Vocalist/guitarist Pierre de Gaillande sings material composed by George Brassens accompanied by a Left Bank sounding small band that veers towards cabaret swing with hints of klezmer and a dash of clarinet bohemia. The music itself is bouncy and suave,…
Month: December 2013
IT TAKES A LOT OF PLUCK…Chris Biesterfeldt: Urban Mandolin
Any guy who takes up his mandolin and starts off the session with Dizzy Gillespie’s “Bebop” and then Charlie Parker’s “Quasimodo” is going to get my attention. Chris Biesterfeldt, along with the simpatico team of Adam Armstrong/b and Eric Halvorson/dr…
TWO DIFFERENT TRIOS…Albert Heath/Ethan Iverson/Ben Street: Tootie’s Tempo, The Inventions Trio: Life’s a Movie
Here are a couple variations of the standard jazz trio where the piano tells the bass and drums what to do. Have fun! You can even tell by the front cover that the guy in charge of this session is…
Dave Slonaker Big Band: Intrada
Dave Slonaker fronts a big band in which he does almost all of the composing, arranging and conducting. No small job when you consider the band has a reed section that includes Bob Sheppard and Brian Scanlon, a trumpet section…
Theresa Grayson: Live 2 Love
Blame it on my lack of youth, but whenever I get a “smooth” jazz disc of a female musician better looking than 90% of the women at the jazz clubs I visit, I get a little bit suspicious of either…
TWO LABELS OUT OF DORMANCY…Phil Woods & The Festival Orchestra: New Celebration, Bryan Shaw and the Hot Shots: The Bluebird of Happiness
Two labels that have been quiet for some time have started to get the dust off their shelves and join back into the music scene. Welcome back! Chiaroscuro Records, once a mainstay of mainstream jazz, went into hibernation for about…
Amir ElSaffar: Alchemy
Iraq born trumpeter Amir ElSaffar leads a forward looking band with Ole Mathisen /ts, John Escreet/p, Francois Moutin/b and Dan Weiss/dr through an arresting collection of originals. The sound and feel is post bop, but with a bit of Middle…
Keith Jarrett: No End
When you think of the words “Keith Jarrett,” what comes to your mind? I mean, besides the non-musical controversies about concert photos and sensitivity to audience sounds. Of course, it’s a) the piano b) the piano trio and c) free…
Rolling Stones: Sweet Summer Song-Hyde Park Live
This dvd definitely gives a whole new meaning to the term “70s Rock”. Returning to the scene where in 1969 they took off to become one of the most famous blues/rock bands ever, the gentrified Rolling Stones continue to defy…
Bill O’Connell & The Latin Jazz All-Stars: Zocalo
Pianist/composer Bill O’Connell leads an excitingly percussive and assertive team of Steve Slagle/sax, Conrad Herwig/tb, Richie Flores/congas, Luques Curtis/b and Adam Cruz/dr through some exciting originals and covers. Of the latter, Slagle’s soprano hovers over the viscerally excitement between the…