Kaoru Watanabe plays three types of Japanese traditional flutes, the shinobue, nohkan and ryuteki, as well as percussion instruments the taiko. He delivers sounds of a folk tradition with Sayun Chang/perc/voc, Sumie Kaneko/koto, Barbara Merjan/perc and Fumi Tanakadate/perc-voc with the…
Month: June 2016
BLUES FROM QUEBEC? Angel Forrest: Angel’s 11
Better believe it! Angel Forrest from El Norte sings like a young Bonnie Raitt and teams up with an arsenal of guitarists on this wide ranging foot stomper of an album. She’s got a growl in her gizzard, getting swampy…
SOLO PIANO…Roger Davidson: Live At Caffe’ Vivaldi Vol 3, Steve Cohn: Anspruchsvoll
Here’s the range, breath and width of solo piano. Watch what happens Roger Davidson is a master at Brazilian sounds. Is he the love child of Tom Jobim or something? He always stumps my friends on Blindfold Tests. Here, he…
Cocofunka: Chucaro
Didn’t know that Costa Rica had its own sound and style? Here’s a band consisting of Javier Arce/v, Ignacio Paez/g, Reynaldo Escobedo/b, Gustavo Gutierrez/key and Ricardo Machado/perc that mixes indie rock, reggae and Caribbean in an attractive pop style. Arce’s…
Carla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow: Andando el Tempo
The Spartan trio of pianist Carla Bley with long time cohorts Steve Swallow/b and Andy Sheppard/ts-ss come together for a three part “Andando El Tiemp as the major opus of their 5 song album. Sheppard’s breathy and gaspy tenor sighs…
A MOST HAPPY FELA! Fela Ransome Kuti and His Koola Lobitos: Highlife Jazz and Afro-Soul (1963-1969)
This 3 disc set brings together the earliest material from the guy that started the whole Afro-Soul scene. Fela Ransome-Kuti’s first two albums and a collection of his singles is presented here in gloriously raw form, allowing you to see…
HIP AND HIDDEN GEMS FROM AVID…Paul Bley: Four Classic Albums, Red Callender: Four Classic Albums, Curtis Counce: Four Classic Albums, Jerome Richardson: Four Classic Albums
You think you know about music, and then labels like Avid come along and introduce you to artists and albums that you never knew existed. The latest four releases are perfect cases in point. Most people associate pianist Paul Bley…
Myles Wright: The LA Ep
Composer and arranger Myles Wright brings together some of LA’s finest for a sophisticated big band ep of three rich tunes. The orchestra includes studio studs like Bob Sheppard/ts-cl and Big Phat members Sal Lozano/as-cl-fl, Jeff Driskill/rs-cl, Bob Summers/tp, Alan…
Anthony Wilson: Frogtown
Anthony Wilson is best known for his role as a sideman in Diana Krall’s band, but the guitarist has put out a heft catalogue of his own material out as well, and each release has its own unique features to…
SADLY OVERLOOKED…Forrest Westbrook: The Remarkable Forrest Westbrook
First, you’ve got to love his name; who was he, some character from a Jane Austin novel? No, pianist Forrest Westbrook was not a blue blood of the “North Hampshire Westbrooks,” but a swinger who actually played with the likes…