composer Cynthia Hilts offers a repertoire of mostly original music of contemporary light jazz. Recorded with bassist Ron McClure and drummer Jeff Williams, this piano trio sticks to a more traditional approach in the interpretation of classic standards such as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things,” a ten-minute read of Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale” and the familiar “Three Blind Mice.”
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CD Reviews: Giovanni Moltoni, “3”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 - 10:06 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Boston-based jazz guitarist/composer and educator at the Berklee College of Music, Giovanni Moltoni releases his most creative recording to date with “3” an album containing a stimulating modern approach to jazz. The repertoire is all original and highly imaginative performed by an unusual quartet of sounds. Moltoni plays the guitar and synthesizer and is joined by trumpeter Greg Hopkins, bassist Fernando Huergo and Bob Tamagani on the drums. Without the standard piano fronting the rhythm section, Moltoni draws on his guitar and synthesizer to deliver both lead and supporting roles here.
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CD Reviews: Alex Maguire Sextet - “Brewed In Belgium” - CD-2008 Moonjune Records
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 - 04:15 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
British keyboardist Alex Maguire is a stylistic instrumentalist, possessing mega-chops who has proven that jazz hath no borders. Whether performing jazz-rock or aligning with British avant-garde bassist Simon H. Fell and progressive-jazz reedman Michael Moore, he communicates a seemingly limitless musical vernacular.
Maguire performs solely on acoustic piano and synth on this live date recorded at a Belgium venue. With this release, he teams up with four of five members of the young and exciting Belgian jazz-rock ensemble and Moonjune recording artists, “Wrong Object.” Consequently, the musicians execute the right stuff, as they transparently accelerate modern jazz into the freer realm amid variable genre-busting frameworks. While also rendering vivacious, fuzoid style overtones, largely abetted by Maguire’s EFX textures and guitarist Michel Deville’s multihued synth guitar phrasings.
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CD Reviews: Michael Higgins - “The Moon and The Lady Dancing”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 02:08 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
For those who crave the lighter side of jazz you may want to check out veteran guitarist Michael Higgins’ third album as leader providing ten originals and two covers of warm and intimate light jazz. Collaborating with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum, Higgins leads a guitar trio that’s rather rare these days considering the plethora of piano led trio’s on the jazz scene today.
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CD Reviews: Rhythm Express â€Beat Street’
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Posted by: editor on Friday, October 31, 2008 - 10:46 AM |
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Spill Magazine
Anyone who is an advocate of the phrase, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” will be pleasantly surprised by Bill King’s latest album, in which he pays tribute to some of the soul jazz greats. Rhythm Express “Beat Street” takes you on an eclectic, groovy, soulful journey with arrangements that somehow find a way to add a unique flare to a genre of music that needs not to be tinkered with, while maintaining the true essence of its style.
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DVD Reviews: Billy Martin in Concert - March, 26 2008: The Heinen Theater
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, October 30, 2008 - 11:28 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
HCC Central College Department of Fine Arts
DVD-2008 Amulet Records
This DVD conveys a radical departure from percussionist Billy Martin’s funk-groove and New York City downtown scene stylizations, witnessed by “Medeski, Martin & Wood” amid his numerous solo projects and session activities. With only five-hundred pressings, this one-hour concert was made possible by a commission from the Houston Community College Department of Fine Arts.
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DVD Reviews: Sonny Rollins“ Live in ’65 & â€68”DVD-2008 NAXOS: Jazz Icons
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - 09:10 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
One of several new releases from the “Jazz Icons” (www.jazzicons.com) series, tenor sax titan Sonny Rollins is captured onstage in Denmark: 1965 and 1968. And it’s a superb archival document, highlighted by Rollins’ remarkable improvisation and the extraordinarily tight-knit support he receives from drummer/educator Alan Dawson and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson. Complete with a twenty-four page booklet containing anecdotal, historical and testimonial type essays, the overall program intimates quite a bit of bang for your buck.
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CD Reviews: Barbara King..Perfect Timing..CCC Music Group 2008
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 03:48 PM |
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Barbara King can sing and there's no two ways about it. This lovely
recording consists of 11 inspirational songs and brother are they
inspirational. Miss King has a finely textured voice with range and she
knows what to do with it. There are various musicians on this CD and all
back this superb vocalist with grace and style. I wasn't sure about this
effort, but I was more than impressed from the first note to the last.
The tunes really swung and now I am convinced that music of this sort
done in a jazz vein is so apropos it is just perfect. There is no
cacophony here, no silly business, just a fine voice with great cats
playing magnificently. I am sure that the powers that be are sitting
back wherever they are just smiling and sending down kudos to Barbara
King and her band mates for a wonderful recording by a solid performer.
% Stars
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CD Reviews: Jerry Costanzo with Andy Farber and his Swinging Mavens
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 09:50 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
New York vocalist and bandleader Jerry Costanzo with his 17-piece big band has been performing the swinging music of the 40s and 50s for audiences from Montauk to Manhattan and the Tri-state area for over 25 years. On his newest release entitled “Destination Moon,” Costanzo combines recording sessions from 2004 and 2007 of Pop classics from the 50s and 60s like “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” Victor Young’s “Don’t Worry About Me,” “Young At Heart” and the Mercer/Van Heusen immortal “I thought About You” just to name a few.
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CD Reviews: Danny Green, “With You In Mind”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 09:49 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Danny Green is a pianist and composer from San Diego who makes an impressive debut with this first album blending Brazilian and Latin jazz elements with a taste of mainstream and classical nuances to forge one heck of a recording. Except for Danilo Perez’s “Suite For The Americas,” a tune containing strong Latin influences, Green contributes ten varied originals running the gamut in style from the Brazilian flavor of “Baio Pra Voce” and “Doctor Pasta,” to the beautiful mainstream title track and the classical finale “Lullaby for A Poet.”
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CD Reviews: Tom Beckham “Rebound”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 10:40 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Releasing his third album and follow up to the well- received Center Songs (Sunnyside 2006), vibraphonist Tom Beckham seems to develop a more sophisticated sound on Rebound. On this fine effort, Beckham engages the band to a greater degree than in his previous recordings providing far more solo space for his crew that, on some pieces, allows him to withdraw as a sideman. Beckham’s quintet draws upon the talents of saxophonist Chris Cheeks and pianist Henry Hey both of whom appear on previous recordings. Changes in the rhythm section include bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Ferenc Nemeth.
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CD Reviews: KJ Denhert dal Vivo a Umbria Jazz (Live at Umbria Jazz)
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 10:39 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Internationally recognized singer/songwriter and guitarist KJ Denhert offers her eighth album recorded live at the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in Orvieto, Italy held in December 2007. Considered one of the most important jazz festivals in the world since 1973, Umbria Jazz Winter is the sister event to the summer Umbria Jazz held in picturesque Perugia, Italy. A six-time artist-in-residence at Umbria, Denhert performs with her NY Unit band with which she has toured for nearly twelve years.
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Jazz Museum Schedule
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Posted by: editor on Friday, October 24, 2008 - 11:54 AM |
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•Jazz for Curious Readers: Nat Hentoff October 27, 2008
•Jazz Around the World: The Americas October 28, 2008
•Harlem Speaks: Evelyn Cunningham October 30, 2008
“Jazz Around the World” is the National Jazz Museum in Harlem’s theme for the Jazz for Curious Listeners series this month, and the theme applies to all of this week’s programs.
We’re honored to present talks with two venerable journalists, whose insights are far from parochial. Nat Hentoff, noted author of several books on jazz, and who writes about jazz regularly these days in the Wall Street Journal and JazzTimes, will discuss his work at Jazz for Curious Readers on Monday. Journalist Evelyn Cunningham, 92, has had an illustrious career (see bio below) worthy of celebration, which will occur at the Harlem School of the Arts for Harlem Speaks on Thursday.
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CD Reviews: Dele Sosimi: Identity (Helicon)
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 08:42 AM |
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By John Stevenson
Identity - sporting an arresting portrait of Sosimi’s twin sons on the CD’s front cover - is the anxiously-awaited follow-up to Turbulent Times, which carried Afrobeat in a decidedly adventurous direction at the beginning of the millennium.
In point of fact, adventure and a quest to arrive in new places, has always been the goal of Afrobeat’s avatars. Founder Fela Kuti was the ultimate explorer, having experimented with the funk of James Brown, the modal experiments of Miles Davis and hypnotic indigenous Yoruba grooves. And that’s just the music. The lyrical content addressed political and economic injustice at home in Nigeria and across the world, unafraid to grapple the nettle of controversy, asking for answers to the thorniest of questions, and landing the musical maverick, time and again, in the proverbial soup!
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CD Reviews: Royce Campbell..The Art Of Chord Solo Guitar..EMK 2001
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 08:41 AM |
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John Gilbert
Royce Campbell toured with Henry Mancini for 19 years and some of the tunes are reflective of that tenure.
Chord solo guitar has been labelled as a lost art and Campbell brings it to life with his guitar mastery. Improvisation was the order of the day.
"Laura" The melody is played with chord harmony and it lends itself beautifully to this classic gem.
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CD Reviews: Marcus Goldhaber..Take Me Anywhere..with the Jon Davis Trio..Fallen Apple Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 08:40 AM |
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John Gilbert
Marcus Goldhaber lightly approaches each tune and treats it gently, keeping the melody intact. He has a unique vocal quality unlike any of his predecessors. He sticks to slower tempos and caresses each tune with dignity and grace. There are 17 songs on this album and each is a winner. Range and depth are not the forte of this fine singer, he simply sings the song with no histrionics, letting the listener enjoy his euphonious efforts.
$ Stars
Visit California Coast Jazz At:
http://community-2.webtv.net/johnnyjazz/johnnyjazzsjazzpage
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comments?
1222 Reads |
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - 10:19 AM |
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Lisa Hilton
Sunny Day Theory (Ruby Slippers Productions 2008)
Jazz pianist Lisa Hilton again holds firmly the direction of her legacy; with her new diabolically-seductive 2008 spin, Sunny Day Theory.
Sunny Day Theory manipulates the senses and holds sway within any setting as the Hilton ivories are unlimited with the touch of her compassionate impressions...Ms Hilton continues to unclog the arteries of jazz trends; with a new injection of cunningly-complex yet deliciously-stroked palettes of sound. Lisa Hilton, no more a young lioness in the industry after ten ignitions from the heart; she sheds her novice coat to become one of the "revivalists of respect" for the piano jazz technique…
Often overlooked yet never veiled, is her gift of composing. Ms. Hilton is the classic able practitioner of world-class musicianship. Not just by performing but more so, within her artistic architecture. Ms. Hilton strives to re-invent herself with every music sheet and concept, set on a firm foundation!
As an orphan of the flower power generation, I was inspired once again by "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," set to Ms Hilton's touch. Written as a call for peace by Pete Seeger, performed by The Kingston Trio, this idealistic classic has exceptional vision in this Hilton composition. The innocence of the melody and tone is characteristic of Ms. Hilton's movements. As rare as these covers are done by her, the embers of this classic are stirred by her innovative interpretations.
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CD Reviews: Deborah Latz, “Lifeline”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 20, 2008 - 09:12 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Jazz vocalist Deborah Latz continues her journey from the theatre to the world of music with the jazzy Lifeline, her second album and follow up to her impressive debut Toward Love (2004) with an enchanting release that will surely find its way to your heart. A quality singer with a serious voice, Latz voices fourteen time-honored standards giving some of these songs from the Great American Songbook a new lease on life. There’s the familiar Sinatra staple “Witchcraft,” Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” anchoring the repertoire. Latz records here with her core trio of pianist Daniela Schachter, bassist Bob Bowen and Elisabeth Keledjian on the drums. Also included on several tracks is tenor saxophonist extraordinaire Joel Frahm as special guest.
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CD Reviews: Bill Carrothers, “Home Row”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, October 18, 2008 - 07:13 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Although just released by Pirouet Records upon a recommendation by fellow Pirouet recording artist Mark Copland, Home Row captures a 1992 recording session by a piano trio led by pianist Bill Carrothers that was locked away and long forgotten. Along with renowned bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Bill Stewart, the trio laid down some very intense lyrical statements that are finally being heard for the first time. The album exerts a sophistication and energy not always exhibited by such trio’s.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes - Roncesvalles Tango
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Posted by: editor on Friday, October 17, 2008 - 10:20 AM |
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Rick Washbrook
From the Cafés cantantes to the gypsy festivals, the ardor of Flamenco music is the heartbeat of passionate string-driven romance. Whether it was the rubber-stamped classic sound of Ramón Montoya, the first performer to theoretically introduce classical guitar techniques into Flamenco music or the driven fret manipulation of the 19th century troubadour, the fervor remains lit. Therefore enter stage left, Rick Washbrook and his remarkable interpretation and methods of the ageless art of Flamenco. Roncesvalles Tango, released in 2007 is worthy of lofty acknowledgment, not so much for his innovative ability to manipulate technique but more so, the execution of the legendary proficiency needed to release the Latin mood.
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CD Reviews: Gian Wiegner & Gary Brunotte, “About Time”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 13, 2008 - 04:59 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Two long-time friends who met at Boston’s Berklee College of Music performed stints together and then went their separate ways never living in the same place again, thought that it was “About Time” they did a CD together and so they did resulting in this superb recording. Wiegner plays the guitar and Brunotte performs on the Hammond B-3 and the Korg CX3 organs. The album presents nine originals from the duo and includes four standards recorded in two different sessions in a quartet setting using different bass and drum combination.
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CD Reviews: The Jason Domnarski Trio, “Notes From Underground”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 13, 2008 - 03:39 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Offering his sophomoric effort with this new release, New York-based pianist and composer Jason Domnarski attempts to distinguish his trio from the plethora of trio’s in the jazz world today by including elements of pop and rock music on a primarily but atypical jazz recording. There’s even a shade of the electronica genre here, which in my humble opinion, stretches the boundary a bit but is nevertheless different.
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CD Reviews: Castries Underground: Caribbean jazz at its best.
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 13, 2008 - 11:19 AM |
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By John Stevenson
Caribbean jazz fans have been patient. Very patient.
Despite his notable work with the West Indies Jazz Band, and his collaborations with Guadeloupean and Martinquan musicians, including his involvement with Fal Frett, the Caribbean’s very own saxophone colossus has taken nearly 20 years (since the groundbreaking “Morne Dudon”) to deliver the
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CD Reviews: Bob Mover-It Amazes Me
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Posted by: muzikman on Sunday, October 12, 2008 - 01:39 PM |
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Bob Mover has been around a long time entertaining jazz lovers everywhere. The one thing that eludes him is the recognition many of his peers receive. Although deserving you just do not hear his name mentioned in the same conversation about the best alto and tenor sax players in history. That is unfortunate and quite unfair in my estimation. After listening to his most recent effort It Amazes Me, it actually does amaze me that this great musician does not get the accolades so many others do. The primary reason that this has not happened for Mover is that he has remained true to himself and the art form he decided to pursue. In other words the man never sold his soul for the big payday, thus the headlines and star over his name did not materialize. I for one applaud his honesty and pure soul and above all, his beautiful music.
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CD Reviews: CD Music Reviews: Roger Kellaway Live at the Jazz Standard”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, October 12, 2008 - 01:36 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Not since the rare but successful trios of Nat King Cole, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson of the 40s and 50s have we had the pleasure of encountering the music of an “all wood” or “drumless” trio that unheralded jazz pianist Roger Kellaway captures in this album. Recorded in a four night session at New York’s Jazz Standard, Kellaway and crew perform the music of Duke Ellington, Paul Desmond, Sonny Rollins, Hoagy Carmichael and Thelonious Monk covering twelve pieces on a two-disc CD album.
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CD Reviews: Pitom - Tzadik
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, October 09, 2008 - 09:34 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
To cite the press notes, this quartet abides by a “punkassjewjazz” stylization, as the Hebrew translation for the band’s moniker means “suddenly,” which serves as an appropriate analogy to the unit’s methodology. Think of an electric “Masada” on steroids, for example.
Guitarist Yoshie Fruchter leads an ensemble that furthers record label chief, saxophonist and composer John Zorn’s “Radical Jewish Culture” mindset. Here, the ensemble acutely and sometimes playfully, fuses Jewish traditional music with hardcore grunge rock and jazz improvisation. Moreover, Fruchter and violinist Shanir Blumenkranz surge skyward via complex and streaming unison lines atop crashing and high-impact rhythmic movements. Nonetheless, you don’t get the feeling that these folks are shy or inhibited by any stretch.
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CD Reviews: Benn Clatworthy..The Decider..2008
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, October 09, 2008 - 08:42 AM |
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By John Gilbert
Benn Clatworthy (saxes, flute) Chris Colangelo (bass) Ryan Doyle (drums)
These cats have more chops than the Armour Packing Co. A few years ago at a now defunct jazz club, I was listening to Benn Clatworthy playing in his inimitable frenzied style and one of the keys flew off of the horn like a drunken moth, but Benn kept right on wailing without a pause and the crowd loved it. Chris Colangelo has always been a swinging, muscular type bassist, much in demand and rightly so.
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CD Reviews: Jon Burr Band..Just Can't Wait..JBQ 205 2008
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 09:01 AM |
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By John Gilbert
This is a combined CD / DVD album with many different musicians on each track, and led by Jon Burr on bass.
The top tune on this package is the title tune "Just Can't Wait".. a jaunty number with a back beat and a hip vocal by Ty Stephens. Houston Person comes sailing in with a down home tenor solo followed by a swinging piano message by Loston Harris at the piano. This is a great tune, one that allows the soloists to stretch out and get off the ground. This CD is well worth the price of 'admission' it is well put together and with the added DVD "Live At Birdland" it is a sure fire hit.
4 Stars
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes - In These Shoes - Claudia Acuna and Arturo O'Farrill
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Posted by: editor on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 10:15 AM |
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Spicy composition and complex arrangements make this year's entry to the Latin jazz scene In These Shoes, of Claudia Acuna and Arturo O'Farrill's, a push-n-play of sizzling and seductive potency. The album steps into the Latin jazz circle with modern calculating rhythms carved out of the classic Latin texture.
This international spin has a heavy-ivory base with crisp strokes executed by Grammy nominated pianist Arturo O'Farrill, who has composed a highly respectable journal for himself. The classic Latino string methods of Adam Rogers flows along side the O'Farrill accompaniment… add that with the exquisite timing and appeal of vocalist Claudia Acuna, thus the expedition to sway commences. Tempting rhythms and melodies set the disk ablaze with electric momentum.
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CD Reviews: JazzTrenzz's Clef Notes
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, October 04, 2008 - 10:40 AM |
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My Harana: A Filipino Serenade (ZOHO Records 2008)
Karl Stober
Charmaine Clamor
The breaking of tradition and direction of heart is a social constant which is well documented over centuries. The art of the serenade is lost somewhat but still a strong accent on the feeling within. The art is unearthed through the outstanding talents and vocal chi of Filipino vocalist Charmaine Clamor's My Harana: A Filipino Serenade.
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CD Reviews: Carla Bley Big Band, “Appearing Nightly “
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 10:09 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Appearing Nightly is the latest big band album from pianist and band leader Carla Bley after two previous recordings with small ensembles in 2007 and 2004. Her previous big band recordings include Looking for America (ECM, 2003), The Carla Bley Big Band Goes to Church (ECM, 1996), Big Band Theory (ECM, 1993) and The Very Big Carla Bley Band (ECM, 1990). The album was recorded live in a two night engagement at The New Morning club in Paris during the summer European tour of 2006.
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CD Reviews: John Stein, “Encounterpoint”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 10:08 PM |
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Edward Blanco
The seventh album for guitarist John Stein, Encounterpoint offers four originals and five reworked standards in a repertoire of blues, bebop and even light bossa nova in a straight ahead contemporary jazz mode. Stein performs with a quartet of international players among them Brazilian drummer Ze Eduardo Nazario, Koichi Sato from Japan and bassist John Lockwood from South Africa.
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CD Reviews: Leonardo E. M. Cioglia, “Contos”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 10:06 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Providing a fresh new approach to Brazilian music, Brazilian-born bassist Leonardo E.M. Cioglia who now resides in New York, has been performing his style of the music for some time now with his Quizamba group with whom he plays regularly throughout the New York area. Contos is his latest project recorded a year ago with some of the finest players on the East Coast music scene among them vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist John Ellis, Mike Moreno on electric and acoustic steel string guitar, pianist Aaron Goldberg and Antonio Sanchez on the drums.
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The Stryker/Slagle Band-The Scene
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 01:02 PM |
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The Stryker/Slagle Band is Dave Stryker (guitar) and Steve Slagle (alto and soprano sax, flute). These two men came together because of a mutual respect for music and many of the people that have come and gone over the years before them so they could be some of the privileged few to create great music in their image and memory.
Different people, places and things inspire us all and music holds a special kind of goodwill that we all seem to understand when we listen, particularly when the performing musicians let you know that some of that mojo is part of the entire picture on a project.
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CD Reviews: Rabih Abou-Khalil's Portuguese Blues
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 07:11 PM |
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By John Stevenson
In a career spanning more 30 years as one of the world’s foremost oud players and composers - with exhaustive experience as a bandleader and acclaimed television presenter - you would think Rabih Abou-Khalil would be nearing his creative plateau by now. Nothing could be further from the truth. His latest CD recording on the German Enja imprint, Em Portugues, is a marvel of musical invention, showcasing the Lebanese Instrumentalist at the height of his creative imagination.
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CD Reviews: Cynthia Hilts..Second Story Breeze..Blond Coyote Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 07:08 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Cynthia Hilts (piano, vocals) Ron McClure (bass), Jeff Williams (drums)
As the screen flashes out letters in their obedient dance, I am struck
by the musical magic in the tune "Nun, Miffdemeaner-Like" Hilts is true
to the bebop tradition in her solo, mixing a bit of Bud Powell with some
asides to Mr. Monk on occasion. Some interesting 8 bar exchanges plus an
extended bass solo add to this tunes listenability.
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CD Reviews: Denise Donatelli..What Lies Within..Savant Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 07:07 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Arranger: Geoffrey Keezer.
Personnel: Denise Donatelli (vocals); Peter Sprague (guitar); Giovanna
Clayton (cello); Bob Sheppard (flute, alto flute, soprano saxophone,
alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Carl Saunders (trumpet, flugelhorn);
Geoffrey Keezer (piano, vibraphone, marimba, percussion); Carlos del
Rosario (organ, gong); Hamilton Price (bass instrument, bass guitar);
Marvin "Smitty" Smith (drums); Alex Acuna (percussion)
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CD Reviews: Roger Kellaway..Live At The Jazz Standard..IPO 2008
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 07:06 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Roger Kellaway (piano) Russell Malone (guitar) Stefon Harris (vibes) Jay
Leonhardt (bass) Borislav Strulev (cello)
This recording, sans drums, caught my attention straightaway. Drumless
is a good thing in some cases and here it is a brilliant concept. Made
over four nights at the Jazz Standard in New York, Kellaway shines like
the Aurora Borealis on this album and is certainly the sine qua non of
this all star quintet.
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CD Reviews: Jonathan Voltzok..More To Come..Kol Yo Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 02:09 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Jonathan Voltzok (trombone) Aaron Goldberg (piano) Barak Mori (bass) Ali
Jackson (drums) Slide Hampton (trombone, tracks 2 & 9) Antonio Hart
(alto sax, tracks 4 & 6)
"More To Come" Voltzok comes on like gangbusters with a blazing solo.
His torrent of notes were not mindless excursions just for the sake of
speed, the message is there in a brilliant journey into the land of bop.
Horace Silver's "Opus De Funk" serves as a perfect vehicle for Voltzok
to swing and do his thing with aplomb and ease. His ideation carries us
into a pleasant place where hipness abides. Aaron Goldberg shares his
musical whimsy and pianistic wisdom with a solid soliloquy that gets off
the ground in a hurry.
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CD Reviews: DFA “Fourth” CD-2008 Moonjune Records
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 09:45 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
I will boldly state that DFA’s fourth outing is its finest achievement to date. Those words might be a tad audacious since the Italian progressive/jazz-rock’s legacy is a mighty impressive one at that. And it’s the unit’s first presentation of original music since the 1999 epic release titled Duty Free Area. The band’s more recent productions; Work In Progress Live, recorded at the 2000 NEARfest prog gala, and the two-CD Kaleidoscope effort which is the anthology of its first two recordings, loom as influential and powerful musical statements.
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CD Reviews: Wolfert Brederode Quartet “Currents” CD-2008 ECM Records
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 09:43 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
This band led by Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode operates within a translucent type musical setting, steeped in the integration of chamber music and progressive jazz. In effect, the European quartet exercises an ambient and lyrically resplendent set of themes that parallels the album title, where a gentle tide or current underscores the premise behind these engaging works.
Brederode’s soft touch is analogous to his performances with fellow ECM Records artist and vocalist Susanne Abbuehl. Yet here, the pianist and clarinetist Claudio Puntin design a warmly melodic string of motifs amid trance-like ostinato phrasings, and gradual shifts in tempo. With endearing and at times hauntingly beautiful harmonies, the quartet spawns a sense of sanctification via resonating choruses atop the rhythm section’s calming backdrops.
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CD Reviews: Ralph Lalama Quartet, “Energy Fields”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 08:04 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
The Ralph Lalama Quartet releases its debut with Energy Fields but is certainly not the first recording for the members of the band—all seasoned musicians with a discography of their own. Leader Ralph Lalama is known as a tenor saxophonist with a muscular tone clearly evident from his power-infused performance on the opening Woody Shaw piece “The Moontrane.” The balance of the group is comprised of guitarist John Hart, bassist Rick Petrone and drummer Joe Corsello.
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CD Reviews: Roselyn Brown, “Emancipation “
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 08:03 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Roselyn Brown is one very talented lady so much so that it’s tough to categorize her as an artist because she performs on so many instruments that it is perhaps better to refer to her as a multi-instrumentalist who can also sing. Emancipation reveals the depth of her skills where she crafts an album of originals, covers and one oft heard classic into a primarily smooth jazz recording.
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CD Reviews: Jeff Hackworth, “Where the Blue Begins”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 - 06:14 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Tenor saxophonist Jeff Hackworth from New York collaborates once again with saxophonist great Houston Person, who produced his previous album (“How Little We Know, 2007) and helps fashion another superb recording with “Where the Blue Begins.” This CD combines an unusual repertoire of pop tunes with the meat of the album focused on beautiful ballads. Both Hackworth and Person chose to include old songs and forgotten standards which they intern recast a new with sparkling fresh arrangements like with “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” a song made famous by Elvis Presley in the movie “Blue Hawaii.”
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CD Reviews: Tuck & Patti-I Remember You
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 08:58 PM |
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You would think a long-standing duo such as vocalist Patti Cathcart and guitarist Tuck Andress would have covered the American Songbook on one of their many releases over the past 20 some years but it simply is not the case. I Remember You is their first complete recording dedicated to covers of the jazz book of classic songs and the couple’s way of saying hello again to all the tunes they love.
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Elvin Bishop-The Blues Rolls On
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 08:57 PM |
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Elvin Bishop is struttin’ his stuff again just as he has for a long time now. It was 1975 when the album Struttin’ My Stuff came out and suddenly it seems (in reference to musical output) that 2008 came very fast indeed. Bishop is still crankin’ out the blues on The Blues Rolls On.
Bishop is in the higher echelon of performers in the genre now and he tells you why with all the guests that comes on board to help him deliver twelve smoldering tracks of blues-rock.
This is a predominately studio album with a few select live cuts. Warren Haynes, an amazing player from The Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule, stands alongside Bishop and they peel off some amazing slide guitar work. Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds) sings and plays harp as well making the lead off track “The Blues Rolls On” unforgettable. “Struttin’ My Stuff” is equally tantalizing as Allman Bros. band mate Derek Trucks delivers the goods with Haynes again coming in and adding his licks. Now if that wasn’t enough to get your heart pumpin’ then the king of the court B.B. King and his longtime love Lucille step on stage for a short interview conducted by Bishop then the duo launch into “Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket,” a classic blues song that everyone seems to enjoy playing and it never gets old.
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CD Reviews: Dave Holland’s new sextet, The Bad Plus on Nirvana, Caribbean folk-jazz tales, British Agit-pop, Bengali jazz … and more … September 2008
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 08:35 AM |
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By John Stevenson
Dave Holland Sextet: Pass it On (Dare2)
As ever, Holland brims over with propulsive originality, fuelled by the collaborative energies of a dynamic grouping, though vibist Steve Nelson’s absence is acutely noticeable. This is arguably the premier bassist’s most middle-of-the-road CD in many years, as Mulgrew Miller’s piano gives the proceedings decidedly hard-bop, Horace Silver-like flourishes. This is particularly the case on “Modern Times”. The front-line horns (altoist Antonio Hart, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and trombonist Robin Eubanks) on the Eubanks original “Fast Track”, shade and colour a pretty Latin piece.
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CD Reviews: Jay T. Vonada, “Jammin’ “
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Posted by: editor on Monday, September 22, 2008 - 12:47 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Trombonist Jay T. Vonada from Aaronsburg, Pennsylvania makes an elegant entrance into the world of recorded music with an audacious debut release of Jammin,’ just the kind of stuff that one needs to get noticed. Without a star-studded cast of players Vonada crafts a very fine first effort using local talent producing a nice result. His quartet includes Adam Kurland on keyboards, Jacob Hibel on bass and John Sullivan manning the drums.
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CD Reviews: Bill King's Rhythm Express..Beat Street 2008
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 20, 2008 - 09:48 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Bill King has assembled a fine group of musicians with a complete
departure from his usual fare.
Bill King (acoustic grand piano, hammond B3 organ, fender rhodes, korg
synthesizer) William Sperandei (trumpet) Darcy Hepner (Tenor sax, bass
clarinet) Duncan Hopkins, bass), Mark Kelso (drums), Luis Obergoso
(percussion)
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CD Reviews: Glenn White - “Sacred Machines” - CD-2008 OA2 Records
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 20, 2008 - 12:11 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Well-educated and a jazz road warrior, New York City-based saxophonist/composer Glenn White has performed with cutting-edge jazz stars, pianist Art Lande and bassist Dave Holland among other notables. And while I never heard his inaugural 1999 solo effort titled “Downside,” the artist shows quite a bit of savvy via a string of memorable compositions on this newly issued 2008 outing, produced by sax great David Binney.
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CD Reviews: Vicki Burns Quartet..Live At Anna's Jazz Island..2007-2008
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 19, 2008 - 02:55 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Vicki Burns vocals, John Nichols on guitar, Sam Bevan on bass, Smith
Dobson V on drums. Special guests: Mary Ellen Donald on Arabic
Tambourine, Nika Rejto on flute and Adam Blankman on vocals
Vicki Burns does indeed 'burn' on this recording. The stars were aligned
just right when she was blessed with a singing voice that was made for
the jazz idiom.
"Sweet Home Chicago" Burns shows some range on this blues tune as she
swings it to the max. A cool guitar solo has a heavy mesage coupled with
a facile rendering.
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CD Reviews: Dapp Theory - “Layers of Chance” CD-2008 Contrology Records/Obliqsound
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, September 13, 2008 - 01:34 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
The band’s first album since its 2003 Concord Records release looms as a stylistic crossover among M-Base, hip-hop, progressive jazz, funk and more. To that end, I missed out on the group’s inaugural outing. However, keyboardist Andy Milne and saxophonist Loren Stillman are among the preeminent movers and shakers within modern jazz circles. In effect, they conjure up an overall tone of newness whether performing as solo artists, or accompanying others. Such is the case here, as the quintet designs a multi-genre gait that yields high dividends, largely due to its penchant for crafting a distinct sound.
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CD Reviews: Donny McCaslin Trio - Recommended Tools
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 04:03 PM |
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Glen Astarita
CD-2008 Greenleaf Music
I initially took notice of tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin’s artistry and monstrous chops during his alignment with the formidable saxophonist David Binney in the hard-hitting quartet “Lan Xang.” McCaslin has since become one of the most sought after session artists in modern jazz while performing with trumpet hero Dave Douglas’ quintet since 2005 to complement his numerous jazz-centric activities. And with this debut solo outing for Douglas’ “Greenleaf Music” label, the artist treads waters previously exercised by sax greats, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson and Kenny Garrett among others. Sure enough, McCaslin launches a massive onslaught here. But it’s a democratic engagement, where bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Jonathan Blake round out the telepathic group sound.
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CD Reviews: Lester Young..Live At Birdland 1953 & 1956..ESP-DISK 2007
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Posted by: editor on Friday, September 05, 2008 - 02:24 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Lester Young (ts) Horace Silver, Bill Triglia (piano), Don Ferrara,
Jesse Jakes (Drakes) (trumpets) Franklin Skeete, Gene Ramey (bass), Gus
Johnson, Lee Abrams (drums)
This album contains 19 tunes and a very informative booklet along with a
recording that illustrates Pres and company in top notch form.
The opener "Lady Be Good" has Pres with his patented tone getting all
over the horn in an unusual manner for him. His interesting solo is pure
magic. Each player 'takes a helping' as Pres would say.
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CD Reviews: Fred Frith - “Technology of Tears” - CD 2008 (Reissue) Fred Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 04:22 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Distributed by ReR USA.
This is the 2008 remastered and reissued CD by world-renowned composer/guitarist/improviser Fred Frith, who is also a founding member of the great â€70s avant-rock outfit “Henry Cow.” Commissioned by Rosalind Newman and performed for her dance company back in 1987, this album looms as one of the guitarist’s more advanced compositional undertakings. And while Frith employs fellow New York “downtown” scene pioneers, saxophonist John Zorn and turntable artiste Christian Marclay, the preponderance of this music is largely unclassifiable.
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DVD Reviews: Gustavo Assis-Brasil - “In Concert”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - 03:38 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
DVD+CD 2008 Anamaria Records
Boston-based guitarist Gustavo Assis-Brasil merges monstrous chops with a strong compositional pen, highlighted during this live footage recorded at a venue in his hometown of Santa Maria, Brazil. There’s also a bonus live CD, featuring seven audio-only pieces culled from the DVD. And for the technically minded folks, Assis-Brasil uses electric guitars sans machine heads. Nonetheless, the trio pursues a tightly regimented approach, counterbalanced by ample soloing opportunities and the leader’s largely, memorable frameworks.
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CD Reviews: The Decider/Benn Clatworthy
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, September 02, 2008 - 06:32 PM |
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Reedman Benn Clatworthy is truly both a player and composer of note. I relegate my readers to his ''Bossa Mia'' with its attendant
vigor and robustness.......Thus he creates an amalgam of power with his musical compositions. He can also play the ''American Songbook''
with a panache to be noted as well. Listen to his unusual version of ''Kick Out Of You,'' Last, there's an extreme senitivity in what Clatworthy's group delivers which is easy to assimilate
plus, he plays his music with a interesting harmonic audacity & expressive declamation as well which is rarely seen in musical circles.
George W Carroll
The Musicians' Ombudsman
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comments?
1126 Reads |
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DVD Reviews: Naxos releases third instalment in Jazz Icons series
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, September 02, 2008 - 01:32 PM |
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Naxos releases third instalment in Jazz Icons series including previously not seen Oscar Peterson shows from 1963, 1964 and 1965.
By John Stevenson
Naxos of America, one of the world’s top classical music labels has teamed up with Reelin’ in the Years Productions LLC, to produce seven more titles in its highly regarded Jazz Icons series, featuring stunning concert performances, captured in crystalline clear black and white.
These wondrous performances highlight the individualistic artistry of canonical jazz figures such as Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson, Lionel Hampton, Nina Simone, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. No doubt, this is an inestimable gift to posterity and to jazz pedagogy.
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CD Reviews: Jay D’Amico Trio, “Tuscan Prelude: Jazz Under Glass”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, September 01, 2008 - 07:13 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
With his first release in several years’ pianist and composer Jay D’Amico turns in one classy performance on Tuscan Prelude a unique blending of contemporary jazz with the classical influence. On his previous album, Ponte Novello (CAP, 2001) D’Amico chose to include operatic pieces from the Puccini, Verdi and Bellini influences and married the music to a jazz style. On this recording he once again draws from his classical training to present a fusion of classical and jazz music through eleven original compositions.
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CD Reviews: Marshall Gilkes, “Lost Words”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, September 01, 2008 - 07:12 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
New York trombonist and composer Marshall Gilkes made quite an impression with his 2004 debut “Edenderry” providing a swinging sound that showcased his talents as a composer. This follow up album features fresh new charts that highlight an aggressive approach to the music lending to his reputation as a strong Bebop trombonist. This is quite evident from his intense play on “The Crossover” and continues in kind on the following “Late Arrival” that shifts tempo to a relaxed jazzy feel.
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Gilad Atzmon liberates the Americans: Orient House Ensemble, Ronnie Scott’s London, August 30th 2008
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Posted by: editor on Monday, September 01, 2008 - 09:25 AM |
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By John Stevenson
For sheer improvisational fireworks, quirky humour and genre-defying invention, one will be hard-pressed to find a bandleader as unique as Gilad Atzmon.
The London-based Israeli-born saxophonist and clarinetist is also a novelist and controversial commentator on the complex politics of his homeland. Over the last decade he has blazed a distinctive trail with the Orient House Ensemble, mixing up the sounds of the Middle East with any number of influences including mainstream jazz, funk, calypso, and of course, klezmer.
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CD Reviews: Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz - “Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, August 29, 2008 - 05:50 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2008 Concord Music Group
Swing, swing and swing-hard might have been the mission statement for this all-star aggregation recorded live during the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival. Ultimately, this group was concocted by legendary promoter George Wein and featured trumpet great Dizzy Gillespie during its 1971 inception: Dizzy eventually left the group due to obligations with his quartet. And per the album notes: “The Giants of Jazz was the greatest touring jam session since the heyday of Jazz at the Philharmonic.”
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CD Reviews: Carroll's CD Reviews
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Posted by: editor on Friday, August 29, 2008 - 09:18 AM |
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Aaron Irwin Group/Blood & Thunder/FSNT320
Echoes of ''Bird'.......Trane.......And other influential 'outside' jazz players who hold up our beloved idiom well......Enter Aaron Irwin with musical panache as he carries on our great mainstrean jazz tradition! Irwin is very much at home with his music, and bebop is 'where he lives.' I hope my missive engenders a deep respect for this musically knowledgeable & harmonically articulate jazz player, as he should be considered in my humble opinion a jazzer with immense objectivity and substance. This is a guy with a unique signature plus a definite singular personal dimension with what he sends out to us artistically.
George W Carroll
The Musicians' Ombudsman
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CD Reviews: Jasna Jovicevic - “Invented Reality”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, August 29, 2008 - 09:15 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2008 Independent (Made possible by Serbian Ministry of Diaspora)
Alto and soprano saxophonist Jasna Jovicevic fuses Balkan roots with her extensive music education and broad jazz vernacular on this interesting and largely, appealing studio date recorded in Toronto, Canada. In effect, she melds a sometimes-translucent demarcation between ethnocentric modal concepts with contemporary and modern jazz. Featuring brisk ballads, medium-tempo arrangements and the explorative strings-based suite titled “The Journey,” Jovicevic also surfaces as an able vocalist in spots.
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CD Reviews: Ron Kalina and Jim Self, “The Odd Couple”
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Posted by: editor on Friday, August 29, 2008 - 09:13 AM |
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By Edward Blanco
One of the most unusual jazz albums you will encounter in the music world today, The Odd Couple captures the unique marriage of the chromatic harmonica with the tuba and fluba producing an intriguing sound not often heard or appreciated but definitely entertaining to say the least. The dynamic duo of Ron Kalina on the harmonica and Jim Self blowing the tuba is not news for the two have teamed up before on Self’s first recording, “Children at Play.”
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CD Reviews: The Stryker/Slagle Band, “The Scene”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 11:15 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Fresh from their critically acclaimed 2007 CD “Latest Outlook,” guitarist Dave Stryker and saxophonist Steve Slagle release their third album on the ZOHO label with The Scene clearly one of the finer sessions of contemporary jazz you will hear. This recording in many ways eclipses their previous effort, pays tribute to musicians who are all in a sense, “brothers on the scene,’ as Slagle puts it. Much of the music is dedicated to those who have passed on like Slagle’s “Hopewell’s Last,” a light cushy ballad dedicated to his late brother, Stuart Slagle,
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CD Reviews: Paul Motian Trio 2000 + Two - “Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. II
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 11:11 AM |
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Glen Astarita
CD-2008 Winter & Winter
This is the follow up to the 2007 issued Vol. I album of the same name/venue. Again, drumming master Paul Motian and his core trio set the foundation for a musical schema that is steeped within capacious parameters and ultra-modern jazz stylizations. With the addition of alto saxophonist Greg Osby, violaist Mat Maneri and pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, the music iterated here is a study in contrasts, expressionism and flotation-like pulses.
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CD Reviews: Adam Niewood and His Rabble Rousers “Epic Journey, Volumes I & II”
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Posted by: admin on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 07:18 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Presenting a double CD set of original and mostly freestyle improvised music, Manhattan-based saxophonist and composer Adam Niewood turns in a marvelous performance on the reeds where he plays all five saxophones and the clarinet. Adam happens to be the son of saxophonist great Gerry Niewood whom I first heard play on an early 70s two record set of a Chuck Mangione concert with the Rochester Philharmonic. This Niewood version prefers the creative and sophisticated structure of free jazz providing specific tempos, grooves and moods you will not find in more traditional jazz music.
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CD Reviews: Court Mast, “Sausalito Summer”
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Posted by: admin on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 07:18 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
San Francisco-based composer, trumpeter and cornetist Court Mast returns to the music scene after a twenty-five year hiatus and pays a musical tribute to the town of Sausalito with twelve new compositions with titles reflecting the cozy and breezy feel of a summer spent in the Sausalito area. The music on Sausalito Summer is sophisticated straight ahead containing light jazzy melodies sprinkled with boppish solos from a fine cast of players.
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CD Reviews: Jasna Jovicevic “Invented Reality” CD-2008 Independent (Made possible by Serbian Ministry of Diaspora)
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Posted by: admin on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 07:17 PM |
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By Glenn Astarita
Alto and soprano saxophonist Jasna Jovicevic fuses Balkan roots with her extensive music education and broad jazz vernacular on this interesting and largely, appealing studio date recorded in Toronto, Canada. In effect, she melds a sometimes-translucent demarcation between ethnocentric modal concepts with contemporary and modern jazz. Featuring brisk ballads, medium-tempo arrangements and the explorative strings-based suite titled “The Journey,” Jovicevic also surfaces as an able vocalist in spots.
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CD Reviews: Court Mast, “Sausalito Summer”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 08:51 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
San Francisco-based composer, trumpeter and cornetist Court Mast returns to the music scene after a twenty-five year hiatus and pays a musical tribute to the town of Sausalito with twelve new compositions with titles reflecting the cozy and breezy feel of a summer spent in the Sausalito area. The music on Sausalito Summer is sophisticated straight ahead containing light jazzy melodies sprinkled with boppish solos from a fine cast of players.
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CD Reviews: David Liebman – Ellery Eskelin – Tony Marino – Jim Black - “Renewal”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 11:27 AM |
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CD-2008 hatOLOGY Records
This 2008 release presents some of the more intense tenor sax work you’ll likely hear. It’s a coherent and structured endeavor, where song-form and furious improvisation attain a fruitful coexistence. Here, sax icons David Liebman and Ellery Eskelin engage modern jazz with the fortitude of two warriors armed and ready for battle. Consequently, the quartet does indeed convey a spirited, group-centric line of fire.
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CD Reviews: Holly Yarbrough, “Mister Rogers Swings!”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, August 18, 2008 - 05:56 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
The late Fred Rogers had quite a following among children and many adults today who grew up watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood, but not many remember him as an accomplished songwriter as singer Holly Yarbrough does and with this solo debut, pays tribute to Rogers in a swinging jazzy fashion. Mister Rogers Swings was a labor of love for Ms. Yarbrough, who happens to be the daughter of folk singer tenor Glenn Yarbrough, records sixteen original Rogers’s compositions providing a mature straight ahead sound to the music.
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CD Reviews: Bill King’s Rhythm Express, “Beat Street”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 10:14 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
When he’s not composing music, arranging, producing acting as a photo journalist and publishing The Jazz Report and Ejazznews web site, Bill King is a consummate professional musician who plays and sings the blues, soul and of course, jazz and does it well. A leader of many musical groups, the eclectic Rhythm Express sextet presents the latest project with “Beat Street,” a personal homage, as he states, “to the great soul jazz pioneers…” that have been a part of his musical make up since the age of fifteen. In particular he points to the influences of such artists as Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis, the Crusaders and Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, Eddie Palmieri, Hancock, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder just to name a few.
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CD Reviews: For Hep Cats – Linda Dachtyl (Chicken Coup LLC 2008)
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 03:42 PM |
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Clef Notes
Karl Stober
Put this spin on the "Hep" cycle and let it rotate, for it has the matchless signature that cleverly dispenses the art of cool rhythms. Linda Dachtyl and her jazz organ have orchestrated a tidy, little career of being one thing…unique! The style has this old-school fervor to its music sheets.
Not one who is well-versed for songs in the "key" of organs, this plunge into a blues injected sound has me intrigued, in the affirmative sense. Curious as to how Ms. Dachtyl extracts such elegance and smooth cool from her keys, the arrangements offer imaginative flair and are blurred from textbook regulations. For Hep Cats takes the blues mentality and injects the jazz feel properly with a charismatic approach.
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CD Reviews: Kelley Johnson..Home..Sapphire Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 02:50 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Kelley Johnson's rich and cultured voice is a joy to listen to,
especially on the Gershwin's "Love Walked Right In" Johnson gets this
tune off the ground in a hurry with a swinging arrangement. Matt
Jorgensen on drums displays a tasty backdrop and Geoffrey Keezer's
message at the piano is a cool sojourn into the land of bop.
The arrangements are artfully crafted and Johnson's soulful phrasing and
intimate tone gives one lots of fertile ground to till.
It is indeed a pleasure to hear a vocalist with no gimmicks, simply one
whose artistry is sufficient to carry the day with no concern for the
"Young And The Hipless"
5 Stars
Visit California Coast Jazz At:
http://community-2.webtv.net/johnnyjazz/johnnyjazzsjazzpage
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CD Reviews: Bud Powell..Live At The Blue Note Cafe, Paris 1961
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 04:04 PM |
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Bud Powell (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums), Zoot
Sims (tenor sax).
By John Gilbert
Bud Powell was to the piano what Alfred Einstein was to the theory of
relativity. He is recognized, along with Bird and Diz as one the main
figures in the creation of bop. Powell's lightning like right hand with
chords from his left became the standard by which all pianists are
judged to this day.
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CD Reviews: Some Enchanted Evening – Miles Black Trio (Cellar 2007)
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Posted by: editor on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 01:39 PM |
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Clef Notes
Karl Stober
As live recordings go, this spin is the pedagogy of charming oneself within the diverse vein of ivory strokes.
The Miles Black Trio, from the cavern known as The Cellar, showcases a lovely evening of spontaneous jazz with a rhythmic sparkle. At times, the sound quality of the disc is timid and barely identifiable, however, Some Enchanted Evening and its flexible attitude, outweigh any minor issues in its course. This spin is a jazz fixture for any twilight moment, when the mood dictates the outcome.
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CD Reviews: Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban - “The Romanian-American Jazz Suite” - CD-2008 Jazzaway Records
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 11:25 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
As noted in the liner notes: “This CD is a documentation of "The Romanian-American Jazz Suite, a multi-movement work composed by American saxophonist Sam Newsome and Romanian pianist Lucian Ban, which combines Romanian folk music with American jazz.” The program was initially conceived when American saxophonist Sam Newsome and Romanian reared pianist Lucian Ban received the CEC Artslink award, emanating from a New York-based establishment that sponsors alliances between artists in the United States, Central Europe, Russia and Eurasia. Moreover, Newsome and Ban chart out the events and steps leading to the actual fruition of this album in the liners.
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CD Reviews: CD Reviews: Wayne Wallace “The Nature of the Beat”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, August 09, 2008 - 10:48 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
San Francisco native Wayne Wallace is an established arranger, composer and sideman who has long been in the forefront of the vibrant jazz scene in the Bay Area and has garnishing three Latin Grammy nominations in addition to his credentials with bebop, big band and R&B music. As a trombonist, Wallace is a much in demand artist who regularly is called on to grace the recordings of many of the top artist in the music world. “The Nature of The Beat” is the second part of a trilogy that he began with his previous critically acclaimed album “The Reckless Search for Beauty,” which blends the genres of straight-ahead jazz, Latin and R&B music. This album contains more of the Afro-Latin rhythms than the other recording and continues his fascination with the Afro-centric music of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil.
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CD Reviews: Elaine Lucia..Let's Live Again..Songflower Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 03:23 PM |
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Elaine Lucia (vocals), Jonathan Alford (piano), Pierre Archain (bass),
Alan Hall (drums), Gerry Grosz (vibes), Randy Vincent (guitar)
By John Gilbert
Elaine Lucia has all the equipment that is inherent in every solid jazz
vocalist. She enunciates with clarity, sings in tune and chooses her
tunes wisely.
"The Wildest Gal In Town" has all the ingredients of a proper jazz tune.
The lyrics are both sophisticated and stylish and Lucia's message is
obvious to the discerning listener. Randy Vincent's guitar adds some
pizazz to an already hot track.
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CD Reviews: Albums show many sides of Latin jazz
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 08:12 AM |
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'Felicidade'
Gary Morgan and Panamericana! (CAP)
'Song for Chico'
Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra (Zoho)
'The Latin Side of Wayne Shorter'
Conrad Herwig (Half Note)
Afro-Cuban jazz, sometimes called Latin jazz, can go a number of ways, as three current albums show. Gary Morgan's "Felicidade" features Panamericana!, a hefty band of 22 pieces. It includes French horns and tuba at times to produce a sound that is gigantic, but never loses its swing. Baritone-sax player Terry Goss fits particularly well in the band's deep sound. Meanwhile, Arturo O'Farrill leads his traditionally sized Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra on "Song for Chico," dedicated to his late father, Chico, a composer-arranger-bandleader. While this band has a more common big-band feel, it is not lacking in weight or good arrangements.
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CD Reviews: John Stevenson on Kenny Barron, David Sanchez and Torsten Goods
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, August 02, 2008 - 10:02 AM |
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August 2008
Kenny Barron: Traveler (Universal/Emarcy)
The distinguished pianist has put together a smashing aggregation, deployed in several combinations and permutations to underscore his distinctive suppleness, ingenuity and arranging acumen. Up-and-coming lions, West African guitarist Lionel Loueke and Cuban drummer Francisco Mela (among others) are like minds with elder statesmen such as vocalist Grady Tate. The Barron-Loueke duet, simply called Duet, is a thing of great beauty. The quartet number “’Speed Trap’, sees Barron in Herbie Nichols territory, trotting out whimsically improvised lines that lance and parry with the likes of featured soprano saxist Steve Wilson. This is without doubt Barron’s most unpredictable – and refreshing – recording date in many years.
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Berklee College of Music & Roxbury Film Festival
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Posted by: opi on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 08:24 AM |
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Berklee College of Music and Roxbury Film Festival
Bring Hip-Hop and Global Music Exchange to the Big Screen for Festival’s 10th Anniversary
Music and Movies Perfect Marriage for Roxbury Film Festival’s Landmark Celebration
What do you get when you mix the college known the world over for contemporary music with the film festival known locally and nationally for celebrating people of color and its legacy of community development and empowerment? Powerful cinema of global import that weaves the stories of people from South Central Los Angeles, New Orleans, South Africa, Tibet and beyond with their musical mantras. For the first time in the festival’s 10-year history, there will be film screenings at Berklee College of Music for the public as part of the festival, roxburyfilmfestival.org, Berklee.edu.
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CD Reviews: John Stevenson’s Top Five: Jazz, African hip hop, Gwo-Ka, and beyond
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 01:36 PM |
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July/August 2008
Sophie: The Peacocks (SBS)
Supported by a stunning band including Canadian jazz vets Bill King (keyboards), saxophonist Mike Murley, and drummer Mark Kelso, seventeen-year-old Sophie Berkal-Sabit sprinkles vocal stardust all over this three-track sampler – greatly whetting the appetite for the full-programme platter to come. With remarkable maturity of delivery and poise, Sophie stamps her artistic authority on the Jimmy Rowles-penned title tune, arguably one of the most challenging numbers in the jazz standards library, followed by the one-two combination of â€Love for Sale’ and â€Softly as in a Morning Sunrise’ – both given peppery Latinized arrangements.
Walter Becker: Circus Money (Sonic360)
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CD Reviews: Curtis Haywood Self Titled Debut
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 09:05 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Smooth jazz saxophonist Curtis Haywood makes a thrilling debut with a twelve track album containing eight new contemporary smooth jazz originals along with a selection of R&B standards given new soulful interpretations. Originally influenced by the likes of Grover Washington, David Sanborn and named after the legendary R&B saxophonist King Curtis, when Haywood plays the sax, you can almost hear a little of each of these greats in his saxophone voice.
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CD Reviews: Nobu Stowe & Alan Munshower with Badal Roy - “An die Musik”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 09:04 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2008 Soul Note
As a Psychologist/Neuroscientist, Baltimore resident Stobu Nowe might have some added insight, regarding the mind’s elucidation of melody within freely improvised musical environs. No doubt, he’s a seriously talented pianist who admittedly cites Keith Jarrett as a major influence. Recorded on the second floor of the Baltimore area record shop An Die Musik as part of Bernard Lyon’s “Creative Differences” series, this set offers the antithesis of your typical free-improvisation type fare. Therefore, the common denominator is centered upon Stowe’s reengineering of melody lines, yet the bottom line is that the trio abides by a democratic modus operandi.
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CD Reviews: Steve Oliver “One Night Live”
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Posted by: editor on Monday, July 28, 2008 - 09:58 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Smooth jazz guitarist virtuoso Steve Oliver presents a new DVD/CD two-disc set capturing an electrifying live performance recorded at the State Theatre in Modesto, California playing many of his greatest hits. In addition, the CD also includes two originals not performed in concert (“This Fire” and “On The Upside”). Clearly one of the best Smooth jazz albums of the, “One Night Stand” reveals the talents of an amazing artist so versatile on the guitar that he actually makes it sing using a host of electronic aides, the guitar makes the vocal sound of “Do’s and Bop’s.”
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CD Reviews: Swampdawamp-2.0
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Posted by: muzikman on Sunday, July 27, 2008 - 11:46 AM |
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Artist: Swampdawamp
Title: 2.0
Genre: Southern Rock-Blues
Label: Big Penny Entertainment
Website
Source Link
Swampdawamp is crankin it up again and getting those southern fried rock and blue fires burnin! On this teaser, titled 2.0 a Special Edition pre release CD, they are offering up three studio tracks and interviews and a rehearsal recording. The boys sound like they are ready to release another great album sometime later this year.
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CD Reviews: Noah Preminger Group “Dry Bridge Road”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 12:11 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Noah Preminger is not a household name in the world of jazz as of yet, but this young twenty-two year old tenor saxophonist is striving to change that and this debut recording may do the trick. Dry Ridge Road captures a session of ambient jazz that leans a bit towards the free jazz genre with a good dose of improvisational material. You get a sense of that right from the opening track (“Luke”) showcasing his full-toned delivery and changing direction of the music. He follows with a short vignette titled “A Dream,” his second of six original tunes on the album, leading to the heavily improvised “Today is Okay” in which he plays off the other members of his sextet on a series of improvisations.
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CD Reviews: Marc McDonald, “It Doesn’t End Here”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 12:09 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
After more than twenty-five years as a sideman, alto saxophonist and composer Marc McDonald makes his recording debut as leader with one of the finest mainstream jazz albums of the year. Except for three light standards given refreshing new arrangements, McDonald contributes eight original compositions containing influences from bop, Brazilian and a bit of New Orleans R&B. British-born McDonald, who now resides in New York, has led various groups in the NewYork/New Jersey area for over twenty-five years.
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Steve Lukather - Ever Changing Times tour
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Posted by: willminting on Sunday, July 20, 2008 - 08:30 AM |
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STEVE LUKATHER - LIVE IN TUTTLINGEN, GERMANY
Having seen more than 100 Toto and Lukather shows in 11 countries since 1988, tonight's Honberg-Sommer festival show at Tuttlingen in southern Germany will rank as one of my favourites. Why?
This was the freshest live performance I've seen in a very long time, and Luke's whole approach and demeanour seemed totally revitalised by his new band. It's as if Luke calling-time on Toto has unburdened him from the shackles of "those" songs and re-awakened his enthusiasm to hit the road and start over. The new material from Ever Changing Times (Tell me what you want from me) is fresh sounding to begin with but the harder edge and rawness of this new band seem to have re-lit Luke's fire. As Luke told me tonight, "these guys are great musicians". I already knew Steve Weingart, who I've been in almost daily contact with for the last 3 years, and Eric Valentine and Carlitos del Puerto from their regular Baked Potato and La Ve Lee jazz club shows. I didn't know Ricky Z but the fact that it WAS Ricky and not Tony Spinner somehow rung the changes completely from the Toto scene. Ricky is indeed a very talented chap - fantastic imitation pedal-steel guitar playing on Hate Everything About You, and his ad-lib vocals on Fall Into Velvet rightly drew much appreciation.
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Jamie Davis “Vibe Over Perfection”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 08:18 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Named the “chocolate baritone” by Sir Michael Parkinson of the BBC, vocalist Jamie Davis has been compared to the legendary Joe Williams, Johnny Hartman and the late Lou Rawls; Davis releases his second album on the Unity label with “Vibe Over Perfection.” A nine-song CD of familiar pop and jazz standards, the husky-toned baritone fronts a large big band accompanied by world-class musicians such as saxophonist Tom Scott, pianist and composer Shelly Berg, who also conducts the orchestra, and features many members of The Count Basie Orchestra including Scotty Barnhart.
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CD Reviews: Al Foster Quartet, “Love, Peace and Jazz!”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 08:16 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
One of the most influential drummers in jazz over the last three decades, Al Foster reclaims the musical limelight releasing his first album in the last twelve years. Love Peace and Jazz! captures a two-night live recording in April 2007 at New York City’s legendary Village Vanguard where his eclectic quartet performed only six numbers, three Foster originals and three jazz standards, but spanned seventy-minutes of playing time. One of the best live recordings around, the music can be described as being, for the most part, a post-bop sound.
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CD Reviews: Revolutionary Snake Ensemble - “Forked Tongue”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - 07:30 PM |
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glenn Astarita
CD-2008 Cuneiform Records
These Northeasterners really have that New Orleans thing down to an exact science. With frothy funk beats, fiery arrangements and trad-jazz serving as the core, this is the follow-up to the ensemble’s 2003 effort titled “Year of the Snake” which I had slated as a top-ten pick for the New Orleans Weekly Gambit.
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CD Reviews: Sharel Cassity – Just For You - Just in Jazz
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Posted by: editor on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 05:05 PM |
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JazzTrenzz
Alto supremacy is the working title of this spin today! Just For You is cunningly complex, yet seemingly effortless with sly execution, by saxophonist Sharel Cassity. Mixed with standards, even the originals leave no doubt that, this horn chanteuse has an engagement with destiny.
Assured not to be a “card holding member” of the “Legion of Imitators”… Ms. Cassity has earned that aura of exclusivity about her horn, and its soothing appeal. Case in point is the tip-toe affect Ms. Cassity’s sax offers in “Irazu (Wish You Were Here).” The intro guides you into the body of the piece. At that juncture, Adam BirnBaum’s keys mystically pull you into the piece. The blanket of Michael Dease’s trombone assists in crafting this piece into a spin-frenzy disc a brief look into choice cuts to come.
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CD Reviews: Karen Johns & Company – Star and Season
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 10:57 PM |
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JazzTrenzz
The Star of any Season
Similar to the variation in New England seasons, Karen Johns is equal in the moods that swing from her new self released CD, Star and Season. Partnered in life and song with husband James, Ms. Johns and Company has spun a collection of meticulous jazz confections which delve into a much deserving catalogue of music sheets.
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CD Reviews: Pete Zimmer Quartet..Chillin' Live @ The Jazz Factory..Tippin Records 2008
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 09:09 PM |
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Pete Zimmer (drums) Jeremy Pelt (tpt & Floogie) Avi Rothbard (guitar)
David Wong (bass)
By John Gilbert
Recorded live in Louisville, Ky. at the Jazz Factory, Pete Zimmer has
released another gem in true jazz fashion.
"Doxy", penned by Sonny Rollins is introduced by Jeremy Pelt's trumpet,
followed by the sashaying guitar of Avi Rothbard as he struts in a blues
bag and he gets it all and then some.
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Darren Sigesmund Quintet, “Strands”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 08:24 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Toronto-based trombonist Darren Sigesmund in the beginning of the year celebrated the Canadian release of his highly anticipated debut album “Strands” through joint sponsorship of the Canadian Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. The music is quite diverse containing a repertoire that draws influences from various sources including Argentinean tango, contemporary jazz, Middle Eastern flavor and just a touch of Brazilian samba. All together the blending works quite well and is performed flawlessly by Sigesmund’s more than able quintet.
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CD Reviews: Too Blue Lou and The Groove “The Birth of Hip Bop”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 09:56 PM |
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Edward Blanco
If you love and know jazz, then you also know that you can’t define jazz as being just one thing, one style, and one genre. Not satisfied with the traditional mainstream approach to the music, along comes keyboardist and band leader Lou Montelione with a new creation, Hip Bop jazz. As the liner notes state Hip Bop may be described as the “unique blend of groove oriented improvisations, scat vocals and rap, played over heavy beats and a traditional walking bass…”
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CD Reviews: Ketil Bjornstad & Terje Rypdal - “Life in Leipzig”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 11:58 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
CD-2008 ECM Records
The legacy of these two Norwegian musicians’ affiliation reverts back to 1994 when “The Sea” quartet was inaugurated and issued by this estimable record label. But due to logistics and timing, progressive-rock guitarist Terje Rypdal and classically-trained pianist Ketil Bjornstad branched off into a duo format amid their respective projects.
Recorded at a Leipzig Germany opera house, the program offers innumerable contrasts. Take for example, Bjornstad’s largely gentle voicings coupled with Rypdal’s razor sharp lines that generate hauntingly beautiful and somewhat ethereal musical environs. The guitarist’s touch of echo is a staple of his highly individualistic sound, which is funneled through an ancient Vox AC30-amp. With a Fender solid-body guitar, Rypdal often counters the pianist’s cascading chord clusters and lyrically-resplendent themes. A study in contrasts indeed, yet it all works remarkably well despite the oil and water connotations that might arise, given the respective musicians’ disparate resumes.
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CD Reviews: Yellowjackets featuring Mike Stern - “Lifecycle”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 - 12:22 PM |
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CD-2008 Heads-Up
Here, guitar hero Mike Stern performs on seven of ten pieces with seminal jazz and jazz-fusion stalwarts, the Yellowjackets. Stern does indeed add an edge via his scathing bottom-up mode of attack, nicely counterbalanced by a few warm ballads that are nestled into the mix. More importantly, this 2008 release signifies one of the core band’s finest outings in quite some time. And that’s largely due to many of these compositions that generate gobs of staying power to complement the frontline’s zinging solos and climactically designed exchanges.
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Marilyn Scott-Every Time We Say Goodbye
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 - 09:00 AM |
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Artist: Marilyn Scott
Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye
Genre: Jazz (Standards)
Label: Venus Records
Website
iTunes Link
Source Link
How many times can an artist release a recording with just standards? When it comes to jazz standards, I do not believe the true music lover and jazz devotee feels there are ever too many of these types of albums. Timeless classics from the likes of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington…well it is obvious that you cannot go wrong when you travel down this road lined with literal music gold. This is the holy grail of jazz and near perfection is required for your audience to except your performance.
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Listening Post /Brief reviews of select releases Jazz
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 09:01 PM |
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Robin McKelle is very much her own jazz singer.
Robin McKelle, “Modern Antique” (Cheap Lullaby). This one’s going to surprise the daylights out of you. In the realm of big band retro jazz singing, think of the Rochester-born McKelle as the pyrotechnic and often brilliant female version of Michael Buble. She’s close to sensational at times here. And even though she’s now based in Boston, she seems to have the cream of Los Angeles’ studio finest here with her in her terrific big band (Andy Snitzer, Pete Christlieb). It’s certainly true that you can sometimes catch her in the act of being a little derivative of some of the greatest jazz singers before her (of Dinah Washington, for instance, on “I Want to Be Loved”), but she’s very much her own singer and there’s nothing the slightest bit tentative or cutesy about her either. She is, in every way, the real thing. More than a little rare these days, eh what? â…â…â… 1/2 (Jeff Simon)
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CD Reviews: Joe Davidian Trio..Silent Fire..Sonic Mirage Media 2008
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 04:49 PM |
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John Gilbert
Joe Davidian (piano) Jamie Ousley (bass) Austin McMahon (drums)
Joe Davidian exudes warmth in his playing as evidenced in his rendition
of "Over The Rainbow" This tune is, in my opinion, the hallmark of this
recording. The changes are truly magnificent and the melody is brought
forth brightly. Harburg and Arlen would be pleased.
"T.I.E. Trio" a marching beat introduces us to Jamie Ousley's blues
original. Joe Davidian has an interesting concept in his solo which
drives and swings to the max. The bass solo by Ousley is a speedy
message keeping the blues intact and Davidian comes back with a
delightful musical riposte. This is another gem by this solid ensemble.
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CD Reviews: Nobu Stowe & Alan Munshower with Badal Roy, “An die Musik”
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, July 05, 2008 - 09:37 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Dr. Nobuyoshi Suto is a psychologist by profession and a free-improvisation jazz pianist by passion better known as Nobu Stowe, who has already produces several albums on the Soul Note label. Based in Baltimore, MD, Stowe’s latest project was recoded at An die Musk, essentially a music shop/forum located on the second floor of its Mount Vernon town house where the scheduled performances center on improvised jazz and classical music. Stowe, a fervent disciple of pianist Keith Jarrett, bills this live recording as a collection of what he terms “total-improvisations,” separate and distinct from the free style jazz genre because of the incorporation of song-like melodies and tonal quality of the music.
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E_L_B -Peter Erskine_Nguyen Le_Michel Benita -& Stephane Guillaume
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, July 05, 2008 - 09:34 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
“Dream Flight”
CD-2008 ACT
This is a jazz-fusion tinted album that is designed with eloquence and firepower. Then again, drumming great Peter Erskine and guitar hero Nguyen Le prevail as the more recognizable musicians here. But the group-centric focus yields numerous dividends throughout this democratically engaged studio session that emanated after the band’s 2007 tour.
At times the ensemble pursues a sinuous mode of attack that parlays lucid imagery of a sojourn though narrow alleyways and spiraling ascensions. Many of these works highlight Le and Guillaume’s intricately enacted unison choruses, where the soloists’ generate some high heat in spots. And of course, Erskine is the consummate timekeeper while exercising the requisite dynamics when the situation arises.
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CD Reviews: Tumbao Bravo, “Un Systema Para Todo”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 09:12 AM |
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Edward Blanco
If one were to tell me that there’s excellent Latin jazz music coming from a group of guys from the Ann Arbor, Michigan area led by a co-leader named Paul VornHagen, I would have to hear it to believe it. So I did hear the group’s new album and so I do now believe! Writing here from the Miami/South Florida area where Latin jazz is a natural, I must confess that the Afro-Cuban jazz combo of Tumbao Bravo can rumba, Cha cha cha, and play a jazzy salsa with the best of them. “Un Systema Para Todo” (A system for everything) is the group’s third release featuring eleven hip shaking and shoulder moving original compositions from members of the band.
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CD Reviews: Avishai Cohen Trio-“Gently Disturbed”-CD-2008 RazDaz Records
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 12:10 AM |
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Glenn Astaria,
He gained notoriety as a monster bassist back in his days with keyboardist Chick Corea and others of note. Since then, Avishai Cohen has etched out a career, largely framed upon compositional excellence to coincide with his enviable technical faculties. Simply stated, the artist’s truly distinct works, performed within various ensemble configurations, has yielded gobs of praise from critics and the modern jazz populous. Here, Cohen leads a pulsating trio date featuring Israeli pianist Shai Maestro and drummer Mark Guiliana.
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CD Reviews: Emilio Solla, “Conversas (Al Lado Del Agua)”
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Posted by: editor on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 10:12 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Pianist and composer Emilio Solla from Argentina delivers his fifth recording with “Conversas (Al Lado Del Agua)—Conversations (By the Water). Recorded in Spain with his group, which he calls “Afines,” the music can be categorized as World jazz where you will hear the influences of Argentine folk music as well as elements of tango all blending into an interesting session of non- traditional jazz. Solla, who plays the piano and Fender Rhodes, is a classically trained musician who draws on this experience in a wonderful solo performance on the title track, essentially a beautiful piece of classical jazz.
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CD Reviews: Joe Davidian Trio..Silent Fire..Sonic Mirage Media 2008
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Posted by: admin on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 02:40 PM |
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John Gilbert
Joe Davidian (piano) Jamie Ousley (bass) Austin McMahon (drums)
Joe Davidian exudes warmth in his playing as evidenced in his rendition
of "Over The Rainbow" This tune is, in my opinion, the hallmark of this
recording. The changes are truly magnificent and the melody is brought
forth brightly. Harburg and Arlen would be pleased.
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CD Reviews: Jeff Hackworth..Where The Blue Begins..Big Bridge Music 2008
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Posted by: admin on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 02:40 PM |
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By John Gilbert
Jeff Hackworth (ts), Lafayette Harris, Jr. (piano), John Webber (bass),
Alvin Atkinson (d), John Basili (guitar, 1,4,7,8,9)
Jeff Hackworth plays with a lot of intensity and sticks with what makes
jazz a great art form. His sound is not affected and ideas abound in his
presentation.
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CD Reviews: Finn Peters: Butterflies (Accidental)
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Posted by: editor on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 09:45 PM |
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Finn Peters: Butterflies (Accidental)
By John Stevenson
BBC jazz award winner, flautist and saxophonist Finn Peters throws together Chinese philosophy,
Indonesian gamelan and "world jazz" on his second album. Judiciously mixing composition and improvisation,
this gem of a disc features slow to medium-tempo pieces that build to near-theatrical climaxes.
Though he echoes the experimentation of figures such as trumpeter Don Cherry, Devon-born Peters is on to something distinctive,
dicing up Oriental and African-derived musical motifs with a sure-footed touch.
Butterflylike, Peters's alto saxophone playfully flits and darts against a core rhythmic background.
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comments?
1183 Reads |
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CD Reviews: HUMI (Hugh Hopper & Yumi Hara Cawkwell)
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Posted by: editor on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 10:22 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
“Dune”
CD-2008 Moonjune Records
Yumi Hara Cawkwell, is a psychiatrist who relocated to the UK in 1993 and went on to receive a PhD in composition at City University in London. She’s won several awards and has been involved in numerous music related projects. And with this venture co-featuring legendary Soft Machine bass giant Hugh Hopper, the duo straddles the avant-garde spectrum via subtle nods to progressive-rock, free-rock, classical and more.
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CD Reviews: Evan Knight, “Reminiscence”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 10:29 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
At the young and tender age of twenty-two, saxophonist Evan Knight has already built a resume of professional performances that cover almost ten years. Shinning primarily on the alto saxophone, this multi-talented young artist plays the tenor, soprano, keyboards, synthesizer and even the drums. “Reminiscence” is his debut album and though recently released, he’s already working on his second effort in hopes, as stated in the press sheets, “of becoming a Headliner in the Smooth Jazz arena.” If the music on this, his first recording, is any indication of what is in store from this dynamic young artist in the future, Smooth jazz audiences better take notice because there’s a young lion of genre in the making.
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CD Reviews: Carlos Jimenez, “Thoughts”
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 08:23 AM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Jazz flautist Carlos Jimenez from Yonkers New York produces his latest musical project with his new “Thoughts” CD comprised of eleven new and original compositions firmly grounded in the smooth jazz tradition and containing strong elements of Latin Jazz, a genre with which Jimenez is closely associated. Sounding a bit like flautist Dave Valentin, Jimenez displays his ample chops on the flute leading a quartet which includes bassist Ruben Rodriguez, drummer Vince Cherico and Fidel Cuellar on the piano.
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CD Reviews: Laszlo Gardony - “Dig Deep” - CD-2008 Sunnyside
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 08:21 AM |
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Glen Astarita
Pianist Laszlo Gardony digs deep into his multi-versed jazz vernacular during this irrefutably, captivating 2008 release. With his trio of six years, the camaraderie and intuition quotient cannot be undermined yet should be anticipated given the personnel involved. Here, the pianist jubilantly integrates funk, gospel, rock, soul and world music into the classic jazz, piano-trio format. However, the overriding force pertains to the leader’s strikingly memorable compositions.
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CD Reviews: Robin McKelle, “Modern Antique”
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Posted by: editor on Sunday, June 22, 2008 - 05:05 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
Robin McKelle once fancied herself an R&B singer and not till arranger-producer and trumpeter Willie Murillo convinced her to do a jazz CD, did she realize that she was indeed a jazz vocalist after all. Her debut disc, “Introducing Robin McKelle,” was essentially a concept album that evoked the jazz spirit of the 1940’s using the backdrop of a large orchestra. On “Modern Antique,” her second offering of swinging big band music, McKelle once again fronts a star-studded ensemble voicing a selection of tunes from the Great American Songbook concluding with an original self-penned ballad (“Remember”).
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CD Reviews: Alex Lattimore-Promise
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Posted by: muzikman on Sunday, June 22, 2008 - 01:30 PM |
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Artist: Alex Lattimore
Title: Promise
Genre: R & B-Jazz-Blues
Label: Independent
Website
CD Baby Link
iTunes Link
Source Link
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Alex Lattimore (Lead and background vocals, Flugel Horn, Synthesizer, Rhodes Piano, Moog) brings home the Promise to Atlanta in 2008.
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CD Reviews: Jeff Coffin & Charlie Peacock: Arc of the Circle (Runway)
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, June 21, 2008 - 09:33 AM |
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By John Stevenson
The music turns on the keyboard/sax’n’winds axis of Coffin and Peacock with special guests such as guitarist Marc Ribot and tuba player Joe Murphy. Coffin and Peacock’s improvisational lines spill over and intertwine delightfully. There are surprises galore as the two masterly musicians traverse the arc of their considerable artistry. Their improvisational spirit is unleashed to go where it pleases with results that appear to pay tribute to a number of reference points, from McCoy Tyner to John Coltrane and Keith Jarrett to animation composers such as Carl Stalling. The elegiac ambience of “Sweet Magnolia (Tree)”, for instance, brings to mind George Adams and Don Pullen, while Arc of the Circle, is heavily freighted with early 20th century classical aspects - plus- an ever-present blues feeling. It is a beautiful CD which will surely be remembered among the jazzier highlights of 2008.
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comments?
1290 Reads |
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CD Reviews: Karen Ristuben: Too Much (Daring)
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Posted by: editor on Saturday, June 21, 2008 - 09:29 AM |
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By John Stevenson
Karen Ristuben - an artist, singer and lawyer - argues the case for the popular jazz song most eloquently on Too Much. Accompanying herself on guitar, and aided and abetted by some of the best jazz musicians Boston has to offer, she brings a singularly calming and relaxed vocal approach to a dozen popular jazz tunes, such as Jobim’s Quiet Nights/Quiet Stars, and the Ellington-Strayhorn chestnut, Daydream. What is interesting about this outing is that jazz material is made eminently accessible, smoothed out by the inclusion of archtop guitar and pedal steel (courtesy Kevin Barry). The imaginative arrangement of Thelonius Monk’s Ugly Beauty is noteworthy: “Gus” Sebring’s masterly French horn solo acts as a sturdy connection to the lush piano and vocal interplay between Brad Hatfield and Ristuben.
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comments?
1212 Reads |
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Laszlo Gardony - “Dig Deep” - CD-2008 Sunnyside
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Posted by: editor on Friday, June 20, 2008 - 06:59 PM |
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Glenn Astarita
Pianist Laszlo Gardony digs deep into his multi-versed jazz vernacular during this irrefutably, captivating 2008 release. With his trio of six years, the camaraderie and intuition quotient cannot be undermined yet should be anticipated given the personnel involved. Here, the pianist jubilantly integrates funk, gospel, rock, soul and world music into the classic jazz, piano-trio format. However, the overriding force pertains to the leader’s strikingly memorable compositions.
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CD Reviews: James Geralden, “Tender and Blue”
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 19, 2008 - 11:14 PM |
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By: Edward Blanco
A stage and TV actor by profession, James Geralden has always had a love for music which he shares on this, his debut album, providing a blend of light jazz vocals with a sprinkle of the blues. Possessing a deep husky baritone voice, Geralden sings in a captivating style transforming a host of jazz and pop standards in new light. His vocal range and texture make him sound like a cross between the legendary Joe Williams and the immortal Lou Rawls. The singer delivers a swinging performance on such pieces as the bouncy opener “I’ve Gotta Be Me,” the bluesy“The Comeback” and the Oscar Brown Jr. humorous song “Hazel’s Hips (Bring the Tips).
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CD Reviews: Thomas Reuben Group - “In Tongues” - CD-2007 Independent
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Posted by: editor on Thursday, June 19, 2008 - 08:30 AM |
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Glenn Astarita
Recorded live to two-track in New York City, these freely engineered improvisations led by guitarist Thomas Reuben communicate a group-focused modus operandi that sparkles with a noticeable sense of intimacy and understanding. And it’s largely about an ongoing sequence of fractured theme-building exercises amid the prevalent reverse-engineering motifs. At times intensely provocative, the musicians inject asymmetrical pulses that toggle between the introspective element and loose-groove like improv. Moreover, Reuben and saxophonist Diego Manuschevich up the ante on numerous occasions via chopping and snaky passages, executed from various angles or slants.
The group conveys an aggregation of emotive aspects, spanning dour consequences and upbeat flows, all firmed-up by drummer Marc Edwards sweeping pulses. Manuschevich also uses the flute within several movements, where contrasting choruses attain a happy medium with the artists’ rough and tumble improvisations. They pack a punch all right. Thankfully, Reuben doesn’t allow the avant-garde component to stray into the ozone. Essentially, they offer quite a few interesting musical propositions throughout the preponderance of these rather persuasive workouts. – Glenn Astarita
Thomas Reuben: guitar; Marc Edwards: drums; Francois Grillot: bass; Diego Manuschevich: saxophone, flute.
www.thomasreuben.com
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comments?
1102 Reads |
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CD Reviews: Verses – Mandy Lagan
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Posted by: admin on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - 05:33 PM |
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All those who remember A Child’s Garden of Verses, raise your hand. The influential collection of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson has been a favourite of parents and children since it was published in 1885 and it is the inspiration for a gorgeous new CD by Mandy Lagan.
Lagan is a Toronto-based singer, composer and educator who collaborated with a number of other composers, chiefly David Occhipinti, to produce Verses. Occhipinti also co-produced much of the album and his stunning, innovative guitar work is a strong presence throughout the disc.
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David Grissom-Loud Music
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Posted by: muzikman on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - 09:12 PM |
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David Grissom has been around the musical block a few times and his new solo album Loud Music is an achievement that helps you to understand why experience in any industry has no price tag. David has recorded with the Allman Brothers, Robben Ford, John Mayall, Ringo Starr…the list is long and impressive. This artist knows his instrument; he has a book out titled A Guide To Blues/Rock Guitar Soloing (Cherry Lane Music) that will give you a good idea of his expertise.
Grissom has some well-known performers on Loud Music such as Pat Mastelotto and Chris Layton on drums, names that would ring a bell with anyone that has a good knowledge of recorded music.
Grissom has a great bluesy country voice that I found very engaging. He made me feel like I was the living out the story with him as he sang while playing his guitar. I was starting to feel the whole thing was in chorus with my rhythm and he totally rocked my socks off. This guy can kick out the jams!
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Concert Reviews: The Carl Saunders Be Bop Big Band concert at Charlie O's - L.A. 6-16-08
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Posted by: editor on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - 09:11 PM |
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John Gilbert
First of all this is a superb band, and having said that maybe 'superb'
is too staid a word because this band drives, swings, and then swings
some more.
The principal reason that this aggregation is in a class by itself is
quite simply the following:
Carl Saunders Leader and Trumpet,Trumpets Pete Desiena, Lee Thornberg,
Bob Summers, Ron Stout, Trombones Charlie Loper, Scott Whitfield, Andrew
Lippman Craig Gossnel. Saxes Lanny Morgan, Glenn Morresett, Pete
Christlieb, Jerry Pinter, Bob Efford. Piano John Campbell.. Bass Dave
Stone. Drums Santo Savino
Rarely do you have an ensemble that houses the creme de la | | |
